The Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

The three stages of pregnancy can cause much discomfort and many changes to the body.  Women are constantly looking for ways to ease this discomfort and one way is prenatal yoga.  Prenatal yoga is a great way to deal with discomfort and help relax the body.  The list of benefits of prenatal yoga is long and can result in the following:

• Reduced Stress
• Improved Sleep
• Increase in Strength
• Decrease in Nausea, Shortness of Breath, and Pain/Headaches

Prenatal yoga focuses on breathing patterns which will help calm your body and increase your blood circulation.  The stretching and strength building you will experience in a prenatal yoga class will ease pain, increase strength, and improve sleep patterns.  The benefits of prenatal yoga are causing a rise in popularity of the classes, but there are a few things you should know before attending a class.

A typical yoga class that does not focus on catering to pregnant women involves stretching and postures that can cause much stress to your body.  This is why there are specific prenatal yoga classes that will focus on doing exercises that are safe and beneficial to pregnant women.  Before attending a class, you should talk to your doctor about taking a class and you should also let the yoga instructor know which trimester you are in.  Prenatal yoga is safe during all trimesters, but there may be certain postures or stretches to avoid if you are in your third trimester.  If you do attend a regular yoga class, avoid hot yoga, postures on your back, stretching of the abdominals, and you should always stop if you feel any discomfort.

Prenatal yoga classes generally follow a similar routine.  You can expect to begin by focusing on breathing exercises.  After the breathing exercises are complete, you will do some gentle stretching to increase your flexibility.  The next exercises involve different postures which will help develop strength and balance.  The class will end with a cooldown which relaxes your muscles and calms your heart rate.  These classes will result with the benefits we mentioned before and you may even experience a healthier pregnancy.