The fact that expectant mothers are becoming more and more conscious and acting in this direction is a very positive situation in order to protect both the pregnancy process and the health of the baby. Everything the expectant mother does, from diet to exercises during pregnancy, provides a mental, physical and psychological preparation process, allowing for a more comfortable and easier pregnancy. One of the exercises that best contributes to this preparation process is pregnant yoga. Pregnant yoga not only reduces the stress and physical burden of the expectant mother, but also enables her to perform all the movements that the body needs in this process in a proper and natural way.
Benefits of Pregnant Yoga
- Pregnant yoga aligns the spine, regulates posture disorders and helps you get rid of back, waist and neck pain that occurs during pregnancy.
- It supports you to have a more comfortable and free pregnancy process with reduced physical pain.
- Maintains physical condition, provides flexibility to the body.
- The breathing exercises practiced during yoga exercises help the expectant mother to strengthen her respiratory and circulatory pathways. This is very effective in carrying more oxygen to the baby.
- It relieves tension and stress caused by pregnancy.
- Reduces edema and varicose veins.
- It allows you to open the hips and give flexibility to the pelvis for a more comfortable birth.
- It improves blood circulation, which is also very important for the baby’s health.
- It helps to sleep more comfortably and quality sleep at night by preventing sleep problems, which is one of the problems experienced during pregnancy.
When to Start Pregnant Yoga?
Pregnant yoga can be practiced under the supervision and approval of a doctor from the moment the pregnancy is discovered. It may be inconvenient for pregnant women with threatened miscarriage to practice yoga. Expectant mothers who are threatened with miscarriage are recommended to start yoga after overcoming this process, while expectant mothers who do not have any obstacles in their health condition can do yoga without any worries in consultation with their doctor.
In which cases can pregnant yoga be harmful?
If your obstetrician forbids too much movement, prolonged standing or certain movements and recommends rest for the expectant mother, yoga should be suspended. Especially in the last weeks of pregnancy, very deep and challenging movements should be avoided, you should definitely work with a yoga instructor specialized in pregnant yoga and every change in the body should be shared with the obstetrician. Apart from that, there are no side effects or harm in practicing yoga during pregnancy as long as it is done correctly and in a controlled manner.
