What is prenatal yoga & why you should get started with it early in your pregnancy
It is hard to involve yourself in much physical activity when you are pregnant. If you are a fan of workouts, it will become increasingly harder for you to hit the gym as you progress through your pregnancy. Your doctors might even advise you against going to the gym and lifting heavy weights when you are pregnant, so how do you keep yourself and your baby fit during pregnancy? Well, the answer is prenatal yoga.
Prenatal yoga is not an alternative to working out, to be honest. The purpose of prenatal yoga is to prepare your body for labour to ensure that you can go through natural birth without any complications and the stretching and “asanas” help you become more relaxed and flexible for your labour. Prenatal yoga mainly focuses on breathing and simple postures that will help you relax your body while also preparing your body for labour. So, now that you know of the basics, let’s learn more about prenatal yoga and its benefits for you.
Benefits of prenatal yoga
Improves your body’s blood flow
Exercising is a great way to ensure proper blood flow in your body, especially the flow of oxygenated blood from your heart to the different parts of your body. When you are pregnant, since exercising is difficult, engaging in prenatal yoga can also provide similar results as the “asanas”, and stretching improves your blood flow and provides more oxygenated blood to your baby for healthy growth.
Reduces anxiety and symptoms of depression
Yoga is not only exercise; it also involves structured breathing in a pattern that helps you alleviate stress and reduce anxiety and symptoms of depression. It has been medically proven that breathing in a slow and steady pattern can help you activate your nervous system and block cortisol which in large amounts is credited to causing symptoms of depression. Prenatal yoga can help you improve your mood and also your fitness level making it a great activity for you to try during your pregnancy.
Prepares your body for labour
Labour or delivery pain is one of the worst pain that human beings go through. This is perhaps the scariest thought that pregnant women go through, especially when it is their first time. Starting prenatal yoga early in your pregnancy can help you learn how to meditate and control your breathing, both of which can have positive effects during your labour and can help you reduce your labour pain. It also helps you be less anxious during your labour, which can easily help you go through your delivery.
When should you start prenatal yoga?
There are no hard and fast rules on when you should start prenatal yoga, but it is a good rule of thumb for starting yoga in the second trimester. This is done to keep you safe from any possibility of miscarriages, as they are most common in the first trimester. Yoga has no relation to miscarriages, and it has not been proven to be dangerous for your or your baby’s health in any way. Still, just to keep you on the safe side, experts usually recommend pregnant women to start prenatal yoga from right around 14 weeks of their pregnancy which relates to the second trimester of their pregnancy.
Final thoughts
Yoga as an activity combines the benefits of exercise and meditation and helps you achieve physical and mental fitness. When you are pregnant and your body is going through many changes, practicing yoga regularly can help you stay on top of your health and keep yourself and your baby in optimum health. If you are interested in learning and exploring more about prenatal yoga, you can visit Medipulse hospital in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, or visit the official hospital website.