In one of my articles, we got to know how beneficial it is to follow yoga during pregnancy. In this article, I will tell you which prenatal yoga poses should be done to get fit during pregnancy and a good post-delivery recovery. Let’s dive right into it!
Exercises & Yoga Poses To Do During Pregnancy
Before you begin, start with breathing. Close your eyes and breath in through the nose and breath out through the mouth continue for 3-5 minutes.
- Sit comfortably, with your knees bent and your shoulders, head and neck relaxed.
- Place one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your rib cage. This will allow you to feel your diaphragm move as you breathe.
- As you breathe in and out, feel your hand over the diaphragm move out and in.
1. Cat and Camel
- Begin on your hands and knees, knees under hips, hands under shoulders
- Round your back up towards the ceiling, drop your head slightly, tuck in your buttocks
- Come back to neutral position
- Let your belly lower towards the floor, creating an arch in your back
- Keep your head up slightly, with your eyes looking straight ahead
- Alternate between poses
Make it easier: For painful knees, fold a towel or blanket under the knees. For painful wrists, place fists instead of palms on the floor.
2. Butterfly Pose
- Keep the spinal chord and the neck straight
- Breathe natural and easy
- Bend both the knees
- Bring the soles of the feet together and place them up to the crotch area
- Grasp both the paws with your hands firmly
- Do not allow the heel to be raised
- Keep the torso above waist including keeping the neck straight
- Place the elbows on the thighs
- Inhale deep and press both the thighs downward with the elbows effortlessly
- Remove your hands from thighs and try to raise the knees without any support; exhale breath
3. Kegel’s Exercises
It is done to tone up pelvic floor muscle. It can be done in any position sitting standing and lying down – whatever’s comfortable for you. Contract your pelvic floor muscles as you would to stop urine flow for 5 seconds and then relax the muscles for 3 seconds. This muscle fatigues quickly, so do only 5-10 repetitions at a time. Do not hold your breath and breathe normally while doing this. Repeat a set of 10 at least twice a day.
4. Goddess Pose
- Step your right foot a stride length towards the back of your mat. Turn your toes out and your heels in, so your feet land on a 45-degree angle
- Bend your knees deeply out the sides and sink your hips down to the height of your knees
- Bring your arms out to shoulder height and bend your elbows so that your fingertips point skyward. Spread your fingertips wide apart from one another and activate the muscles across your back to hold your arms here
- Engage your core muscles and draw your tailbone in the direction of the floor. Do not hunch forward with your shoulders; keep your spine long and your muscles engaged
- Stay here for 30 seconds to one minute
5. Warrior Pose
- Stand with both your feet roughly three feet apart
- Place the right foot in front of the left foot
- Hold your arms out to the side with your palms down and arms extended and straight
- Turn your left foot out to the side and your right foot in
- Lunge forward gently, bending your left knee as you keep your right leg straight
- Hold the pose as your legs stretch
- Return to the original position then switches legs.
6. Walking
Walking is a great way to become physically fit. If you have not been a fit person, then start with slow walks that are less strenuous to the body. Expecting women can start with slow walks for a cardiovascular workout. Walking for a few minutes every day is safe and easy. 30 minutes of walking, three days a week is a good routine. For best results, club it with 30 minutes of your favorite exercise.
If this article helped you, let us know your thoughts in the comments below. You can find more articles on women’s care here. To keep a track of your pregnancy, you can also download the GOQii App and access the Women’s Care Feature.
For more tips on how to manage your health during pregnancy, reach out to your GOQii Coach by subscribing for personalized coaching here.
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Tadasana is a basic asana for various standing yoga poses! It is excellent for improving posture, maintaining the curvature of your back and strengthening the hips and thigh muscles.
Widely known as the warrior pose, Virabhadrasana strengthens the knees, thigh muscles, opens the hips and chest as well as stretches the back and leg muscles.
As the name suggests, it’s a triangle posture which stretches the spine, opens up the chest and shoulder as well as reduces tension on the hip and thigh muscles. It helps in improving physical and mental equilibrium.
One of the best asanas to improve spinal health. It provides excellent compression and extension to the nerves and muscles supporting the back, increases elasticity of the spine, tones the spinal nerves and reduces the stiffness in the spinal muscles.
Salabhasana prepares beginners for a deeper backbend, strengthening the muscles of the entire torso from the nape of the neck, spine, chest, and legs to the back of the heels. It is a part of Hatha Yoga which stimulates the functioning of abdominal organs and relieves stress.
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3. Uttanasana helps relax the muscles and eases the mind. It lowers high blood pressure and ensures that your heart remains healthy!
5. Trikonasana or Triangular Pose relaxes the mind and calms down anxiety levels. This pose also opens and strengthens the chest area, and improves the digestive system.
6. Shavasana is another ideal asana for heart patients. This asana helps in repairing cells and tissues. It reduces blood pressure and assists in developing a better balance of the air element in the body.
7. Bhujangasana or The Cobra Pose is good for heart patients as it expands the chest area and relaxes muscles. As a result, blood circulation gets better and the heart feels reinvigorated.
