Yoga During Pregnancy

If you are pregnant, yoga no longer has to be one of the forbidden activities. In the past, doctors and obstetricians who were not properly educated on the benefits of yoga for pregnant women were quick to advise any such exercises, leading to many a frustrated mom to be who would have been able to benefit greatly from the various exercises and also stretches that yoga during pregnancy offers. Of course, this is only true for the uneventful pregnancy that is progressing normally and without problems. If you are in a high risk group, or if there are any hints of complications, you will need to err on the side of caution and indeed may need to return the pregnancy yoga video you brought home from the store.

It is useful to maintain very detailed pregnancy yoga manuals for yourself. Here are some of the most common poses:
• Called a “hip opener,” no yoga exercise for pregnancy manual would be complete without the knee to ankle exercise. A bit reminiscent of the lotus position, this position will elevate one ankle above the knee of the opposing leg. Remember that there is no shame in combining props with yoga during pregnancy, and if you feel that a pillow will help you to hold the position better, by all means use one!
• Yoga during pregnancy can help relieve the back pain you are bound to experience, and what would be better than the bridge pose – with support? This should not be attempted past the first trimester, since it requires the mom to be to lie flat on her back – which is quite painful as the child grows.
• In the third trimester, yoga and pregnancy will have to coexist cautiously, and if you find that any position causes even a twinge of pain it is time to stop immediately. Online pregnancy yoga guides recommend the cat-cow stretch as a means of helping the child to get into the proper position for birth. While yoga during pregnancy most certainly may have some benefits for the as yet unborn member of the family, this particular position has a much more immediate benefit for the future mother: back pain relief! While being on all fours with the head extended in an effort of achieving the proper alignment with the spine, the cow pose will provide the kind of limbering that Pilates pregnancy yoga promises: with the head raised the belly may drop and thus relief the stress on the spine while remaining perfectly aligned!

While yoga for pregnancy will forever be an embattled topic, there are some caveats. If you have never done yoga, pregnancy is not a good time to get started. Furthermore, bikram yoga and pregnancy are contraindicated. The extremes of this kind of yoga during pregnancy may lead to some serious side effects. Instead, find yourself a pregnancy yoga class to sign up for.