7 Benefits of Pregnancy Yoga I Bet You Didn’t Know

What is prenatal yoga and what are the benefits of pregnancy yoga?

According to the doctors of Mayo Clinic, they have described prenatal yoga to be a form of exercise which has multiple benefits. This encourages the pregnant mother to stretch well, helps to center her mental health and develop focused breathing.

7 Benefits of pregnancy yoga that every pregnant mother should know:

Today, I am dedicating this post to all the expecting mothers. There are some great hidden benefits of practicing pregnancy yoga.

#1. Provides stamina and support:

A pregnant mother experiences a number of bodily changes. One such change is that she goes through a phase where there is an accelerated pace of change in her body. She needs to adjust and compensate for this change. Pregnancy yoga helps the body to adjust to such changes.

Yoga helps pregnant mothers to stretch their body muscles and make them stronger so that they can easily support their increasing belly.

#2. Helps in toning the muscles:

The pelvic floor, the hip and the abdominal muscles of a pregnant mother need a large amount of care during the process of childbirth. So, pregnancy yoga helps in toning such muscles in the body of a pregnant mother.

A muscle which is toned appropriately has the correct balance between the strength and the length of the body.

Maintaining toned muscles during the prenatal period helps a mother to reduce the pain and weariness of the nine months during which she is carrying the baby. This also helps in getting back in shape after the mother is done with her delivery.

#3. Prepares the pregnant mother for a better labor and delivery:

The mind of a lady becomes very sensitive during her pregnancy period. If she is afraid and keeps thinking about her labor pain and how she will deliver her baby then this, in turn affects her body too.

The body often tightens up with such thoughts whereas pregnant mothers should believe that their bodies are ready to open up. This prevents her from being calm and cool during labor which increases the chances of more pain during childbirth. Thus, getting into a habit of breathing deeply and relaxing through yogic methods helps the body of a pregnant mother to loosen up and helps to reduce the pain during the delivery period.

#4. Connects with her baby:

The routine visit to yoga classes would remind you to give some alone time for the baby who is growing within you. Every time you visit the yoga center with the progression of your pregnancy days, you will realize the changes that your body is going through as there is another life within you.

If we take the example of the Hero pose while you are practicing yoga, this exercise helps you to connect with your baby inside. You may imagine your baby while you are in the breathing process.

#5. Provides a better networking with pregnant ladies

A new pregnant mom should join the yoga center with other expectant mothers. This becomes like a community for moms who are going through the same stage in their lives.

Sharing each other's experiences of being a mom releases a great amount of stress and anxiety which in turn relaxes the body and the mind of the pregnant mothers and calms their body. This increases the supportive feelings among all the pregnant mothers.

#6. Calms the nervous system:

A pregnant mother needs to have a calm nervous system. Through yoga she should practice more breathing exercises which send the mind to the parasympathetic mode.

During this mode, the mother has an enhanced digestive system and relaxes completely.

#7. Regulates blood pressure during labor:

A pregnant mother should regularly practice breathing exercises. This regulates the blood pressure and heart rate of the mother during the labor period. She needs to be calm to keep her baby calm too.

Precautions to be taken while practicing prenatal yoga:

Since a new life is growing inside your womb, you have to be very careful about every little thing that you do.

Avoid doing strenuous yoga poses in your final months:

When a woman is in her final months of her pregnancy, she shouldn't do yoga exercises which are done by putting pressure on her abdomen.

During the second and third trimester of pregnancy period, pregnant mothers should only be doing breathing exercises.

Always practice yoga on a quality yoga mat.

While in the 10th and 14th week of pregnancy a mother shouldn't be doing any kind of asanas relating to inversion poses.

Use a good mosquito repellent while practicing yoga:

For indoor:

It is always advisable to use a good mosquito repellent like Goodknight Activ+ while practicing yoga in indoor premises. This mosquito liquid vaporizer comes with two modes (normal mode & activ mode).

You can switch between normal and activ mode depending upon the number of mosquitoes.

For outdoors:

If you are practicing yoga outdoors, do not forget to apply 4 dots of Goodknight Fabric Roll-On on your clothes since pregnant women are more prone to mosquito bites, due to the excess C02 exhaled by them during pregnancy.

Made with 100% natural ingredients like citronella and eucalyptus oil, it provides protection from all kinds of mosquitoes for 8 hours. It is available in two flavors - Bubblegum and Citrus.

Here are some hacks that pregnant women should know.

Always make sure yoga is practiced under the guidance of an expert and keeping in mind the precautions mentioned in this article.

If you make any changes in your exercise chart, then you should consult your gynecologist too.

Did you do yoga when pregnant? How did it help you during and after pregnancy? Do let me know in the comments.