Try These Three Prenatal Yoga Poses For An Active Birth

Oct 10, 2016 | Uncategorized

These prenatal yoga poses will work wonders for your mind and body during pregnancy, as will practicing yoga on a regular basis, the techniques that we learn on the mat can help assist in having an active birth. It’s also an effective way to exercise during your entire pregnancy. It helps maintain flexibility, alleviates aches and pains, builds strength, reduces stress and anxiety, and importantly gives you bonding time with your baby. Striking a pose will help prepare you for birth and life as a new mum.

Pregnancy is nine-month journey- physically, mentally and emotionally. Preparing for pregnancy and birth is like training for the biggest event in your life. Labour alone is like running marathon. Some may be in labour for only a few hours and other’s an entire day. Pre-natal Yoga will keep you strong and flexible. Preparing you and bubs for an empowering active birth and delivery.

Fun issues like morning sickness, fatigue, shortness of breath, the need to go the bathroom six times a night can be exhausting. If you’re a new mum-to-be, yoga is one of the best ways to alleviate some of these symptoms. There are three trimesters. In each trimester there are specific poses that are beneficial for your body. These poses help to ease the niggling discomforts such as lower back pain, tight neck and shoulders, swollen ankles, varicose veins and trouble sleeping. Some days a certain pose may feel wonderful and other days not so good. Listen to your body, your baby and what it needs.

To have an active birth, the breath is the pivotal link between movement and the body. Yoga is all about the breath. During labour, when a woman can connect her breath and body, mum and baby move as one. Movement with breath connection allows a woman to enter into a hypnotic state, encouraging the natural transitions and release of hormones during labour, helping bubs move forward to birth.

This sequence will help prepare you for an active birth:

 

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Cat/Cow (Marjaryasana)
Come onto your hands and knees make sure your hands are directly under the shoulders and rock your pelvis back and forth. On the the inhalation spine lengthens out, head is lifted and gaze is between your eyebrows. On the exhalation press hands into your mat and round your back tucking your tailbone under.
This is a pose that should be done every day. Cat Cow can help turn your baby in labour into a position which more comfortable for you an more conducive for your baby to be birthed.
If your baby is an uncomfortable position, rocking of the pelvis will help turn your baby into a position which is more comfortable for you.
This is a wonderful birthing position particularly if you are suffering any tailbone issues.

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Childs Pose (Balasana)
Knees wide apart, sit down on your hips and stretch arms out in for with forehead on the ground. In third trimester a pillow can be placed under your forehead.
This pose is a wonderful resting pose and pelvic opener. This can be done during anytime of your pregnancy. This pose may or may not feel good during labour because of pressure on the perineum. We recommend Childs pose in between contractions as a resting position alternating with cat/cow.

 

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Triangle (Trikonasana)
The triangle is on the of the poses that typically feels very good in pregnancy. It helps relieve back pain which is a common discomfort during pregnancy. It also aids digestion which is a great stress reliever and strengthens the spine, calves, hamstrings, hips, chest and pain.

To come into the pose find a wide stance with your legs. Turn your front leg straight and the back foot parallel with the back of your mat, front heel is inline with the back arch of your foot. From here reach forward with a straight front leg and begin to reach your front arm down towards the front foot and the back arm up to the sky. You can always use a block under the front hand for more support.

Want more? Check out our online pre-natal yoga classes!