Yoga for Pregnant Woman

If you eat ghee and butter, you become fat, but in yoga the more ghee and butter you take, the thinner you become. Yoga is a course of related exercises and postures intended to promote control of the body and mind and to attain physical and spiritual well being. Yoga's preserving effect of body is so profound that daily yogic routine can make a huge difference to one's ageing process. In case of time constraints you should try and practice Maha Bandha and Vipareeta Karani Mudra daily.

Critical importance of Yoga during pregnancy-


Yoga and your baby!

A smooth pregnancy and near-painless delivery just about begin to describe the benefits of yoga. Having a healthy baby is every woman's primary concern, and yoga begins working its magic when baby is only a foetus. Obviously, the benefits only multiply as the months advance. An expecting mother who practices yoga has already started making constructive contributions to her baby's physical and mental development. The philosophy of yoga enables you to accept all the discomforts associated with pregnancy and deliver gracefully and without any fuss. During pregnancy, you can do all exercises except ones that require you to lie on your stomach. But it's best to tread safe. Don't ever start yoga ( or any other exercise regimen), unless you get a green signal from your obgyn. Also, never do yoga sans supervision.

Five steps to Fitness

Yoga advocates a five step approach to pregnancy. When you practice all five together, your mind and body start working in sync and you soon learn to enjoy your pregnancy, unfettered by worries and health problems.

Breathing exercises or Pranayam

Yoga has some powerful breathing techniques, which will ensure that your baby receives an abundant supply of oxygen and a better life force. Breathing exercises also increases your fitness levels and prepare your body for childbirth. Pranayam increases the amount of oxygen that enters your body and hence your baby's. Deep breathing enables a woman to cope with the process of delivery, even breast feed her baby correctly, and overall, be a fit and happy mom. It also helps to cope with labour pain. Contractions deprive the baby of oxygen temporarily, but by simply breathing right during delivery, a woman can saturate the uterus with oxygen, which will immensely benefit the baby."

Exercises

Yoga exercises gently strengthen your reproductive organs, and pelvis which helps in preparing for a relatively easy childbirth. "Yoga exercises will definitely help an expectant mother to have smooth labour, provided everything else is okay. If you have a normal delivery, you can restart yoga after two weeks, but if you have a C-section, you can resume practicing it only after six weeks. Practicising yoga post partum helps prevent post pregnancy backaches and tones the pelvic muscles.

Random Fact: Madonna's Fitness Mantra -

. Practice ashtanga yoga for four days a week.

. Goes for a twice-weekly pilates session. Gets hooked to Gyrotonics machine, which helps to strengthen and stretch the muscles.

. For burning calories, runs with her minders and cycles around town, which keeps her bottom and thighs trim.

. Uses a Stairmaster and a powerplate.