The Benefits Of Yoga During Pregnancy

I am proud to say my son is a little Yogi who has been practicing Yoga since he was in the womb, and we have continued to enjoy the benefits of regular Yoga practice together since then!

The very week I enrolled in my Yoga teachers training course was the same blessed week that I discovered I was pregnant with my son. Needless to say my concentration during the duration of my studies was to focus on specializing in prenatal and postnatal Yoga. Having hands on experience was of course great benefit to me, not only as a teacher in training, but also because I was able to physically live and experience each miraculous moment of my pregnancy being complimented by regular Yoga practice.

The effect of Yoga on its own is immense for anyone, but during pregnancy the affect is far more pronounced. I believe this is because there is a lot greater strain on the body to sustain not only the health and well being of the pregnant mother, but also to sustain and grow the life of the tiny being that she is carrying. Under such circumstances the need for a regular Yoga practice becomes more evident and the benefits of Yoga practice become far more pronounced and obvious.

I was practicing Yoga long before I was pregnant and it helped play a great role in preparing my body for the demands of pregnancy, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Pregnancy is like a rollercoaster, it has its ups and its downs, where sometimes you feel euphoric and other times you feel downright scared! Some days you feel great and energetic and others you feel like you have ran a marathon and it is still only 9 o’clock in the morning!

When you are pregnant you just don’t know what to expect from one day to the next. Just when you think that you have just begun to get used to the symptoms and feeling a certain way, ‘boom’ you are hit with more strange feelings and more new symptoms, it can be very tough to handle!

Yoga is an excellent grounding force during pregnancy, it helps keep you rooted and centered during times of uncertainty, emotional upheaval and hormonal ups and downs. Just as each trimester of pregnancy has its own characteristics; your Yoga practice should reflect that and there are many Yoga postures, breathing exercises, meditation and relaxation exercises which are very beneficial and appropriate for you to practice no matter what stage you are in during your pregnancy.

Before we consider how Yoga can help the mum-to-be, let’s have a look at some of the physical and emotional symptoms that are commonly experienced during pregnancy. Please keep in mind this list is in no particular order and that not all mothers will experience the same thing, some may experience only a few symptoms while others will experience them all.

- Nausea and vomiting
- Weight gain
- Irregular appetite
- Constipation
- Fatigue and sleepiness
- Insomnia
- Backache
- Neck and shoulder pain
- Aching feet
- Swelling in hands and feet
- Headaches
- Faintness and dizziness
- Heartburn and indigestion

With the help of regular Yoga practice I was able to escape most of those symptoms, and those of which I did experience, I was able to manage. I did have some nausea & fatigue in the first trimester although, I was happy to experience that as I do believe that this is natures way of forcing us to slow down, rest and allow the growing baby to use up most of the energy we would usually use running around doing all the tasks we would be doing if we felt energetic and well.

Throughout the rest of my pregnancy I felt great, I had loads of energy, I wasn’t dizzy at all, I was glowing and I hardly gained any weight. I did not suffer the usual backache that most pregnant women do. I didn’t suffer from sleepless nights, constipation, heartburn, swollen ankles and feet and I had a healthy and hearty appetite. Many people thought I was so lucky, but I believe that luck had nothing to do with it. I put all of that down to my regular Yoga practice!

When I say regular Yoga practice, what I mean is daily Yoga sessions ranging anything from 10 minutes to 1 hour and a half. Some people might claim that they do not have the luxury of that much free time on their hands to commit to Yoga; however, I would argue that if your health and well being is really important to you, which it should be especially when you are pregnant, then you would make the time.

Many people practice Yoga once or twice a week and feel that is enough for them, but honestly, from experience I can say that it is better to do just 10 minutes of practice daily as oppose to 1 hour sessions once or twice a week. The key is frequency and consistency and this is what will help both strengthen and relax your body and mind on a regular basis, and this is exactly what your body needs to do the work it needs to do during pregnancy.

Although I did Yoga throughout my pregnancy, I did not practice any postures during the first trimester as this is a period in which there is a greater risk of miscarriage. It is safer at this time to stick to meditation and relaxation visualization exercises and simple breathing exercises such as deep abdominal breathing. Besides, doing physical postures are almost unbearable to think about when are experiencing symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, so think if it as a special privilege being excused from practicing postures instead of looking upon it as being a punishment because you can’t exercise!

The breathing, mediation and relaxation visualizations are adequate to help you survive the early weeks of pregnancy. During this period of great emotional fluctuation, fatigue, nausea, weight gain, bloating and tiredness, often all you really need is the feeling of being centered, grounded and balanced and this is what these simple exercises can help you achieve.

As you progress into the later weeks and months of your pregnancy the demands upon your body become greater and more physical, this is when the postures become helpful. As well as building strength and resilience to the growing strain that comes with a constantly changing body, the postures will induce the same feeling of being centered, grounded and balanced that was achieved with the exercises that didn’t involve posture in the first trimester. I personally found that being centered and grounded was the single most important goal of my practice because if I had a scattered mind and emotions, I felt the effect of that stress somewhere else in my body, and of course that would be transferred to the baby which I did not want.

Another great benefit of Yoga is the effect it has upon the baby. Of course, anything which is good for Mum has to be good for baby so all the benefits mum gets from Yoga will be received by the baby. Also, as an added bonus, the baby receives a relaxing massage each time mum practices Yoga postures because every gentle bend, stretch and twist mum makes, is felt by the baby from within the womb. The gentle friction from the movement of mums inner organs and muscles is received by baby as a relaxing massage. What a lucky baby!

So as you can see the effects of Yoga are amazing to help you make your pregnancy the most amazing, miraculous and wonderful experience that it was meant to be. Pregnancy doesn’t have to be a rough ride, sure, it is a challenge, but it can be a very positive and empowering one at that with the help of Yoga.

I wish you a all happy practice!….Namaste