Are There Advantages In Yoga For Pregnant Women
There are many reasons to take a yoga class, but the main one for most Americans is to find relaxation and improve health — not just muscular, but cardiovascular and mental health as well. Yoga for pregnant women can make all the difference in the mother’s mindset. When combating fatigue, weight gain, tenderness, swelling, mood swings, cravings, constipation, leg cramps and headaches, yoga practice can be the only respite.
Pregnant women practice yoga for physical benefits. For instance, yoga practice can teach techniques that will be helpful during labor, such as breathing and relieving tension around the cervix and birth canal. Additionally, prenatal physicians recommend combining a light cardiovascular exercise (like walking) with a relaxing, muscle-toning exercise (like yoga) to maintain your physique, in spite of the intense cravings and normal weight gain associated with pregnancy.
Other pregnant women practice yoga for mental benefits. For one, it can be a great support to meet other women going through the same thing you are. Also, there is much emphasis on focusing on the moment and deriving happiness from each and every day, which can be vital when your hormones are out of whack. Yoga has been known to stimulate beta-endorphins, which also brings comfort and a sense of relief.
During the first trimester, standing poses help circulation, strengthen legs and increase energy. Avoid bikram yoga classes that heat up the room or any kind of back/belly/inverted positions. In the second and third trimesters, yoga for your pregnancy will include more sitting positions and breathing techniques.
To find prenatal yoga classes, check Yoga.com. If you’re looking for yoga videos you can do at home, here are some suggestions. “Yoga Zone: Postures For Pregnancy” is a good start for beginners. “Yoga Journal’s Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rea” gives you yoga for each trimester in short 15 minute segments with a guided relaxation / meditation part to help insomnia or depression. “Dr. Christine Anderson’s Dynamic Prenatal Yoga” is highly recommended, with a more spiritual focus that encompasses baby bonding, energy flow, meditation, poses and 90 minutes of total preparation for the months to come. Explanations are given for beginners and modifications are discussed for seasoned yoga pros. Another great video focusing equally on movement, breath and relaxation is “Prenatal Yoga: A Complete Home Practice for a Healthy Mother and Baby,” which was selected as an Editor’s Pick by Fit Pregnancy magazine in 2006. On the “Yoga Journal and Lamaze present: Yoga for Your Pregnancy” DVD, prospective moms can find: part 1 featuring energizing and strengthening, part 2 featuring relaxing and rejuvenating, as well as Pranayama breathing techniques, a guided meditation segment, birthing room techniques and postnatal workout. “Tantric Yoga For Blissful Pregnancy” combines more authentic yoga practices with pregnancy-safe poses.
It may surprise you to learn that Yoga dates back to 3300-1700 B.C.E. and has long been a practice of Buddhists, Hindus and other Eastern religions. But what should not be surprising the tremendous benefits that this form of exercise and meditation can bring to your life. Working professionals, students, home-makers and the retired alike are finding how wonderful they feel after participating. The sense of calm that prevails as well as the satisfaction of muscles well worked all make Yoga the perfect blend of philosophy, religion and exercise. Even if you do not practice the spiritual aspects of this ancient practice, you can still benefit. Click here to see more: Yoga Positions and at Types Of Yoga also at Hatha Yoga Techniques
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