Prenatal Yoga
Prenatal Yoga is a special form of yoga with the goal of providing child preparedness to participants through breathing and posture exercises typically found in traditional yoga classes. Whether you are a long practicing yogi or a newcomer, Prenatal Yoga can offer you great benefits throughout your pregnancy that is safe for both the mother and the child.
Pregnancy is a very unique time in a woman’s life. While it is full of excitement, preparing for the future, it can also be restricting and cautious. Whether it’s your own body limiting the things you are accustomed to doing or limitations at the recommendations of your doctor, it can feel like your daily life has become highly restrictive. While this temporary constraint may feel overwhelming, it’s important to remember there are still great things you can do during pregnancy to improve your health, as well as the health of your baby.
Yoga is a great way to exercise while pregnant. Prenatal Yoga offers participants a course of poses, not unlike a traditional yoga class, adjusted for the comfortability of the participants and the stage in which they are in their pregnancy. By adjusting the length and intensity of the poses participants are able to get a yoga exercise akin to other courses but one that does not push them past an unsafe boundary.
What is Prenatal Yoga?
Prenatal Yoga is a practice of yoga that offers expecting mothers an option of exercise that is not only safe for them and their children but also beneficial. By utilizing poses tailored to their limitations, a participant can practice yoga with the same level of rigorous demand of any other yoga class.
The only poses incorporated into Prenatal Yoga are ones appropriate for pregnant mothers. Some yoga poses can be harmful to an expecting mother or her child. These poses are specifically eliminated from the course in order to assure participants safety. Actions such as laying on your back or intense abdominal work are avoided entirely. Poses are also held at an adjusted length of time; this way participants aren’t overworked or put at risk while practicing.
Benefits of Prenatal Yoga
Prenatal Yoga offers a multitude of benefits to pregnant mothers and their children’s health. The objective of yoga as general practice is to help improve strength and flexibility while stilling the mind through meditation. Prenatal Yoga also works towards achieving these goals. By modifying practices in order to offer a safe course for expecting mothers. Many participants have found an increase in strength and flexibility throughout their pregnancy while also a reduction in stress and anxiety.
While restrictions on other activities during pregnancy can be a deterrent for some, Prenatal Yoga offers a safe alternative to other exercise activities or a great way to supplement your lifestyle during this time. The increase in strength and flexibility as well as a decrease in stress and anxiety offer more than just pride in personal achievement. These benefits also can also lead to an improvement in sleep, as well as a decrease in lower back pain, nausea, and headaches. Prenatal Yoga, like many other forms of yoga, offers benefits beyond personal improvement within the classroom.
Breathing is the cornerstone to yoga. In the context of Prenatal Yoga, controlled breathing can offer preparedness for labor alongside increased strength and flexibility. By building a repertoire of breathing techniques in high intensity situations, you are training yourself for the intensity of labor. A control of breathing offers value to many everyday situations, but none is it better equipped than for a long strenuous situation like going through labor.
While other forms of exercise might offer strengthening in breathing exercise, there is no form like yoga. Not only is your breathing put to the test in building endurance, your mind is trained to interpret that breathing circulation so that you can calm your mind in high intensity situations; channeling the energy of breathing to power the rest of your body.
Another added bonus of Prenatal Yoga is it can be a great place to meet other expecting mothers. Our Prenatal Yoga course is specifically listed for pregnant mothers and only facilitates those participants. While participants might have different skill levels when it comes to yoga abilities or be at a different stage of their pregnancy, it is important to consider that all participants share this major commonality. We want to make sure all of our yoga classes can offer a communal space for participants to communicate and Prenatal Yoga offers that added benefit for attendees who might not have a place like that anywhere else.
What To Consider Before Starting Prenatal Yoga
While we would love to have everyone interested in Prenatal Yoga in one of our classes, we also want to make sure you are safe as well. If you are someone at risk of premature labor or other health concerns such as heart disease or back pain, we recommend reconsidering Prenatal Yoga. Please consult your doctor beforehand if you are still interested, in order to get an expert’s opinion on your wellbeing.
Regardless of your health level, it is important to be aware of your personal performance. Don’t overdo any workout and stop or decrease intensity if it becomes too much. A Prenatal Yoga instructor is understanding of these precautions and will support your decision to limit your actions, while offering suggestions on how to safely modify a practice for your personal needs.
Heat is a very important thing to consider in yoga. Some methods like Bikram Yoga utilize a very hot environment. Extreme heat can be harmful to expecting mothers. While our Prenatal Yoga courses do not operate in these conditions, it is important to consider your personal body temperature when practicing. If you are uncomfortable please take a break from the exercise, tell the instructor, or leave the classroom until you feel better.
If you are interested in a Yoga Now class in Prenatal Yoga we’d love to have you join us. For further details and inquiries, please contact us.