Guidelines for Pregnant Yoga Students

Posted On : 12 March 2019.

For All the mothers-to-be, pregnancy is the most exciting part of the woman's life. It is a time that one should approach with utmost care and patience. Practising yoga while pregnant helps a mother prepare for childbirth and ensure good health for the baby. However, there are many complications and contradictions while practising yoga during pregnancy; hence, prenatal yoga should be practised by experienced yoga teachers who are aware of all the contradictions.

Proper guidance is always required so that both mother and baby's health remains good. Prenatal yoga is beneficial in ensuring the woman's optimum physical and mental health. When you are pregnant, your baby comes across with rapid changes. The prenatal Yoga course in Rishikesh helps you to reconnect and make the journey graceful. It helps in dealing with stress management, strength, and endurance while pregnant and applying the technique and principles of yoga in attaining the various stages of pregnancy safely and preparing you for birthing.

Precautions you must take while practicing prenatal yoga

1. Use yoga props like chairs, blankets, bolsters during practice for your safety especially use chair is your yoga class for your third trimester.
2. Practicing inversion yoga poses are big no-no during pregnancy
3. Avoid practicing yoga if you are feeling nausea, dizziness or fatigue
4. If you ever have a history of miscarriage, you must avoid yoga.
5. Experiencing third trimester bleeding.
6. If you are concerning the low weight of the baby.
7. Consult a doctor if you experience pain other than yoga practice, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, heart palpitation and difficulty in walking.
8. Avoid practicing supine posture after 20 weeks of your pregnancy and also do not practice in hot and humid whether.
9. Apart from these precautions here are some general guideline for prenatal yoga.

What You Must Do?

Drink water during practice

While practising, drink plenty of water to remain hydrated. You and your baby both require a lot of water for the proper functioning of all the systems present in your body. You can become dehydrated quickly as your body is conditioned to give the resources first to your baby. Water plays a vital role in the development of the baby and the formation of amniotic fluid and the placenta. If you don't hydrate yourself enough, it can lead to maternal overheating.

Proper Diet:

You must always eat healthily, but if you are pregnant, you must take care of your calorie intake. You must eat the right food that helps you and the baby grow well during your pregnancy. You must consume 300 calories extra for the proper development of the baby. You must eat food like green vegetables, peas, meat, eggs, fish and milk to meet the demands of your growing body.

Monitor your energy level and practice according to it

As you progress with your pregnancy, your body will require more energy to practice a particular yoga asana due to increased body weight. Even though prenatal yoga classes are not very physically demanding, if you overdo it, you will be severely lethargic; hence, watch out for your energy level.

Right Kind of Clothes:

You must wear the right kind of clothing while practising yoga. Wear clothes that are comfortable, cool, and supportive. Avoid wearing tight clothing that makes you uncomfortable, affects your breathing, or makes you feel suffocating.

Spend more time on seated yoga poses

Pregnancy is a great time to practise seated yoga poses like pranayama and meditation. These practices will help calm your nervous system, increase your alertness, and reduce fatigue. Practice ujjayi and alternate nostril breathing to balance your body's energy flow. If practised correctly, it increases the body's capacity to expel carbon dioxide, which is a powerful tool when you have a limited breathing capacity during pregnancy.

Here are some of the yoga poses for pregnant women that should be practice under certified prenatal yoga teacher

1. Cat-Cow Stretch.
2. Gate Pose.
3. Cobbler’s Pose.
4. Legs up in the wall.
5. Warrior II.

You can take pregnant yoga classes in Rishikesh to make your journey beautiful and remain fit.