Prenatal Yoga: everything you need to Know

by Akshat Narwal · Published 20/04/2023 · Updated 14/05/2023

Prenatal Yoga: everything you need to Know

Pregnant women with uncomplicated pregnancies should practice physical activity, including prenatal Yoga. Find out what its benefits are!

The physical changes that occur in the body during pregnancy, added to the nerves of becoming a mother, can cause stress in the pregnant woman. Did you know prenatal Yoga can help you find your balance?

Practicing Yoga for pregnant women can be a great way to prepare for childbirth mentally and physically. In the following lines, we will discuss prenatal Yoga’s benefits. Take it!

Prenatal Yoga: everything you need to Know

What is prenatal Yoga?

Prenatal Yoga can help you connect with yourself and your baby.

Before focusing specifically on Yoga for pregnant women, it is necessary to define it. It is a practice that includes techniques of concentration, breathing, and meditation to achieve physical and mental health. Actually, more than a “practice,” it is a lifestyle.

On a physical level, prenatal Yoga tries to improve pregnant women’s flexibility and strength and teach them to breathe and relax. The objective of this practice during pregnancy is to obtain the necessary tools to experience an easier and more harmonious birth.

A 2012 study has suggested that this kind of exercise can be very beneficial by observing the following aspects:

Certain psychological improvements during pregnancy and childbirth.
Increased tolerance to the aches and pains of childbirth.

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How are the yoga classes?

If you are considering starting prenatal Yoga, you should know beforehand what a class of this practice consists of. First, the classes have an average duration of between an hour and an hour and a half. During this period, different postures and breathing and meditation exercises are performed, such as the following:

Salutations to the sun: a succession of postures designed to warm the muscles and channel the body’s energy.
Asanas are the name given to the static positions that work the muscles. They are performed in duets of posture and counter posture. There are dynamic yoga classes where the postures will be performed with movement.
Relaxation: after the practice, it is time to calm the body and mind before leaving. It may be the right time to meditate.

Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal Yoga may benefit low back pain, stress, general well-being, depression, anxiety, labor pain, and length of labor.

To help you decide, we will tell you what improvements you can notice when practicing Yoga during pregnancy. Yoga offers a lot of benefits to future mothers; among them, we can highlight the following:

Improves sleep.
It helps increase flexibility and resistance, two important aspects in the face of childbirth.
Reduce back pain.
It can help decrease the presence of nausea.
Reduces headaches.
Lower stress levels.
Harmonizes the mind, spirit, and body.
It keeps you agile and fit throughout pregnancy.
It could help reduce pain during childbirth, according to a study carried out in 2017.
Helps you connect with your baby: during the yoga class, you will focus 100% on your own body, and, in this way, you will be able to connect deeply with your little one.

When to practice Yoga during pregnancy?

If it is pregnancy without complications, you can practice Yoga from the beginning until delivery. In other words, if you do not have a medical contraindication for physical exercise, you could start practicing this discipline right now.

Of course, we recommend that you consult your doctor about it before starting. He, better than anyone, will be able to advise you based on your health condition and that of your baby.

If your doctor approves your wishes to start prenatal Yoga, we give you another piece of advice:

Look for a studio or gym with specialized classes for pregnant women.
Do not try to start this practice individually.
Remember that the most important thing right now is your baby’s health.

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3 basic yoga poses

Do you want to know what awaits you in a yoga class for pregnant women? Here we tell you how to perform three basic postures, ideal for beginners.

Dandasana: This is a basic posture. Sit on the floor with your back straight, and stretch your legs. Rest your hands on the floor on the sides of your thighs. Make sure your legs are together. The main objective is to tone the back and legs.
Sukhasana is the most famous posture and is closely associated with meditation. Sit on the floor and cross your legs, placing each foot against the opposite knee to be off the floor. Keep your back straight. This position helps strengthen the back and increase flexibility in the groin, among other things.
Tadasana: Stand with your feet parallel so that your big toes are touching, but your heels are slightly apart. Keep your back straight, and relax your shoulders and head. In this way, you will improve your posture and help prevent sciatica pain.

Prenatal Yoga. Discover 7 benefits

Prenatal Yoga has multiple benefits, both for the mother and the baby. Discover how this ancient discipline can help you, which you can practice individually or in a group. It consists of practicing asanas (yoga postures) adapted to pregnancy, strengthening the body, and facilitating a connection.

Prenatal Yoga connects us with our breathing and with our constantly changing bodies.

Table of Contents

Main benefits of practicing prenatal Yoga
How can Yoga help you if you are pregnant?
Analia Calabrese

Main benefits of practicing prenatal Yoga

Yoga for pregnant women at CoWoman. With Analia Calabrese

Among its main benefits, we find

stay active
Tone our body
Increase the strength, flexibility, and endurance of the muscles needed for labor and birth.
Prevent muscle pain
improve sleep
Reduce stress and anxiety about childbirth.
Opportunity to live in the present, the only real-time.

How can Yoga help you if you are pregnant?

In Yoga classes designed specifically for pregnancy, we focus on the following:

Alleviate the most typical ailments of pregnancy (lumbar pain, discomfort in the pelvic floor, swelling in the legs and feet, among others)
Prioritize awareness to feel what we need at all times.
Record the pelvis and pelvic floor, and recognize the birth canal.
Activate awareness of the vertical axis and changes as we go through each week of gestation.
Perform visualizations and guided relaxations to work on confidence.
Strengthen with favorable postures for labor.

Analia Calabrese

Analía Calabrese is a doula and Yoga instructor with more than 10 years of experience accompanying women during pregnancy and postpartum and the mother of two children. Her work at CoWoman: