Article by Carole Frost B.Sc (Hon’s)

The benefits of practicing pre and post-natal yoga are very well documented and include:-

 

  • mental preparation for birth
  • getting through pregnancy with minimal discomfort
  • learn conscious use of breath to manage pain and anxiety in labour
  • help with birth and post-delivery stages
  • mums appear healthier in both mind and body
  • bodies become more flexible to adapt to positions of labour
  • more elastic ligaments can help reduce labour pain
  • improvement in posture and ease back problems
  • prepare for birth through greater breath and body awareness

Post-natal yoga can help strengthen abdominals and the pelvic floor and assist in regaining a woman’s pre-pregnancy shape faster, in addition to help cope with the new demands of mother-hood.

The underpinning framework of yoga divides a human being into 5 layers, each of which must be attended to, such that the body and mind remain free from dis-ease. Each of these layers can very effectively and specifically be nourished through making suitable adaptations of poses for the pregnant body, and by selecting suitable and safe yogic breathing techniques.

These five layers and how yoga can help are:-

  • physical body – pregnancy causes increased suppleness in joints as well as aches and pains. Yoga poses can help increase comfort and bring stability to the pregnant body
  • energy levels/body – these can swing wildly during pregnancy. A well taught practice of breathing techniques can help bring this into balance
  • mental / emotional being – from extreme happiness through to anxiety and fear are the spectrum of emotions pregnancy can bring. Many yoga techniques can help bring emotional balance on a mental and physical level. These benefits can serve a new mother during labour and when facing the demands of caring for a newborn.
  • inner intuition or insight – reconnecting with our own intuitive sense of wisdom can be vital when faced with the huge amount of information and advice (often unwanted or sought) pregnant women often face. Connecting with our inherent sense of what is ‘right for us’, and also what is happening within the pregnant body and mind can prove a real safe place to rest.
  • Happy/joyful layer/what brings happiness into our lives – central to the idea of yoga is that of happiness and joy in our lives. Leading the pregnant body through a series of poses and breathing practices that connects us to this sense of inner harmony is one that benefits the long-term health of mum and baby.

Hatha yoga is the system of yoga that uses the body, through poses or asanas, to help us calm our minds and give us ‘down time’ from the 24/7 world we live in. Yoga is predominantly a practice for the mind, although this aim is often lost in many classes in favour of focusing on the sheer physicality of the pose. Owing to the growing bump in pregnancy, attaining the ‘perfect pose’ must therefore take a back seat since many need modification by a Yoga in Pregnancy qualified teacher to make them safe, attainable and comfortable. However, this need to modify the pose to a less than classically perfect form – with less emphasis on physical perfection, returns us to the original goal of yoga – using the body to steady the mind.  So in some ways being pregnant can put women on a ‘fast-track’ to the ultimate goal of yoga, peace of mind and comfort in their body.

Many of the original poses of Hatha yoga will need to be modified and adapted for the varying needs of the 3 trimesters of pregnancy. These together with the vast array of breathing techniques in yoga are also accessible to a mum-to-be when taught by a suitably qualified teacher.

Yoga also offers remedies and practices for the following common occurrences of pregnancy: –

  • Anxiety
  • Breech baby
  • Carpel tunnel syndrome
  • Haemorrhoids (piles)
  • High/low blood pressure
  • Insomnia
  • Lower back pain
  • Oedema
  • Pelvic girdle pain

Yoga offers a rich and diverse tool-box for the qualified Pregnancy in yoga teacher to design and offer hugely beneficial classes for the mum-to-be.

Enrol now for our Yoga pregnancy instructor training.  Enhance your potential to teach pre and post natal clients and classes.