1. Pre-natal Yoga Helps with Pregnancy and Childbirth
Pre-natal yoga is one of the more helpful things you can do for your pregnancy. The breathing techniques help you to relax which is an important skill to have during childbirth. You can even use some of the poses during childbirth to help you give birth to your baby. Pre-natal yoga is also low impact exercise, improves your circulation, may help prevent constipation and increases strength, balance and flexibility. Before taking a pre-natal yoga class, double-check with your care provider.
2. Practice Your Breathing
Most yoga sessions start with a breathing or Ujjayi session. Ujjayi breathing is easy once you master it, but mastering it can be harder than you'd think. With Ujjayi breathing you breathe in deeply through your nose making a slight sound. Breathing is then paused for as long as comfortable. Then you exhale loudly through your nose. Have your yoga instructor help you with your Ujjayi breathing if you're struggling with it. Breathing properly during yoga helps you with some of the more difficult positions.
3. Empty Your Mind
A part of getting ready to warm up for pre-natal yoga is emptying your mind and focusing your attention on your body. Yoga is a form of meditation. Yoga works the best if you've focused (most people focus on their breathing) and you're not thinking about all the things you have to do or being emotional about an issue. Learning how to focus your attention and tune out the chatter of your mind takes work. Try to start each pre-natal yoga session by emptying your mind, but acknowledge you'll need to continue to stop your mind from wandering all through the session.
4. Follow your Teacher's Instructions for Poses
Every yoga class, especially pre-natal yoga classes, start with stretching poses that help you warm-up for yoga. Since pregnant women can't take Bikram yoga or yoga that's done in hot rooms, starting with stretching poses is extremely important. These positions will include arm stretching, shoulder stretching and neck stretching exercises.
5. Start with Standing Poses
A standing pose is the best position to warm up or start with. Some instructors call this the mountain pose. With the mountain pose, you simply stand with your feet hip length apart, putting the weight onto your toes. Let your arms hang at your sides. This is a great position to rest in or regain your concentration in if another position becomes difficult or you're waiting for the rest of the class to finish a pose you can't do.
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