Know the Benefits of Yoga for Pregnant Women

Pregnant women need to stay active to maintain physical fitness. One of them is by doing yoga for pregnant women. Pregnant yoga is not only beneficial for maintaining a healthy body during pregnancy, but also prepares labor and helps maintain the health of the fetus. During pregnancy, a woman's body will experience various changes that can have an impact on health. One way to maintain health during pregnancy, both physically and mentally, is to do yoga for pregnant women.

Benefits of Yoga for Pregnant Women

Yoga for pregnant women can increase the strength and flexibility of the body. Yoga movements in pregnant women make this exercise in pregnant women as a good exercise to practice breathing and help the labor process to be calmer, easier and smoother. Other benefits of yoga for pregnant women are:

• Smooth blood circulation.
• Helps improve body posture.
• Improve sleep quality.
• Reducing stress and anxiety, especially those related to pregnancy and childbirth.
• Relieve complaints in pregnant women, such as lower back pain, shortness of breath, headaches, pelvic pain, and nausea.
• Reducing the risk of pregnancy complications, such as giving birth to premature babies and low baby weight.
• Reducing blood pressure.

Besides being beneficial for physical fitness, yoga for pregnant women which is done together with other pregnant women can support emotional conditions. Joining yoga classes for pregnant women can motivate pregnant women to keep actively moving.

Yoga Rules for Pregnant Women

The best time to start yoga for pregnant women is in the second trimester of pregnancy or 14 weeks and over. Although there are some gentle and safe yoga movements performed in the first trimester of pregnancy, pregnant women especially those who have never tried yoga before are advised to wait until the second trimester. In doing yoga for pregnant women, consider the following:

• Do yoga for pregnant women while accompanied by an instructor. Start slowly and gently, ie by practicing abdominal breathing.
• Take a deep breath slowly through the nose until the air fills the stomach, then exhale slowly from the nose. This breathing exercise can reduce pain and make pregnant women stay calm during childbirth later.
• Yoga movements of pregnant women are designed to stretch, not tense muscles. But remember, avoid poses that stretch excessive muscles, especially abdominal muscles. If you feel discomfort or pain, immediately stop the exercise.
• Avoid lying on your back for too long. Lying on your back can put pressure on large blood vessels in the abdomen and reduce blood flow to the uterus. This position can also make pregnant women feel dizzy, short of breath, and nausea.
• If you feel hot, nausea, dehydration, abdominal pain, discharge or blood from the vagina, immediately stop the exercise.
• Yoga for pregnant women is recommended to be done 3-5 times per week for 30 minutes. Practicing every day is also allowed, as long as it's not too much.

Always provide drinking water when exercising, avoid excessive exercise, and don't push yourself. If you find it difficult to breathe or talk while doing yoga for pregnant women or other sports, this is a sign that the exercise is too heavy, so stop immediately and rest. Given the conditions of each pregnant woman are not the same, you should consult your obstetrician before deciding to join a yoga class for pregnant women. For pregnant women who have a history of miscarriage or complications in pregnancy, your doctor may suggest other exercise options.