YOGA IS PERFECTLY SAFE DURING PREGNANCY. However, just like I said before, always consult your doctor before you start any form of exercise, be it yoga or any other. If you have been doing yoga or any other type of body therapy before pregnancy, you will find it easy to get accustomed to your new routine and your expanding belly. But, if you have never done yoga before, pregnancy is a good time to start prenatal yoga and reap the rich benefits of it.

Benefits of Yoga

The following are the benefits of yoga:

• It lowers your blood pressure
• It induces sound sleep
• It enhances digestion
• Through yoga, you strengthen your muscles and joints and releases the tension in them
• Your body becomes flexible
• Yoga improves blood circulation
• It helps to flush out the toxins from your body
• It decreases stress and anxiety to a great extent

Yoga teaches you techniques of breathing and relaxing in order to prepare for labor. Thus, through yoga, you can meet the mental and physical demands of your body that is headed towards motherhood.

Yoga Poses That You Should Not Do

Not all yoga asanas are recommended during pregnancy, as they may restrict the flow of blood to your baby. Hence, you should practice yoga with a certified instructor. A few poses that you SHOULD AVOID are those that emphasis on ABDOMINAL STRETCHING. They stretch your muscles too much and can be harmful to your baby.

As I mentioned earlier, your body produces relaxin hormone during pregnancy to loosen your joints and ligaments as a sort of preparation for labor. Hence, your body is more prone to injury during this time. You may not realize but you can stretch a bit too far while doing yoga and that may later be harmful. So, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY WHILE CARRYING OUT ANY POSE. Be gentle and moderate in your exercise to avert any injury. I said before and I am saying it again that, if you are not familiar with yoga, enroll for a prenatal yoga class or hire a certified instructor at home for it. He or she will teach you to improve your posture first, which is very important.

If you don't like to join a class, you can buy yoga DVDs, videos, and books. They teach yoga poses that are totally safe and explain their benefits too. However, the disadvantage of video or DVD is that there is nobody to guide you in person.

Yoga After Delivery

Once you perform yoga during pregnancy, you will want to continue after delivery too. Yoga is gentler than other forms of exercise, hence, is a perfect post delivery exercise. It will bring back your original shape faster than you expect.

Yoga interconnects your mind and body. Some even say that, through yoga, you can connect to your baby! So, don't sit and think. Act!