Benefits of Prenatal yoga

by rebecca benenati

In yoga, we take time out to connect to our body, mind and breath so that we can tap into the vastness of our lives and have a chance to feel and reflect. In Prenatal Yoga you get to make the most of our 9 months by pausing to reflect and feel all the changes going on in your body, mind and even your breath. We want to feel prepared and yet in many ways we cannot prepare. The practice of prenatal yoga can help alleviate some of the pressure you feel allowing for a sense of freedom from needing to be fully prepared.

Transitioning to motherhood is the greatest transition a woman can go through. It is full of the most amounts of unknowns that you know you have to face. Practicing yoga can help you feel prepared mentally, physically and emotionally. This journey can be a conscious and mindful experience. While practicing prenatal yoga, you are making your pregnancy and baby’s home a sacred and calm place. As in all yoga practices, being on the mat is a time of making connection. Prenatal yoga allows you an opportunity to slow down from your busy life and connect to your body and how you are experiencing your pregnancy.

Why Prenatal Yoga?

Most doctors recommend prenatal yoga because it:

1. Helps reduce high blood pressure

2. Helps reduce stress

3. Helps reduce common pregnancy-related aches and pains such as wrists, forearms, hips and low back

4. Offers a support for an expectant woman by being around other women going through the same thing.  Some relationships if these relationships can carry on for a lifetime. 

5. Teaches meditation, breathing, and alignment practices that can help make labor and delivery more comfortable and familiar as many of the positions will show up naturally when labor begins.

6. Can help decrease swelling.