Prenatal Yoga
by Natalie Guy-Hazard
Prenatal Yoga offers moms to be, a wonderful physical, mental, and emotional practice. Practicing yoga anytime offers many benefits for the mind and the body. Practicing during pregnancy will offer benefits that many expectant mothers never even thought about. Within this text, we will go over the many benefits of prenatal yoga. We will also share safety basics, and even delve into some basic anatomy along with some common conditions pregnant mom’s can experience and how a yoga practice can help with some of the conditions.
Let’s begin with some of the physical benefits mom can experience from a prenatal yoga practice.
Increased flexibility with regular asana (posture/movement) practice expectant mom’s can increase flexibility throughout their whole bodies. This will assist with ease of movement throughout the day and general overall comfort and well being throughout their pregnancy journey.
Maintain muscle strength and even gain muscle strength which will help support good back health.
Stronger pelvic floor with guidance on how to strengthen pelvic floor muscles.
Help prepare mom’s body for birth with specific hip opening postures to help with preparation for birth.
Increase mom’s energy with mindfulness and meditative practices. These practices can help lower anxiety and worry.
Let’s continue with the benefits by pointing out some of the mental and emotional benefits of prenatal yoga.
Increased relaxation. When yoga is mindfully performed it can help mom to be more relaxed, have a sense of inner peace, and calmness.
Deeper connection to baby. By taking a quiet time out of the day for herself mom can connect in a calm and relaxed way and feel a sense of awareness that might not have been there without a yoga practice.
Relieves anxiety through gentle breathing and awareness of how the body is changing. During pregnancy mom’s experience a lot of worry and stress. A mindful, meditative yoga class can help relieve some of the anxiety.
Awakening intuition by calming the fluctuations of the hormones and bodily changes that mom is experiencing. This can help mom feel more empowered as she travels her pregnancy journey.
Some common conditions that many pregnant mom’s may experience are things like back pain, pelvic girdle pain, hernia, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, swelling, gestational diabetes, leg cramps, sciatic pain, and many more. With a yoga practice some of these common conditions can be reduced. Of course, it is always important for expectant and even post pregnancy mom’s to make sure their doctor has signed a release that they may indeed practice yoga.
A prenatal yoga class takes the safety of mom to be the first priority. Pregnancy is not the time to take up a strenuous exercise routine. In a prenatal yoga class mom and baby’s safety in number 1!! The first step to safety is taking it slow.
In a prenatal yoga class you will experience the following;
Slow movements and instruction on how to position yourself for safety.
No strenuous abdominal exercises.
No laying on the stomach.
Encouragement, love and safety guidelines for a positive experience.
During pregnancy mom’s body changes a lot! Hormones levels change drastically. Hormones are like messengers within the body that drive change. Some important hormones to be aware of during pregnancy are progesterone, relaxin, and HCG. Progesterone can relax blood vessels resulting in lower blood pressure this can cause dizziness in mom’s to be. HCG is the key hormone, it is the hormone that lets us know that there is a baby growing inside the womb. Relaxin is responsible for loosening up the ligaments and skeletal muscles that hold up the pelvic floor. It is important to know that because it is important to know how not to over stretch.
Practicing yoga during and after pregnancy can benefit mom’s with improved mood, reduced anxiety, release of tension, increased flexibility, increased muscle strength, and overall positive mind and body experience.
With any exercise during pregnancy there is always some level of risk. It is the responsibility of the person taking the class to be mindful of safety and aware of your limits. Do not take any risks beyond your level of experience.
Prenatal yoga can offer many benefits as outlined above and can help empower mom’s self awareness and understanding that her well being is key to a positive pregnancy journey.
We are very happy and grateful to offer Prenatal Yoga to expecting Mothers.
We wish you well,
Namaste
Sacred Transcendence’s Prenatal Yoga workshop begins May 6, 2023 at 10 am. Join us if you are expecting or just had a baby! Please note that we are requiring a signed doctor's note in order for participation. We will also ask participants what days and times work best for future regular classes.
