Up until the time that I was pregnant I wasn’t necessarily committed to exercise. I did it, but not religiously and when I did I really pushed myself. If I’m being honest here I was the type of person that hit the gym HARD after an all out food binge or feelings of guilt for being away for too long. Needless to say I was a high intensity, hard core cardio girl!
I had plenty of friends even before pregnancy that were big time into yoga. I can say that I maybe tried it once or twice but never really got it. Looking back I don’t think that I was necessarily taking the right classes for where I was at in my life. I also don’t think that I went into it with an open mind. Along came pregnancy and with it my entire mindset changed.
I almost instantly recognized that yoga could be a perfect workout to help me through this wonderful and yet sometimes challenging next nine months. My hunch was right for when I looked into it; I found that this was where I needed to focus my exercise energy. Not only would this help me to keep from gaining crazy amounts of weight, but it also had some pretty cool health benefits that cemented my decision to try it out.
It Will Seriously Help You to Chill Out
If you’re anything like me you probably thought that pregnancy would be all about joy, anticipation, and so much excitement. Yes you are going to feel those things but you are also going to experience a rollercoaster of emotions. I found that I faced a whole new set of things that stressed me out—fortunately yoga was there to help me.
The great thing about yoga is that it helps you to get focused and to really concentrate on yourself. Having this break from reality really helped me to relax and chill out. This in turn allowed me to step away from the stress or anxiety in my life and come back with a much clearer head. I also found that I felt so strong when I performed the various poses. Amongst my favorites was warrior pose http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/yoga-and-health/yoga-for-pregnancy.asp which not only helped to chill me out, but also made me feel like a strong pregnant goddess—who wouldn’t love that?
Not only did I feel relaxed while I was performing prenatal yoga, but I felt the positive impact afterwards as well. Whatever caused me stress was so much easier to deal with after a wonderful yoga session. So while I may have felt stressed about picking furniture for the baby’s room or anxious about the notion of becoming a mother for the first time, the yoga really helped to chill me out and feel balanced.
It Will Create a Much Healthier Pregnancy
The health benefits were far beyond my comprehension at first. Again you just assume that your belly will grow and that perhaps you will feel a bit of discomfort along the way, right? Well who knew that you would also have to worry about high blood pressure, improper digestion, and insomnia? I found these out the hard way but again found that yoga was my savior in all of this.
Some of the most common pregnancy symptoms or health conditions can be greatly alleviated by yoga. Not only did it help me to keep my blood pressure to a normal level which was starting to become an issue, but it helped with so many other things. I didn’t have the indigestion that first started when I started performing yoga regularly. I also found that I got a much better night of sleep. I attribute all of this to my constant state of relaxation and ability to decompress, but suffice it to say that all of this made for a much healthier and enjoyable pregnancy. Good for me and for the baby!
It Will Truly Prepare You for Delivery and Recovery
Many of us are pretty short sighted when it comes to our pregnancy. We are so focused on all of the changes in our body and this baby growing inside of us, that we may not think much about the future beyond that. It can be quite helpful to think of the delivery process even if it intimidates you and I started to really put some thought into it myself.
I learned early on that performing prenatal yoga throughout my pregnancy could help my body to properly prepare for labor and delivery. I also learned that yoga could help to ease the pain and make me more prepared to handle the process, such as being able to focus and handle the deep breathing. When I learned that yoga could also help me to have a smoother recovery, I was absolutely convinced that this was for me!
Yoga not only calms the body and the mind, but helps to prepare it for these pivotal final steps. I was able to really stay focused and calm during labor and my delivery was really smooth. I recovered much faster as the yoga helped to strengthen my joints and muscles. I was also able to take the weight off faster and that was amazing!
It Will Just Make You a Much Happier Person in General
When you are healthy you are happy! Through yoga I could manage my pregnancy symptoms much better. The nausea went away faster, the back pain became less of an issue, and I just felt healthy and balanced. I not only enjoyed the benefits during pregnancy but I think it made for a calmer delivery process and even a happier baby in general.
I highly recommend yoga to all of my pregnant friends. Even if you have never tried it before, consider taking a prenatal yoga class and see how much better you feel. If I can go from being a hard core cardio girl to a full fledged “yogi”, then you can jump on board and enjoy the benefits too!



