If you are pregnant or planning a child, don't think you cannot practice yoga.
In fact, yoga exercises can be a good choice, because they ensure a smoother pregnancy and an easier birth experience.
What's more, yoga can be beneficial to your baby as well, as it increases blood supply to the fetus.
However, remember that not all yoga asanas are meant for pregnant women.
It is always better to consult a qualified instructor about what is right for the first trimester of pregnancy to avoid hurting the fetus or yourself.
You can take prenatal yoga classes to stay flexible, relieve stress, and ensure a smooth pregnancy and safe delivery.
What You Should Be Aware Of While Practicing Yoga During Pregnancy Though yoga has a number of benefits for pregnant women, there are a few limitations you must be aware of.
Remember, while practicing yoga in pregnancy, you have to make some adjustments in every asana with respect to your bodily changes.
If you feel discomfort doing any asana, stop immediately.
Avoid practicing asanas requiring you to lie on your back, particularly after the first trimester.
This can reduce blood flow to your heart due to the baby's weight and cause dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath.
Always use an object for support for standing yoga poses in your second trimester to prevent yourself losing your balance, falling and risking injury.
You should be aware that your center of gravity shifts during the second trimester.
Avoid Bikram or Hot Yoga classes that are practiced in heated rooms to prevent from being overheated or dehyrdated, which can negatively impact the fetus.
Avoid practicing Sirshasana or Sarvangasana if you have never done these before.
Remember, pregnancy is not the time to start new inversion practices.
However, if you are used to these poses, you can continue doing them into your second trimester.
Skip these inverted poses completely during your third trimester.
Skip poses like deep forward, back bends, and deep twists that stretch your abdominal muscles.
These asanas pose the risk of greater wear and tear in case of pregnant women.
You might even strain your muscles practicing these poses since your pregnancy hormones that help in the expansion of uterus tend to relax other connective tissue.
Avoid twisting poses from the waist that can put pressure on the abdomen; rather, twist more from your shoulders and back.
Make some minor adjustments to forward bending movements.
While bending forward in a sitting position, you can open your legs a bit to ensure enough room for your belly to come forward.
During forward bending movements, try to keep your chest at least 80-85 degrees from the floor.
Avoid postures that stretch your abdomen muscles.
Keep your pelvis upright while stretching the breastbone and the front of the thighs.
Lie down in a fetal position on your left side so that blood flow to the uterus isn't hindered during the corpse pose.
You can use a rolled towel or mat beneath your head and between your legs in order to make your neck and belly comfortable.
Avoid practicing inversions in your third trimester, which can place excessive pressure on the placenta.
Remember, during this period, the focus should be on encouraging the correct downward positioning of the baby's head and downward flow of energy to make labor easy and less painful.
Yoga is a great way to keep your baby and yourself stress-free even during pregnancy, giving you an extremely relaxing feel despite the extra weight.
In fact, yoga exercises can be a good choice, because they ensure a smoother pregnancy and an easier birth experience.
What's more, yoga can be beneficial to your baby as well, as it increases blood supply to the fetus.
However, remember that not all yoga asanas are meant for pregnant women.
It is always better to consult a qualified instructor about what is right for the first trimester of pregnancy to avoid hurting the fetus or yourself.
You can take prenatal yoga classes to stay flexible, relieve stress, and ensure a smooth pregnancy and safe delivery.
What You Should Be Aware Of While Practicing Yoga During Pregnancy Though yoga has a number of benefits for pregnant women, there are a few limitations you must be aware of.
Remember, while practicing yoga in pregnancy, you have to make some adjustments in every asana with respect to your bodily changes.
If you feel discomfort doing any asana, stop immediately.
Avoid practicing asanas requiring you to lie on your back, particularly after the first trimester.
This can reduce blood flow to your heart due to the baby's weight and cause dizziness, nausea, and shortness of breath.
Always use an object for support for standing yoga poses in your second trimester to prevent yourself losing your balance, falling and risking injury.
You should be aware that your center of gravity shifts during the second trimester.
Avoid Bikram or Hot Yoga classes that are practiced in heated rooms to prevent from being overheated or dehyrdated, which can negatively impact the fetus.
Avoid practicing Sirshasana or Sarvangasana if you have never done these before.
Remember, pregnancy is not the time to start new inversion practices.
However, if you are used to these poses, you can continue doing them into your second trimester.
Skip these inverted poses completely during your third trimester.
Skip poses like deep forward, back bends, and deep twists that stretch your abdominal muscles.
These asanas pose the risk of greater wear and tear in case of pregnant women.
You might even strain your muscles practicing these poses since your pregnancy hormones that help in the expansion of uterus tend to relax other connective tissue.
Avoid twisting poses from the waist that can put pressure on the abdomen; rather, twist more from your shoulders and back.
Make some minor adjustments to forward bending movements.
While bending forward in a sitting position, you can open your legs a bit to ensure enough room for your belly to come forward.
During forward bending movements, try to keep your chest at least 80-85 degrees from the floor.
Avoid postures that stretch your abdomen muscles.
Keep your pelvis upright while stretching the breastbone and the front of the thighs.
Lie down in a fetal position on your left side so that blood flow to the uterus isn't hindered during the corpse pose.
You can use a rolled towel or mat beneath your head and between your legs in order to make your neck and belly comfortable.
Avoid practicing inversions in your third trimester, which can place excessive pressure on the placenta.
Remember, during this period, the focus should be on encouraging the correct downward positioning of the baby's head and downward flow of energy to make labor easy and less painful.
Yoga is a great way to keep your baby and yourself stress-free even during pregnancy, giving you an extremely relaxing feel despite the extra weight.