Yoga Mama
Yoga when Pregnant
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Care and Precaution |
Doctor
Before starting yoga, as with any exercise programme, consult your doctor about whether you can do yoga. Since there are many forms of yoga with a variety of poses and emphasis, each doctor may have a very different idea of what yoga is (for instance, the vast difference between meditative yoga and power yoga). Therefore, show your doctor photos, pictures or video in order to get clearance as to which specific poses or routines are safe and beneficial for you.
Food/Diet
Preferably, do not consume any food 2 hours before yoga and ½ hour after. During mealtime, choose from a variety of health and growth-promoting foods like fresh vegetables, fruits, wholemeal grains, nuts and honey, and avoid/reduce tea, coffee, preserved/canned food, and alcohol.
Environment
If you are exercising at home, if possible, prepare your own ‘sacred’ yoga space (clean, simple, pleasing to the eye) and allocate one to 1.5hours of quiet time for the practice: phones off the hook/silent-mode, no chores to distract you, and inform all other home occupants that you are not to be disturbed unless there is an emergency. Set your body and mind to the ‘being in the now’ mode, joyfully conscious of every moment, neither worrying about future events nor ruminating on past guilts etc.
Poses
No No!
- The first trimester period (around the first 14 weeks of pregnancy) is where the risk of miscarriage (embryo or fetus dies) is highest. It may be advisable for those new to yoga not to start yoga within this period; wait till after the pregnancy has stabilized (ie after the 14th month).
- Do not do any jumping movements (the high impact may hurt bones/joints/ligaments)
- Avoid jerky/exaggerated movements. During pregnancy, certain hormones cause the joints and ligaments to loosen in order for the pelvis to open for the baby to be born. This condition of the joints and ligaments and the increasing weight of the mother and child add stress and strain to the whole body. So it is important to move gracefully and gently into poses
- Avoid poses that have you lie on your belly (obviously!) or flat on the back
- Do not sit with crossed legs for too long so as not to block off blood circulation
- Although inverted poses such as the headstand (Sirsasana) and shoulderstand (Sarvangasana) are very good for the mother and baby (eg may help prevent miscarriage), beginners to yoga may have to refrain from these difficult poses.
Yes Yes!
– Emphasise on breathing
- Use props (bolster, towel, chair, table etc) to help you enjoy a comfortable yoga session and to help you maintain your balance (changes in the weight distribution may make it slightly difficult to do balancing poses without props: be on the safe side, don’t risk falling down when pregnant)
- After each asana it may be advisable to rest for a moment, for example in a sitting position, so as not to over exert.
- Body Intelligence: Listen to your own body, know your limits, do not force, rest when tired. Avoid anything that doesn’t feel right to your body or modify poses to tailor to your new body
- Have your yoga sessions where it is a small class so that there is more personal attention and care from the teacher.
- It is alright to join a regular class, but at a class tailored for mamas-to-be, you get to connect and make friends with other mothers. Wherever you choose to take your lessons from, what is important is that you feel accepted and happy, in a supportive environment.
- To truly benefit from yoga, you need to do it regularly and mindfully. Be disciplined about setting aside the special time for yoga and leave your worries for later!
- You may complement yoga with other forms of exercises e.g. swimming, walking and cycling on an exercise bike.
Yoga Benefits
Active/Dynamic Poses
- Exercises that strengthen the uterus can help towards a normal delivery
- Working the pelvic floor (layers of muscles that hold in place the bowel, bladder and uterus) makes the muscles strong preventing stress incontinence (urine discharge when sneezing/coughing) and allowing for a speedy restoration after birth. Exercising the pelvic muscles also improves blood circulation in that area, strengthening the reproductive system.
- The baby’s weight presses against the pelvic region. Cat pose and shoulder/head stand relieves this ever increasing pressure.
- Shoulder stand helps to adjust the position of the baby so that the head is turned towards the pelvic floor (this may even avoid the need for a caesarian if the operation was due to the baby’s lying in the wrong direction)
- Changes to the shape and weight puts a strain on the whole body. Exercising the spine helps prevent backache
- Bending and stretching the toes, feet and legs improves blood circulation and helps with varicose veins and cramps
- Poses that work out the heart and lungs (cardiovascular system) improve stamina for
i) The 9 months pregnancy period: the mother and the child in the womb are both getting heavier. We need more energy to carry the increased weight so that we are able to do routine things like walking, climbing the stairs, carrying the laundry basket/groceries
ii) The birthing process, and
iii) After delivery: energy to lift/carry the baby
Meditative and restful poses These help to reduce stress and pregnancy anxiety, promoting mental and emotional wellbeing. Yoga breathing techniques More oxygen! The increase in oxygen intake is helpful for milk production. Mother gets more oxygen means the child gets more oxygen!
Breathing techniques provide the tools to transform us from feeling totally dependent and helpless during labour to a state of calm knowing that with mastery over our breath, we have a powerful tool which can help us relax and transcend the labour pains, feel more secure/confident, and stay focused.
Proper breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, thus reversing the fight-flight-freeze hyper-vigilant/emergency state. This restores the body and mind to a tranquil and harmonious state: The slow, steady and deep breathing slows the heartbeat, lowers blood pressure, relaxes the muscles and returns the system to ‘long term survival mode’ where more blood is released from the muscles that help us fight/run to the digestive, reproductive, glandular, and immune systems (Self check: Do you have the following chronic stress symptoms? wind in the tummy, skin that doesn’t heal easily, hyper metabolic rate, often falling sick, difficulty in conceiving/carrying baby to term, stunted growth, cold/sweaty hands/feet...)
Mental Attitude and Overall Wellbeing
By combining the breath, meditation and gentle restive poses with an attitude of acceptance of all experiences including labour pains, yoga helps us manage the pain better as it takes away the ‘fear’ element of feeling like a victim running from the ‘pain monster!’
Yoga helps to strengthen the whole body, lifting us from a state of lethargy, giving us the ‘oomph’ of energy to gracefully flow rather than limp through life (this extra pump of energy is especially important when we have the few extra kilos in the belly!)
During yoga, the mother is encouraged to communicate unconditional love to the baby in the womb. This, including the whole experience of a more comfortable and joyful pregnancy, enables the mother to create a deeper and healthier bond with the baby.
Yoga is a preventative science! Do yoga regularly regardless of your current state of health. Don’t wait for illhealth to drop by before you open the door to yoga. For instance, use yoga to prevent high blood pressure rather than do yoga only after suffering unnecessarily from high BP as a consequence of choosing a stressful lifestyle.
Enhanced body and self awareness promotes better self care enabling us to
- be more watchful about the food we put into our mouth (balanced intake of nutritious food that nourishes mother and child, less ‘junk’ food, and avoiding rapid weight gain)
- be disciplined about getting enough rest or sleep (adequate and appropriate time)
- have more body control - prevents injury
- be more careful about choosing healthy, growth promoting environments (people, places, or events)
- embrace the changes that are happening: body shape/size, hormones, life perspectives, priorities etc and thus have a more enjoyable pregnancy
Having a weekly yoga ritual at a yoga centre gives us an excuse to ‘get out of the house’, have a change of pace, take a break from daily chores, get a dose of fresh air, meet up with ‘healthy people’ and share notes with other new mamas-to-be!
Patience! YOU are a result of many years of habitual thought-pattern, emotions, and activities, and environmental influence. Do not expect changes to happen overnight. Give yourself time to unlearn unhealthy habits and relearn a positive lifestyle. Regular and persistent yoga practise will reward you with the experience of beautiful, wholesome, and joyful lifetime transformations. Feel good!
Reality check! Life habitually springs surprises on us and you can expect that the unexpected may happen during pregnancy and the delivery period. Although studies (Narendran, Nagarathna, Gunasheela, & Nagendra, 2005) have shown that yoga brings positive outcome to pregnancy (eg less labour complications and improved baby’s birth weight) yoga does not guarantee an easy pregnancy or birth. However, yoga provides us with an additional bag of survival tools which forms a great team together with our supportive family and the medical experts (doctor/nurse/midwife).
Be prepared! You don’t have to wait till you are pregnant before you start doing yoga! Get into the habit of practicing yoga; develop a healthy and strong body so that your body memory will know how to continue the good work and take good care of you during the conception, pregnancy, delivery and post-natal periods.
Example of Yoga Poses
(Please collaborate with your yoga teacher to confirm suitability of all the poses)
Head Rotation (in Sukhasana)
Shoulder Roll
Front Cross
Dancer’s Pose
Warrior II
Crescent Moon
Dog Pose
Tiger Stretch
Spinal Twist
Supta Baddhakonasana
Savasana
Copyright Theresa 2007
The article is provided for general informational purposes only. Please seek the advice of your expert medical practitioner and a yoga instructor specializing in ‘Yoga for Pregnancy’
References
Hall, D, and Freedman, F. B. (2005). Yoga for Pregnancy. London: Anness Publishing.
Healthy Lifestyle (2007). Prenatal Yoga. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from
http://healthy-lifestyle.most-effective-solution.com/2007/06/11/prenatal-yoga/
The Holistic Care, Inc. (2006). Pregnancy and Labor. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.theholisticcare.com/cure%20diseases/Pregnancy%20and%20Labor.htm
Jordan, D. (2007). Prenatal Yoga Program. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from www.bodhibabyyoga.com/prenatalyoga.html
Medicare Health & Living Ltd. (2006). Yoga for Pregnancy. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from www.medicare.ie/product/DisplayPage.aspx?cid=53
Memi, K, and Scholtes, S, (2006). Yoga for Pregnancy. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from www.theyogastudio.com/yoga-pregnancy.html
Narendran, Nagarathna, Gunasheela, & Nagendra, (2005). Efficacy of yoga in pregnant women with abnormal Doppler study of umbilical and uterine arteries. Journal of the Indian Medical Association, 103(1):12-4, 16-7. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.theholisticcare.com/cure%20diseases/Pregnancy%20and%20Labor.htm
The Sivananda Yoga Centre (2000). The New Book of Yoga. London: Gaia Books Limited.
Spies, W. (2006) Ashtanga During Pregnancy: One Ashtangi’s Experience. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.ashtanganews.com/2006/06/
Weideman, J.(2007). Yoga in Pregnancy. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://birthbuddy.wordpress.com/2007/02/28/yoga-in-pregnancy-part-1-introduction/
Welford, H. (2007). Exercise and Fitness. Retrieved December 18, 2007, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/having_a_baby/pregnancy_exercise.shtml
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