During Pregnancy

Yoga's benefits help everyone, but here are a few which are particularly beneficial to pregnant women:

• Improves the body's circulation which is really helps as circulation problems arise in pregnancy. Issues with water retention, edema, plague many pregnant women in the last trimester of pregnancy. Yoga minimizes this.
• Uses breathing exercises to calm the body and the mind. Regulating the breath helps to calm the mind and bring a greater sense of balance and peace. Controlled breathing helps as the baby grows and begins to take up more space.
• Stretches the body. Yoga helps pregnant women to work with the shifts in body weight and body mass. This causes many pregnant women to suffer from a sore back and hips.
• Increases balance. Many women struggle with a decrease in balance while pregnant; yoga helps this. However, note it is important for pregnant women to avoid really difficult balancing postures as they do not want to fall over.

During child delivery:

• Creates more flexibility in the hips - Because yoga works on opening the hips, many women who have a regular yoga practice have found delivery to be much easier. Yoga stretches all many ligaments throughout the pelvic, hip, and leg area, all making positions and pushing in child labor easier.
• Strengthens abdominal muscles - Not only are the hips more open, but the abdominal muscles tend to be stronger, which helps to push the baby through the birth canal.
• Deepens the breath - Breathwork is obviously an important part of a successful delivery. Practice breathing through difficult postures connects women to the power of their breath and prepares them for breathing through the discomforts of childbirth.
• Soothe & empower yourself by finding your own inner rhythm - When you consistently practice moving your body in a rhythmic fashion in unison with your breath, you carry with you a powerful relaxation and pain management tool.
• Facilitate the labor process - Through yoga, you can learn how to identify when you are holding to tension in your body. Once we can identify the tension, we can soften the body, relax our thoughts and release the breath, which can provide for an easier labor.
• Improve your physical comfort - As you move through the various stages of labor, your body will want to move into different positions. Many yoga poses can translate wonderfully into comfortable laboring positions.
• Learn to use the tools of meditation & visual imagery - These are inspiring mechanisms through which you can soften and open physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Visual imagery combined with breath work can be one of the most useful labor tools.
• Become familiar with the concept of vocalization - Labor is no time to be shy. It is the rare woman who births naturally and does not emit some sounds in the process. Vocalization is a basic and primal part of the process. Chanting, in yoga, provides you with an opportunity to become comfortable with the inherent power of vocalization. “

  Om

  ” and “Ma” are supportive birth sounds.

• Use the muscles of your pelvic floor effectively - Squatting combined with a kegel like movement during pregnancy really can help your labor. The work that you have been doing during your pregnancy has toned the muscles of your pelvic floor and given you practice tightening and releasing them. You will want these muscles to work quickly and effectively when it comes time to push

Postpartum:

Postnatal yoga can generally be started 6 weeks after giving birth (longer if you have had a c-section.) It is important to check with your doctor before practicing any exercise or yoga after giving birth.

• Expands awareness and control of the pelvic floor muscles, skills which are especially helpful during labor and birth
• Improves tone and vascularization of the pelvic floor muscles
• Facilitates post partum strengthening exercises
• Promotes healing of episiotomies, perineal tears, and hemorrhoids
• Reduces likelihood for post partum urinary stress incontinence
• Strengthens abdominal muscles. Yoga helps to strengthen the abdominal muscles which help to re-tone the stomach after the stretching of carrying a baby.
• Yoga builds awareness and muscle in the pelvic floor. Some new mothers experience loss of bladder control and sexual pleasure after delivering a baby. Many yoga poses strengthen the muscles in the pelvic floor, and this makes recovery in that area after delivery much faster and easier.
• Total body work out. Yoga stretches and strengthens the body in all directions and areas. This helps to get the whole body back in shape more quickly after pregnancy and delivery.
• Restores & normalizes abdominal structures & facilitate healing - after Caesarian section
• To restore normal walking patterns