Yoga during pregnancy

Yoga during pregnancy

Yoga postures, together with breathing and relaxation techniques, provide the mother-to-be with physical flexibility and suppleness.

Breathing exercises aid relaxation and well-being and also enhance both mother and child with vitality and extra energy. They also bring about a relaxed attitude towards the actual birth experience for the mother.

Bridge Pose Setu Bandha (also known as Half Wheel)

Benefits: Strengthens the spine, opens the chest, improves spinal flexibility and stimulates the thyroid gland

Instructions:

• Lie on your back
• Bend your knees, bringing the soles of the feet parallel on the mat, close to the buttocks
• Lift your hips towards the ceiling
• Interlace the fingers behind the back and straighten the arms, pressing them down into the mat
• Roll one shoulder under and then the other
• Lift your hips higher
• Draw your chest towards the chin, but do not move the chin toward the chest
• Make sure the feet stay parallel
• Release your hands and bring down the upper, middle, and then lower back
• Rest. Allow your knees to knock together

For Beginners:

For a restorative variation, bring a block under the sacrum. Let your weight rest on the block. When coming down, keep your hands interlaced under the weight of your body for a shoulder opener.