Big belly, heavy breasts, higher breathing… During pregnancy, adjusted yoga can give your body the necessary strength, openness and relaxation.
Pregnancy is a natural process. But as natural as it may be, sometimes you can be overcome by fatigue and the pregnancy hormones play up. One of those hormones is also responsible for weakening the ligaments around your joints to create more space for the baby and prepare for delivery.
Not just around the pelvis, but all over your body, whether or not you're an experienced yogini, you'll feel some of this suppleness. prenatal yoga is a good way to keep moving well into your pregnancy, although you will have to adapt many exercises to your changing body. It is precisely this extra flexibility that, for example, entails the danger of overstretching.
A prenatal yoga course can help you prepare for childbirth and relax during pregnancy. But you can also do yoga and breathing exercises at home that help you relax, or strengthen and vitalize them.
Create a place where you can perform the exercises and rest. For example, yoga can support you in finding balance in a period full of major changes.
Shoulder Stretch prenatal yoga
Give your body strength, openness and relaxation during pregnancy. As your belly gets bigger, you'll be more likely to wrap your arms around it for protection. At the same time, you unconsciously arch your shoulders and back around it. Your breasts are getting heavier, that weight also requires something from your shoulders. This exercise opens the shoulders and strengthens the pectoral muscle.
1. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and toes pointing forward. Take a step forward with one foot. Make sure the feet are firmly on the floor and aim for the crown.
2. Raise your arms in front on an inhale and lower your arms sideways behind your back on an exhale.
3. Interlace the fingers behind the back. Now on an inhale, roll your shoulders back, keep your arms long, slowly raise them up and gently push your chest forward. Keep your tailbone pointed toward the floor so your back doesn't arch.
4. Repeat a few times, focusing on your breath. Then switch feet and repeat the exercise.
Cat prenatal yoga
Give your body strength, openness and relaxation during pregnancy and take the tension out of your lower back.
1. Get on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Your back is flat.
2. On the exhale, round your back, pull your lower abdomen towards your spine and look inward with your head. Spine is round from your tailbone. Exhale completely. On the inhale, relax the abdomen, flatten the back and relax the pelvis and open your sit bones. Repeat a few times. Feel good for yourself what your possibility is in this exercise.
4. Finally, move your pelvis from side to side, as if you were wagging your tail in slow motion.
Warrior II prenatal yoga
In the warrior and triangle, you make the bottom of the body strong, while the top is allowed to open and stretch. You can perform these poses in a modified version when you are pregnant. If you have a lot of problems with your pelvic ligaments, use a chair as support, they will not be loaded.
1. Stand with your feet wide apart. Turn your right leg out to the right and place your right foot to the right under your knee on the floor.
2. Extend your other leg and place your left foot firmly on the floor.
3. Stretch your arms up past your ears and then open them out to the side at shoulder height, while also rolling your shoulders wide open. Look down your right arm and keep your gaze fixed on one point.
4. Breathe in and out a few times while tightening your left leg. Then continue in curved triangle.
5. Repeat the exercise to the left. With this asana, keep the straight leg strong, so you remain stable.
Curved Triangle prenatal yoga
Give your body strength, openness and relaxation during pregnancy.
1. Place your right elbow on your right knee and stretch your left arm over your ears. Keep your chest wide open to create space here and do not 'sink' into your shoulders.
2. Also in this exercise: keep the straight leg strong.
3. Breathe in slowly, keeping your pelvis pointing forward. On an inhale, come up pointed and switch to the other side.
Breast opener during pregnancy
This exercise widens the upper back and chest so you get 'air'.
1. Get on your hands and knees. Your hands are under your shoulders, your knees under your hips.
2. Slide your left arm under your right arm across the floor until your shoulder touches the floor.
3. Now stretch the right arm in front of you across the floor and open the chest a little more through the stretched arm
to move backwards. Breathe in slowly.
4. Repeat the exercise to the right.
Reclining Butterfly prenatal yoga
This pose is relaxing and helps your breath towards your groin and pelvic floor. This literally gives you breathing room when you tend to breathe higher because of your big belly. In addition, a calm, controlled breath gives you something to hold on to during labour.
1. Lie on your back, if you want a pillow to the left and right of you, and pull your knees up and feet together.
2. On an inhale, lower your knees out until they rest on the cushions and exhale, raise the knees back up, 3x. Then keep the soles of your feet together. Your shoulders are well against the floor. Briefly press your lower back against the floor and then allow him to return to his natural position, so slightly off the floor.
3. Put your hands on your groin. Breathe into your hands.
4. Breathe through this a few times. Then rest your hands on the floor.
Prayer Squats prenatal yoga
Give your body strength, openness and relaxation during pregnancy.
1. Stand with feet turned slightly open, slightly wider than hip-width apart. Raise your arms to the side and bend your knees on an exhale. Buttocks back and lower back slightly rounded.
2. Imagine that you want to sit down.
3. Place the hands on the floor in front of you. Lower the pelvis further down towards the floor.
4. Now bring the upper arms to the inside of the knees, with the hands in front of the chest in prayer position. Place your elbows on the inside of the knees, with your crown pointing towards the ceiling. Inhale and gently push your hands down to open your chest more and straighten your back. Coming back out of breath.