Yoga can be a welcome Aid during Pregnancy

For women who are avid practitioners of yoga, becoming pregnant presents a unique situation when it comes to participating in the activity.

But becoming pregnant doesn't mean that you have to put your yoga participation on hold until you give birth. In fact, participating in yoga may help pregnant women cope with the physical and mental changes that go along with it.

There's no doubt that pregnancy will force a woman to change her regular yoga routine (not to mention her entire life). While a pregnant woman may not be able to participate in yoga with the same frequency that she did before becoming pregnant, or participate in all of the exercises as she might have done before, but she can still enjoy some of the benefits of yoga by making a few changes to her routine.

According to yoga instructors and medical experts, yoga can aid pregnant women by encouraging breathing and relaxation. Anyone who has participated in a child birthing class, especially a Lamaze birthing class, is no doubt familiar with the importance of breathing exercises in the process. Although the breathing in a child birthing class may be more of a forced, deliberate type of breathing (short, quick breaths), the classes also include controlled deep breathing that is intended to calm and relax the body during the delivery and it is extremely similar to the type of breathing exercises performed in a yoga class.

When they practice the breathing exercises that are performed in a yoga class, women who are expecting can benefit from the relaxation exercises at all stages of their pregnancy, from pre-natal care to the labor phase to the actual childbirth. The breathing exercises associated with yoga help relax both the mind and the body, helping to eliminate the stress, both physical and mental, which is associated with pregnancy.

As stated, there are precautions that need to be taken by pregnant women when participating in yoga, many of them geared toward specific trimesters. Below are a few tips for each trimester.

To start, women who are in their first trimester and are regular yoga class attendees should consult with their yoga instructor to let them know of their condition so that they can work together to modify the yoga routine. Also, women who are experiencing “morning sickness” shouldn’t feel guilty about missing a class or moving to a less strenuous class. Take morning sickness as a signal that it's time for you to change your yoga routine.

If you are a pregnant woman who has never participated in yoga before but want to take advantage of the health benefits it offers, seek out a prenatal yoga class in your area. Many yoga studios today have special classes for pregnant women, where you can also consult with other expectant mothers in the class and share information. Even if you can't find a prenatal yoga class in your community, don't fret; there are many videos and DVDs available on the subject of prenatal yoga that you can view and use in your home.

Yoga instructors recommend specific moves for women in their first trimester, ones designed to promote more flexibility in the hip area and make giving birth a bit easier. Recommended poses include the Triangle, Knee to Ankle, the Pigeon, Warrior II, Baddha Konasana and Ardha Chandrasana. Yoga instructors also recommend positions that can actually affect the birth process, such as Cat-Cow, in which the participant is on all fours, because it helps put the baby in the prime birthing position inside the woman's body. In a similar vein, yoga experts discourage pregnant women from performing poses that stretch the muscles, particularly the abdominals, too far, since pregnancy increases the production of the hormone relaxin, which softens connective tissue and allows the uterus to expand.

In the second trimester, morning sickness has usually passes and this can be a perfect time for those who have never tried prenatal yoga to begin the practice. Regardless of the level of experience with yoga, expectant women who perform yoga at this stage of their pregnancy should use caution and refrain from exerting themselves or performing moves that require extreme stretching.

Yoga experts suggest that pregnant women avoid jumping or rolling while transitioning from one move to the next, but rather crawl or step. With moves such as the sun salutation, keep the chest no more than 85 degrees from the floor in the forward bend and place the hands in front of the feet rather than along the side. Also, they recommend avoiding extreme twists which could cause placental abruption, poses that press the heel of the foot into the uterus while sitting or seated in the lotus and half-lotus positions unless you are able to keep the position loose and not twist the knees too much.

By the third trimester, a pregnant woman’s size and level of fatigue will definitely be a factor in her participation in yoga. All yoga poses that compress the stomach should be avoided and they should recognize and respond to their feelings of general fatigue. In this trimester, they can keep participating in yoga, but only if they feel up to the task. Gentle stretching and breathing exercises are fine.

In the 36th week of pregnancy, it is recommended that women limit the number and type of inversion yoga poses they perform, including Legs Up Against The Wall, Downward Dog and Bridge Pose. These moves, doctors and yoga instructors state, can put the baby in a bad position in the body. The only exception is if the baby is in a breech position. In that situation, those poses may actually help to turn the baby around.

Along with these recommendations, yoga experts have a few rules that pregnant women should heed when participating in yoga classes. Avoid participating in Bikram yoga, also known as "hot yoga". Studies show that overheating could adversely affect your pregnancy.

During the second trimester, changes in the body can alter a woman's center of gravity, so standing poses should be done using a chair for support or against a wall to reduce the possibility of her losing her balance and injuring herself.

When bending forward, bend at the hips with the chest leading the way and extending the spine from the tailbone to the base of the skull. Using this technique makes it easier for a pregnant woman to breath. If you are bending forward while seated, put a yoga strap or towel behind your ankles and hold the ends with both hands. As with the other move, bend from the hip and keep the chest elevated so that you avoid putting pressure on the abdominal section. Pregnant women should also keep the legs apart at hip width to give their stomach additional room.

• When performing a twisting pose, twist primarily from the shoulders and back rather than the waist and only twist as far as it feels comfortable. This helps avoid putting pressure on the abdominal area.

• Avoid poses that involve back bends, balancing on one leg, handstands, headstands and upward bows.

Finally, listen to your body. This is an amazing time in your life and yoga can help make pregnancy less stressful, less discomforting and even more peaceful.

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