Getting a chance to nurture life is a pure blessing and women are one of the most blessed creatures on the planet. However, prenatal yoga and pelvic floor exercise for a strong foundation for the baby is recommended by professionals. While most females ignore this step and get pregnant, and later complain about bladder issues; the Yogymummy team is here to bring some helpful prenatal yoga and deep core pelvic floor exercise that women can follow in every trimester.
Your core plays a critical role during pregnancy. It’s a place that will be holding your baby inside the womb. So, if you are pregnant or planning to have a child, core strengthening must be your primary focus. Your core muscles are the foundation of your body movement, managing your center of gravity, taking care of your spine and pelvis, and making regular adjustments to sustain balance and dynamic movements.
The back muscles involve – transverse abdominis, oblique muscles, rectus abdominis, and erector spine and multifidus. The deepest abdominal muscle the transverse abdominis acts as a girdle of the internal organs. The obliques are tricky to rotate, bend, move, and stabilize the spine. The rectus abdominis lets the torso flex forward, stabilizes, and regulates the pelvis tilt. This muscle plays a critical role in labor, breathing, bladder, and bowel function. The erector spinal muscles and multifidus help stabilize the back and let it extend and make rotary moves.
During pregnancy, the body of a woman changes from the inside out. The core muscles shelter the shifting organs, placenta, uterus, and growing baby. The core muscles get stretched out to accommodate the baby. Any sudden breakdown in the core function can result in-
- Low back pain
- Vaginal heaviness
- Urinary incontinence, and
- Heavy pelvic floor
Prenatal Yoga Benefits
Women who practice yoga during pregnancy have been shown to be more alert, less irritated, and better at stress managing at the time of labor. Some studies have shown numerous benefits of prenatal yoga. A mother can experience shorter labor time, easiness, and better recovery post-delivery with prenatal yoga practice.
Here are some great prenatal yoga moves for every trimester –
- First Trimester Prenatal Yoga
The first trimester is easy to start the exercise as you can maintain your regular physical activity with its modifications if needed. The prime focus is to build strength and release muscle tension from your low back and hips.
Avoid –
- Intense backbends
- Major Twists
- Extreme forward bends
- Strong abdominal contractions
- Inversions (if your are a beginner)
- Hopping, jumping, or bouncing
- Hot Yoga
Yoga poses you can try in your first trimester :
Janu Sirsasana
Upavistha Konasana
Marjaryasana to Bitil asan
- Second Trimester Prenatal Yoga
In the second trimester, the body starts producing more relaxin (a hormone that is responsible to relax your tendons, muscles, and ligaments to prepare for labor). This is the time when the body gets more flexible and to avoid injury, avoid overstretching.
Avoid-
- Intense backbending
- Extreme forwardbending
- Forceful abdominal contractions
- Inversions
- Jumping, ropping
- Hot Yoga
- Lying on the back
Yoga poses you can try in your second trimester :
Baddha Konasan
Bal Asan
Trikon asan
- Third Trimester Prenatal Yoga
The body is making internal changes at the pace for a growing baby, and you may have started noticing difficulty in breathing. In the third trimester, it becomes difficult to move and that’s okay. You don’t have to stress about it and make gentle movements and take rest whenever you can.
Avoid –
- Intense backbending
- Extreme forward bending
- Inversions
- Hot Yoga
- Arm balance
- Shoulder balance
- Headstands
Yoga poses you can try in your third trimester :
Veerbhadra asan
Mal asan
Parsv savasan
Expert advice- stop your prenatal yoga or pelvic exercise if you experience bleeding or unusual vaginal discharge.
Avoid stress as much as you can. Read how to avoid stress in the pregnancy guide. Get prenatal yoga sessions from professionals to avoid any mishaps. Here, at Yogymummy, we are offering standard prenatal yoga and pelvic exercise sessions that can be customized accordingly. Let’s connect and build a healthy child together!