International Yoga Day 2019: Benefits of Prenatal Yoga for Expectant Mothers

International Yoga Day 2019 | Pregnancy can be a strenuous time for expectant mothers. The woman's body undergoes a sea of change as a new life breathes inside her womb and while it may be miraculous, it creates a lot of mental and physical stress for her.

One way of maintaining a healthy mind and body is prenatal yoga. Prenatal yoga focuses on various asanas for pregnant woman which increases their strength and flexibility and at the same time help women develop proper breathing and relaxation techniques for easier and comfortable labour.

Speaking about the benefits of yoga for pregnant women, Sarvesh Shashi, CEO and Co-Founder of SARVA, a yoga and wellness startup backed by the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Malaika Arora and Shahid Kapoor said, "Prenatal yoga helps in handling chronic pain during pregnancy, it prepares the body for comfortable labour, and also helps revive the body after pregnancy through post-natal yoga."

Shashi recommends that both prenatal and post-natal yoga should be practised under the supervision of trained professionals.

Here are the benefits of prenatal yoga:

Prenatal yoga tones the physical body, especially the pelvic floor, hip, and abdominal core muscles, in preparation for the birthing process.

Yoga poses like lunges and gentle backbends can help reduce aches and pains and are key in bringing the body back to a toned condition after delivery.

Through yogic breathing, there is an increase in the oxygen level in the body, which develops the coordination of breath with the contraction of muscles required for natural labour and to avoid caesarean delivery.

Prenatal yoga may be the cure for pregnancy discomforts such as lower back pain, nausea, insomnia, headaches, shortness of breath, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Furthermore, prenatal yoga helps in improved sleep, reduces stress decreases nausea and lowers risk of intrauterine growth restriction.

Finally, prenatal yoga prepares the mind and body of the mother during pregnancy. That helps her fully experience this beautiful journey.