Antenatal Yoga

Antenatal yoga, otherwise known as prenatal yoga, is a great way for an expecting mother to be able to relax, and alleviate some back pain that they may incur.  The overall idea of Yoga is to bring a sense of balance, relaxation, and stretching to your life.  When your new belly can keep you unbalanced, when getting ready for the baby can make you stressed, and when you're struggling with various pains because of the extra weight you are now carrying, having something like yoga can definitely help you to be able to alleviate those issues, and enjoy your pregnancy even more.

I am going to introduce to you some of the antenatal yoga poses that you can do that will not harm the baby, and teach you a little bit more about it all.

Yoga can be a pretty spiritual practice, depending on who is teaching it and who is leading it.  Some teachers focus more on the fitness/exercise of it, and some of those who teach will focus more on the spiritual relaxation and meditation side of yoga.  Whatever the case is, you definitely want to find one that fits your beliefs and mindset regarding yoga.

Some people are not much into the spirituality, but love the benefits they are able to get, by being able to stretch more, feel more limber especially as the pregnancy progresses.  They also love the different poses that can give them relief from the pain that they feel all day.

On the other hand, some women love to be able to meditate and focus on the creation in their own bodies that is happening.  This intense connection may be too spiritual for some, but it is fantastic for others who are want to feel more in tune with their bodies and what is happening inside of them.

Here are some of the prenatal / antenatal yoga poses that you can do to help you out:

• Squatting Pose - This is a great exercise that can help to stretch out your hips, open up your pelvis, and give your strength in your core and upper legs, all of which can help to relieve some pain during pregnancy, as well as help your labor to be a bit easier. Here is how to do it.  First you'll use either a chair or your partner (yes, partners can be very helpful when it comes to prenatal yoga).  Hold onto your support, and open your feet a little bit wider than your hips are, and then point your toes to the outside.  Then, you'll want to make to sure allow your shoulders to relax, and tighten your ab muscles.  Then, lower your putt towards the flood like you're going to take a seat.  Put your weight onto the heels of your feet.  Inhale while squatting, then slowly exhale as you stand back up.  Repeat this exercise as many times as you can.
• Cat-Cow Pose - Many pregnant women suffer from back pain, so this is a great antenatal yoga pose to help to give you some natural stretching and relief for your back.  it is also great to help strengthen your abs, which will help you to be able to return to your pre-pregnancy weight.  Here is how to do cat-cow:  Put yourself on your hands and knees (on all fours) and you'll put to make sure that your arms are spread apart as wide as your shoulders and your legs as wide as your hips.  Keep your arms straightened but make sure to not lock up your elbows (this prevents proper circulation).  keep your booty tucked, and keep your back arched and breath in slowly.  Then, relax to your starting position, making sure to slowly exhale as you do that.
• Relaxation Pose -  This is fantastic for getting rid of that back pain, and it also helps to open up your hips and provide some relief there.  Take your yoga pillow (or any other similar pillow) and put it on the ground behind you.  Then slowly lower your body onto the pillow, allowing your head to rest at the top of the pillow.  Then slowly stretch your body out, remember to breath in and out slowly.
  

If those 3 moves above aren't enough, then I would definitely recommend getting one or a few of the pregnancy yoga DVDs that they have available.  Here are some of my favorites that I recommend:

I hope this hub has been really useful for you to be able to learn more about antenatal yoga poses and other things that go along with doing yoga while pregnant.  Good luck on your back pain, enjoy the stretches, and soon enough you'll have a baby of your own and in a year or two, you'll be able to do toddler yoga with your child!