Never done yoga and pregnant?? No worries, you can do these moves! The following moves can help alleviate aches and pains, while building strength in your abs, back and legs to prepare you for birth! Prenatal Yoga is one of the most beneficial types of exercise a woman can do during pregnancy.
Practice these moves in the comfort of your own home. They are the perfect combo of stretching and strengthening.
Supported Triangle
Supported Triangle strengthens your entire body. This pose can increase your stamina, improve flexibility of the torso, strengthen the ankles, feet and legs, while elongating the spine and opening the hips. This move helps open up your chest, which can help with heartburn too!
Cat/Cow Sequence
Use this sequence for all stages of pregnancy.
It’s great for strengthening your deep core muscles while lengthening your spine. The gentle back-and-forth motion relieves the lower back by shifting the weight of the baby away from the spine. Cat/Cow helps stretch the lower spine, hips, back and abdominal muscles. In addition, it opens the chest and lungs allowing for easier breathing, and can help get the baby into the optimal position for birth. This pose can be used to try and turn a breech baby too, if recommended by your prenatal care provider.
Child’s Pose
Child’s Pose is a restorative pose which helps to get the baby’s weight off your spine. This gentle stretch calms the brain, helping to relieve stress and fatigue, and stretches hips, thighs and ankles. As your belly grows, this is a great move to relieve back and neck pain too!
Pigeon Pose
photo credit: Emma Seibold, Lifestyle.com.au
This pose was made for pregnancy! Pigeon pose opens the hips and is perfect for relieving lower back tension and sciatica pain. Opening and stretching the hips will help create the flexibility that can make giving birth easier. While this pose is safe for all trimesters of pregnancy, as your belly grows you may need to modify it by propping a pillow under your hips or using a block, as shown here.
Butterfly
Butterfly pose is a great way to stretch your hips and thighs to ease pregnancy pains, while helping to strengthen and tone your pelvic floor muscles that are used for labor. This pose can also provide a great stretch for groin muscles, increase flexibility of knees and inner thighs and keeps the spine in alignment. The version of this pose in the photo includes a side stretch. BONUS: this pose is safe for every trimester of pregnancy!
Try these Prenatal Yoga poses every night before bed or each morning, your body will thank you!
Interested in trying a Prenatal Yoga class?? Check out our schedule and come to a class! We would love to see you there!