Prenatal Yoga

Discovering yoga during pregnancy -- as your body changes and new life grows within you -- can be a wonderful experience. This ancient practice teaches you how to bring the mind and body into balance, which can help ground you during this time of change.

Yoga designed specifically for pregnant women offers a wonderful way to keep your body in peak shape as you get closer to labor while also serving as a foundation to begin yoga soon after you give birth.

Here are some of the rewards:

* The stretching and strengthening of your muscles will help to lessen the aches and pains due to added weight and your shifting center of gravity.

* The strength building and added flexibility, obtained by holding various yoga postures, tones muscles, improves posture, and helps you to maintain a sense of control as your body changes.

* Yoga helps to relieve stress and tension by training your body to relax, which can be very helpful during labor.

* The focus on breathing, an integral part of yoga, is both energizing and relaxing and can be applied in many different contexts, from simple stress management to breathing during child birth.

Whether you have practiced yoga previously or are new to it, now that you're pregnant, check with your doctor first before starting, just as you would with any exercise routine.

While the movements of yoga are safe, whenever you exercise or stretch, there is always the risk of overdoing it, so it is important to listen to your body. If a move is too difficult or if there is the slightest bit of pain in any stretch, stop! A gentle approach over time yields the best results.

Many women, with their doctor's approval, are ready to continue their yoga practice soon after giving birth. Yoga can help with getting your body back to "normal," and also enable you to better cope with the demands of a new baby.

YOGA IN LABOR

If you have been taking Yoga or Prenatal Yoga classes throughout your pregnancy, you will be armed with many skills to help you give birth. Several postures, or asanas, can be used in various stages of labor.

A woman may find that sitting in the Meditation Pose helps her to focus on her breathing in early labor, or doing the Cat Posture helps to ease the pain of back labor.

The way you learned to listen to and work with your body and breath, and with gravity, as well as your improved ability to focus, will all combine to help you cope more confidently with the demands during labor.

Because Yoga promotes flexibility and strength, it will also help you to move more naturally and with greater ease during contractions. This, in turn, will help your labor progress more smoothly and make it less tiring.