Yoga for pregnant women has recently become increasingly popular. Many future mothers prefer going to a yoga class rather than to a pregnancy course. Such choice is pretty rational and justified. Yoga classes for pregnant women are not just a fashion or some popular trend (well, it is of course, to some extent) but the right approach to one’s physical and psychological condition.
One thing to remember here is that it is best to start yoga classes 6 months before pregnancy, and restore your practice in two month after getting pregnant. If you didn’t manage to learn yoga before that – no worries, – yoga for childbirth and pregnancy will not include physically hard poses and too deep stretches.
The Benefits of Yoga for Pregnancy
Yoga provides you with peace of mind throughout the pregnancy. It’s no secret that pregnant women are more susceptible to problems and worries. This often results in tearfulness, irritability, anxiety. Regular and appropriate yoga routine helps overcome various fears and complexes. It teaches women to be well-balanced and confident. Yoga wards off unwanted thoughts. This is an interesting point. Our thoughts, although so thin and invisible, have influence over the matter (our health, body, and even people who surround us). If an expecting mother constantly cultivates bad thoughts, this will be negatively reflected on her child’s health – physical, and even psychological.
Regular yoga practice either at home or in yoga classes, helps balance the mind and body thus bringing more satisfaction and peace into the woman’s life.
Yoga provides a childbirth preparation; there are particular labor inducing poses you will learn in a class. Yoga labor poses are safe and help to go through the process easier. Also there is yoga breathing for childbirth, which is very powerful. In our Western society we often underestimate the value of proper breathing, but in fact, it has a direct influence on our life: its quality and longevity. Also, if we breathe in a proper way, we become less susceptible to stress and improve our metabolism, creating a stronger health for ourselves and our baby. All this is learned in a yoga class for pregnancy.
Yoga helps stabilize hormones in the female body, thus minimizing morning sickness and regulating weight gain. Also you will come back into shape sooner after labor and delivery – thanks to regular yoga practice.
Another interesting advantage of yoga for pregnancy is that it teaches you to communicate with your baby on a mental level. It is possible if you do meditation during pregnancy. This will help to feel your baby and establish a subtle contact that will remain after childbirth and will contribute to a mutual understanding between you and your child.
Almost all yoga studios organize special classes for pregnant women. It is recommended to choose a female yoga instructor, who undergone a special courses for yoga in pregnancy, who teaches yoga for at least 5 years, and who gave birth to one child (at least). This ensures that you found an experienced person who knows what to do with you. Probably you will need to buy the specialized literature and videos that explain certain exercise that are specifically designed for pregnant women.
If you practice yoga for pregnant women under the proper guidance, it will definitely make the childbirth easier and safer for you.