YOGA IN PREGNANCY

Yoga in pregnancy is a great way to stay active and is healthy for you and your baby. Yoga classes in pregnancy use relaxation and breathing techniques with postures that are adapted for pregnancy.
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Yoga has been shown to reduce anxiety and to help women stay calm in pregnancy and labour. It can also improve your sleep. Many of the breathing techniques you use in yoga can help you get ready for giving birth.
If you use them during your labour they will help you stay calm and breathe steadily through your contractions. Doing yoga during pregnancy may even mean you need less pain relief during your baby’s birth.
 

A study looking at the effect of yoga on pregnancies with high-risk complications has indicated that yoga can have a positive effect on the pregnancy and on the health of the baby.
 

​If you’re new to yoga, look for a class that is specific for pregnant women. If you’ve been doing yoga for a while, tell your yoga teacher you are pregnant – they may be trained to show you how to adapt your postures. Focus on improving your yoga technique while you’re pregnant – this is not the time to try new and advanced postures.
As you move into the middle months of pregnancy and your baby grows, your centre of gravity will shift because your bump is getting bigger. This means you’re more likely to lose your balance, so take care and move slowly when practising yoga. For standing postures, use support if you need to – a wall or a chair, for instance.
There are many styles of yoga and if you choose to start practising yoga in pregnancy you are likely to be directed to the more gentle, slower paced styles such as hatha. Avoid yoga that takes place in heated rooms, such as Bikram – you could overheat.