Yoga offers several benefits during pregnancy, including strengthening the pelvic floor and preparing the body for labour, but there are particular yoga positions to avoid. When you’re carrying a growing child, your body just isn’t the same. To create room for your expanding uterus, your internal organs shift and squish together. Furthermore, the hormone cocktail coursing through your blood causes your body to feel and respond in ways you may not be used to.
When it comes to your yoga positions, you must consider both your own safety and the safety of your growing baby. However, with a few crucial tweaks, it is quite possible to continue practising yoga while pregnant.
Is It Safe to Do Yoga Positions When You’re Pregnant?
You don’t have to give up your yoga position practice entirely if you become pregnant if you already have one. Many stances will be acceptable to continue, while others will need to be altered or eliminated. It’s a good idea to inform your instructor what you’re expecting.
Starting any new sort of exercise while pregnant is, in general, a wrong choice.
If you’ve never done a yoga position before or only have a little experience with it, pregnant yoga courses are your best bet. These routines are gentle and created with expecting women in mind.
Yoga Positions to Stay Away from While Pregnant
“Any pose that puts pressure on the abdomen should be avoided during pregnancy,” Aylin Guvenc, an Every Mother prenatal yoga and pilates instructor, told Verywell. “Other poses to be cautious of are twists, which put pressure on the organs, and lying flat on the back later in pregnancy, which can restrict circulation.”
Avoid the following activities while pregnant:
Poses that exert a lot of strain on the stomach
Twists that go deep
If you’re lying flat on your back, this is an excellent place to start (later on in pregnancy)
“Poses (that put weight on the belly) produce needless compression and impede blood flow,” Guvenc explained, adding, “They can worsen mechanical demands on the body and contribute to diseases like diastasis recti when the abdominal muscles divide in pregnancy.”
The following are examples of poses to avoid in this category: To Twist or Not to Twist Crunches Crow Pose Bicycles Planks.
Twists aren’t forbidden during pregnancy, contrary to popular belief. With your doctor’s consent, open twists in the third trimester are usually fine and will most likely feel amazing. However, twisting should be performed from the shoulders rather than the abdomen. Continue to keep your entire baby bump open, not folding or bending in any way. “Instead of twisting, think about gently rotating simply your upper back and expanding your collar bones,” Leah Keller, CEO of Every Mother and certified personal trainer, suggested.
On the other hand, twists should be avoided entirely throughout the first trimester. This is because twists can cause uterine contractions.
Twists are not regarded as safe early in pregnancy when your developing baby is the tiniest, and the chance of miscarriage is the largest.
Is it Safe to Balance Poses While Pregnant?
If you were doing balance poses before you were pregnant, it’s probably safe to keep doing them if you’re comfortable with it. However, any poses with a risk of falling that you haven’t tried before should be avoided.
If you want to keep these postures as part of your practice while you’re pregnant, keep in mind that your centre of balance will shift as your pregnancy continues. If you’re worried about slipping, consider standing close enough to a wall or bar to catch yourself or utilise props like blocks.
When will you be able to resume my practice?
Returning to your regular routine can take anything from a few weeks to several months. According to Keller, listen to your body to determine when it is safe to continue your normal practice. She did, however, urge postpartum women to avoid deep backbends because they can cause or aggravate diastasis recti.
Conclusion
While you may be eager to begin your yoga position practice, it is crucial to take any required precautions if you are expecting. Some yoga positions are okay to continue doing throughout pregnancy if you’ve been doing it before. However, if you’re new to yoga, it’s essential to take precautions and postpone your yoga courses until after you’ve given birth. If you’re unsure about which yoga postures you can and can’t do while pregnant, it’s always best to ask your doctor.
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