Down Dogs During Pregnancy? Prenatal Yoga's Benefits
Have you wondered the difference in practice between 'regular' and prenatal yoga? We reached out to a popular local Prenatal instructor from Whole Yoga and Pilates in Odenton, MD, Vanessa Young-Miller, to explain!
Prenatal yoga benefits both the whole woman and her baby by allowing the nervous system a break from everyday stresses and the added work of growing a human being. Based on the trimester and advancement of pregnancy, women should avoid certain yoga poses to allow for optimal fetal position and prepare the body for labor and birth; other poses can relieve common aches and pains from a growing womb and a hormonal cocktail that includes relaxin.
“Yoga practice may moderate stress responses at the physiological level, which would likely impact both maternal and fetal outcomes . . .well-being and other physiological attributes, as well as increasing the ability to cope with pregnancy-related physical discomforts and labor pain.”
—The Principles and Practice of Yoga in Health Careedited by Khalsa, Cohen, McCall, and Telles.
Yoga asanas—the physical portion of the practice—can help prepare for the hard work of labor, birth, and the postpartum period. Holding poses for longer durations can build the strength and mental stamina to practice what breathing and mentally letting go through a contraction may be like. The meditative component of yoga offers practice acknowledging the mind’s ability to work followed by quieting to become present—another great skill for childbirth. Finally, pranayama (breathwork) offers a variety of techniques for focusing on respirations to work with contractions, as well as generally keeping stress levels down during pregnancy and the challenges of early motherhood. (Pranayama works wonders for soothing babies to sleep, too!)
Research is beginning to formally confirm what we’ve long suspected—that yoga practice during pregnancy may ease childbirth by decreasing pain, labor time, and Cesarean rate.
The series I offer at Whole Yoga & Pilates combines yoga practice with the benefits found through additional wellness approaches—acupuncture, chiropractic, and an understanding of pelvic health and anatomy—to create a deeper awareness of the changes happening in the body during pregnancy and early postpartum. Wellness options like these can be a powerful complement to your already-amazing connection to your baby and your body’s tremendous strength.
Vanessa Young-Miller is a registered yoga teacher, prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher, doula-in-training, self-proclaimed birth nerd, and mama to two happy little ones who are her greatest teachers in this life.
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