Yoga Teacher Training Forum

Prenatal Yoga, Postnatal Yoga and Childbirth
By Anthony Chiladakis

Yoga is the perfect activity for pregnant women to engage in. It not only helps prepare you for labor and childbirth, it also allows you to connect with your baby through meditation. Attending Yoga classes together with several sessions of Childbirth Education Classes can greatly help a woman prepare for childbirth.Yoga for pregnant women includes meditation and breathing and movement exercises that help relax your mind and strengthen your muscles to make it easier for you to support your baby during labor and pregnancy. It is essentially the traditional physical and mental disciplines that help people improve the overall wellbeing of both mind and body.Yoga poses or asanas involve a combination of breathing techniques that focus on certain parts of the body. Yoga for pregnant women involves asanas that help open the muscles of the pelvis to prepare you for giving birth. These exercises help reduce pressure on ligaments and ease lower back pain. Yoga also helps in improving flexibility, stamina and strength by helping the entire body to relax even in times of strenuous activities. This is found to be the most effective way of preparing women for painful childbirth.By helping the mind and body concentrate and relax, Yoga for pregnant women helps ease the tension that is associated with childbirth. It becomes easier for women to go into labor with the knowledge that they are prepared for it. It is a proven fact that women who take Yoga and Childbirth Education months before giving birth enjoy the experience of giving birth whereas those who come to the delivery room unprepared often experience the most stress and pain.Yoga not only benefits the mother, it also has positive benefits for the baby because during Yoga exercises, the baby receives higher levels of oxygen and endorphins. Yoga for pregnant woman helps improve circulation and fluid retention in the body. Asanas also help in relieving the aches and pains of pregnancy as a result of the growing weight of your baby. The best thing about Yoga is that each exercise can be tailor made to suit your needs. You can choose asanas that you are most comfortable with and you can ask your Yoga instructor to focus on specific problem areas in your body where you feel the most pain. Since Yoga helps you keep in close contact with your inner well being, it makes it easier to understand what your body goes through during the entire pregnancy.