Yoga is an ancient Indian form of exercise with a holistic approach, meaning it tackles a person’s well being as a whole –mind and body – unlike other forms of exercise and therapy With guidance of your doctor and a qualified instructor you can start doing yoga.
Practicing Yoga postures
The yoga postures are gentle ways of keeping your body active and supple
- For the first trimester, standing yoga poses are advised as this will help strengthen the legs, improve blood circulation, generate energy and may reduce leg cramps.
- A good posture makes all the difference. As the body grows bigger the weight is felt more and more on the back and legs.
- To avoid the unnecessary back and leg pains, it is wise to keep the spine, head and neck aligned as much as possible
- Be more aware of how you stand, sit and walk. You will find many of the yoga postures improve your figure and sense of balance
- During the second and third trimester, you may reduce your time spent for practicing the yoga asanas (postures). This will prevent tiredness and overwork. Instead, you can focus more on breathing and meditation.
Practicing breathing techniques
Breathing techniques called as pranayama in yoga play a vital role for a relaxed frame of mind
- Relax with deep breathing, practice taking long, deep breaths and meditate daily.
- Breathing and relaxation techniques will assist you throughout your pregnancy and child birth to calm the mind
- Breath control during yoga helps to provide more oxygen to the baby in the womb.
- The breathing techniques that are safe during pregnancy include Ujjaii or Victory Breath, Nadi shodan or Alternate Nostril Breathing (Anulom, vilom ) and Bhramari or Bee Pranayama.
Practicing meditation
- Meditation will keep you calm and confident
- Meditation is a wonderful way to strengthen the connection between you & your unborn baby while improving the health & wellness of both
- Focusing on your body while meditating brings you closer to your baby
- Meditation helps you deal with mood swings and increases your sense of self-awareness.
- Meditation eases your physical and mental stress and instils positive thoughts and enhances emotional balance.
