Yoga does two things while you’re pregnant: It’s a physical form of exercise that bring mindfulness and awareness to your body and it helps you prepare for labor and promote the health of your baby. A 2012 study found that women who regularly practiced yoga during pregnancy were less likely to have preterm labor to deliver a low-birthweight baby.
What it the safest way to do yoga while pregnant? The following poses and stretches taken from Your Strong, Sexy Pregnancy will help you connect with your child and ensure you have a safe and healthy pregnancy.
1. Unicorn and Rainbow Pose (Cow and Cat)
Benefits
This pose sequence, often called cat and cow, helps to strengthen and maintain flexibility in the lower back and abdomen.
Feeling
This sequence is a very gentle way to warm the core muscles. Invite the feeling of warmth from the inside out.
Instruction
Begin on all fours with hands shoulder width apart and knees hip-width apart.
Inhale and gaze to the sky, lifting the breastbone and the coccyx (tailbone) toward the sky as you softly contract in your lower back (see figure a).
Exhale and round the spine in the shape of a rainbow. Take it easy with the pelvic tuck in the second and third trimesters, and focus more on the curve in the upper body (see figure b).
2. Down Dog Pose
Benefits
This pose (aka Downward-Facing Dog) is a wonderful stretch for the entire back of the body from head to toe. Down Dog is also considered an inversion because the head is below the heart and the heart is below the hips. Inversions help to bring oxygenated blood to the brain as well as giving a new perspective on the world.
Feeling
Down Dog is a gentle inversion and often feels fantastic during pregnancy. Allow yourself to connect with the energy of Mother Earth and feel her rising up to support you and your baby.
Instruction
Begin on all fours with hands shoulder width apart and knees hip-width apart.
On your exhalation, lift your hips to the sky with straight arms and straight legs. Be aware that the elbows and knees are soft, not locked.
If you are in your second or third trimester, it can often feel much more comfortable to have the stance wider. Just make sure that when you look back at your feet you are looking at your toes.
3. Pigeon Pose
Benefits
This pose is a hip opener that helps to keep hips strong and flexible for labour and delivery.
Feeling
The feeling is one of release, of letting go. It is interesting to note that when a baby exhibits the startle reflex, it is tightening the psoas. This is usually the same area in which adults experience fight-or-flight response. Check in with your breath and simply observe as you come back to the steadiness of the breath.
Instruction
Begin in a low lunge position with the right foot in front and the left leg extended behind you.
Slowly, toe-heel move your right foot over to the left side until your right lower leg is at a 90-degree angle.
Take your time settling into this pose and make sure there is never any weight on your belly at all as you fold forward. Blocks are a great way to lift the floor up to meet your forearms so you can safely keep your belly above the floor at all times.
Enjoy several deep breaths then change sides.
4. Hip Circle
Benefits
This movement offers a dynamic stretch of the hips and lower back while also engaging the core.
Feeling
If you have ever baked at home, you know that little kids (and adults) often like to scrape some of the mixture off the inside of the bowl with a spatula to enjoy every bit of sweetness. Imagine that your hips are the spatula and that you are trying to scoop your hips all the way around, all 360 degrees of the circle, to get every bit of sweetness; in this case the sweetness is a satisfying stretch for your lower back and hips.
Instruction
Begin on all fours with your hand’s shoulder width apart and knees hip-width apart.
Gently circle your hips around in one direction while keeping a slight bend in your knees.
Perform the exercise slowly and enjoy several circles in one direction before you pause and change sides.
5. Seated and Supported Wide-Legged Forward Fold
Benefits
This pose provides a deep stretch for the inner thighs and a gentle stretch for the lower back; it’s also calming to the nervous system.
Feeling
Supported poses send a message to the nervous system that you are safe. Your body can settle into a deeper breath and in this variation of Wide-Legged Forward Fold, there is a literal and figurative message to the brain that this vital organ is supported and safe. Breathe deeply into the feelings of support, safety and comfort.
Instruction
Begin seated on the floor with a folded blanket on the seat of a chair in front of you or with a bolster on the floor with blocks on top of it.
Open your legs into a wide straddle position around the legs of the chair or around the bolster. Feel your sit bones pressing down into the floor with your knees and toes facing the sky.
Lengthen through your spine on an inhalation, and on an exhalation, hinge at your hips and gently fold forward into a supported forward bend (see figure). You can have your forearms resting on the blocks or your arms folded on the chair or your hands reaching for the back of the chair; all are correct.
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