• Baby on the Way
• Prenatal Care

Try Prenatal Yoga For Calm And Comfort

Caring for yourself is important throughout your lifetime. But it’s especially important during pregnancy, as your body works overtime to create a new life. Prenatal yoga is considered an ideal way to practice self-care while also caring for the new life inside you.

Here’s why many moms-to-be consider prenatal yoga essential to their well-being:

1. Deep Breathing Calms the Body

Whether pregnant or not, for many of us, short, shallow breathing has become the norm. It’s the unfortunate result of everyday stress and distraction, and is particularly bad when you have a little person growing inside you. The good news is that deep, abdominal breathing can be learned. It’s central to prenatal yoga and to the entire birth experience. 

Among the benefits, breathing deeply has shown to slow your heartbeat, stabilize your blood pressure, and awaken your sense of relaxation, peace, and calm.

2. Centering Boosts Your Coping Skills

During prenatal yoga you’ll learn to quiet the thoughts and worries that are churning in your head. Your instructor will teach you to become more aware of your body and ignore the chaos outside.

In doing so, pregnant moms often report they:

• Better cope with challenges
• Sleep more soundly
• Have more energy, less fatigue
• Better manage nausea
• Leave class feeling refreshed

3. Poses Ease Discomfort

It’s often stated that yoga “meets you where you are.” During prenatal yoga that means whether you’re one month pregnant, or days from delivery, you can still enjoy the benefits. A good prenatal yoga instructor will adjust poses to each student’s individual ability.

Each pose targets common areas of discomfort, aiming to ease your ability to move as your body changes. Poses also aim to:

• Open your hips
• Create space in your body for your growing baby
• Create alignment

In doing so, the overall goal is a pregnancy and birth that is both easier and more comfortable.

4. You’ll Build a Support Community

Prenatal yoga classes will immerse you in a community of like-minded women, which can make the experience more supportive, uplifting, and encouraging. Many moms remain in touch following their baby’s birth and look to this “second family” as a means of support.

What To Look For

If you’re looking for a prenatal yoga class, be sure to:

• Seek an instructor who is certified in prenatal classes
• Avoid “hot” yoga, which is held in a room heated to 100 degrees or warmer with raised humidity, as this may be unsafe for you and your baby
• Ask your doctor if prenatal yoga classes are right for you

Learning how to nurture yourself through yoga can be a great way to prepare for nurturing your growing bundle of joy. 

Source: Yoga International; Harvard Health; AmericanPregnancy.org