Pregnancy Yoga --For Downward Dogging Mamas!The benefits of pregnancy yoga include circulating more oxygen rich blood to your baby. Yoga emphasizes linking breath with movement and on breathing fully and deeply. Pregnancy yoga builds strength and flexibility--both of which you will need throughout your pregnancy, birth process, and motherhood. Prenatal yoga promotes stress relief and relaxation. It can be especially helpful if you struggle with pregnancy depression. When you are at peace your baby is at peace. If you have not had a consistent yoga practice before becoming pregnant, it is best only to practice prenatal yoga during pregnancy. However, if you have a regular yoga practice, it is fine to continue with it during pregnancy--just make modifications for your changing body. Make sure to make adjustments in your pregnancy yoga routine based on how you are feeling on any particular day. Some days you will want to do a more energetic practice. Other days you will want to do a slower practice perhaps more focused on meditation, and other days you may need to substitute a nap for yoga! I had hoped I would be doing back bends at the end of my pregnancy, but by the end of the first trimester I found them uncomfortable. By the second trimester I had stopped doing Ashtanga yoga altogether because my belly felt so stretched I couldn't do back bends without feeling like I was going to rip apart. Any extreme inverted poses made all the blood rush to my head and made me feel dizzy. I did continue to practice downward dog however, all the way to the end. Downward Facing Dog felt incredibly good as it allows for the weight of your belly to hang away from the back and hips. I had some instructors tell me not to have my head below the level of my heart--well, that would eliminate a lot of yoga poses including Downward Dog which I believe can be very helpful for getting baby in the optimal position for birth. Again, it is important that you listen to your body and do what feels right for you. Check at your local fitness centers for prenatal yoga classes if you don't have a yoga studio in your area. You could also check with your midwife, massage therapist, or other natural health care practitioner to see if they know of any prenatal yoga classes in your area. Your local library may have some pregnancy yoga videos you can check out as well as beginning yoga videos that you can modify for pregnancy. The video that I like and used throughout my pregnancy is Gurmukh Khalsa's Baby and Mom Prenatal Yoga by The Method. I also enjoyed her book Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful about Kundalini Yoga and meditation for pregnancy and birth. Roll out your yoga mat, breathe deeply, focus inward to your essence and to your babe, and enjoy the journey! Return from Pregnancy Yoga to Pregnancy Main
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