7 Yoga Poses for Pregnant Women

You may not think about working out when you’re pregnant, but it can be an excellent way to promote a healthy pregnancy. Not only can you help yourself feel your best throughout the actual pregnancy, but you can also help your body get back to normal faster after the baby is born. One type of exercise that more and more pregnant women love is yoga, and there’s good reason for that. This is gentle enough that most pregnant women can utilize it, but yet effective enough to get results. You want to be sure that you focus on the best yoga poses for pregnant women specifically though to get the most out of this type of workout.

Things are a bit different during pregnancy as you are not working out to try to burn calories or lose weight. You are working out to try to protect your body and to help your labor and delivery. The better shape you are in during pregnancy, the less that the sometimes troubling side effects will bother you. Not only that but if you are fit and in shape during pregnancy then you can actually make it through the labor and delivery process with greater ease as well. You will feel better, look better, contribute to better health for you and your baby, and you can also relax and help relieve stress. There are so many wonderful benefits to exercising during pregnancy, and yoga is an excellent way to do so.

You always want to be safe and ensure that you don’t push yourself too much. You also don’t want to do poses that can be potentially harmful during pregnancy, for either you or your baby. That being said, you will find that these are the best yoga poses for pregnant women that give you everything that you want safely and effectively.

Triangle Pose: It’s simple and to the point as you just bend over on one side and then reach your arm out so that you are in the form of a triangle. This gives a great stretch but also helps you tone the muscles that you need throughout pregnancy. That makes it a win/win and you will love just how great this feels on the body too.

Sitting Side Stretch Pose: You might know this by another name but the key here is to sit up straight and then grab the ankle or as far down as you can reach. You will feel the stretch in the upper and lower body and that means that it’s working. Only go as far as you can allow yourself to reach and move slowly from sitting to bending to the side to get the most out of it.

Child’s Pose: An absolute must for pregnant women everywhere. You start down on all fours but then you slowly move back hovering over your lower half, placing the hands out in front of you. This is one of the best yoga poses for pregnant women because it gets deep into the muscle but it’s a great stress reliever too, which makes it a winning combination overall.

Cat/Cow Pose: You stay on all fours the entire time and you move from an arched back to a flat back and you continue to repeat this. The cat means that your back is high up and arched, and then the cow means that you sink lower into the stretch keeping the back flat. This feels great on the back, which is a common problem area for many pregnant women.

Tree Pose: You start by standing straight up and then you slowly move one foot up the opposite leg. You then place your hands up in the air as if you are tall and lean like a tree, and then hold the pose. It’s a great stress reliever but it’s also a wonderful way to get deep into the muscles that you really need during pregnancy.

Modified Forward Bend: One thing to caution against with this is that you do the modified version so that you hold onto something to keep your balance. Seeing as your whole center of gravity is off during pregnancy, this is an important point. You are going to hold onto a chair and then just bend forward at the waist. Only go as deep as you possibly can and then hold it before moving up again.

Seated Twist: If that back is hurting you, as is so often the case, then sit down on the ground and slowly twist to one side and hold it. This pose isn’t difficult but do be sure that you know your limitations and as far as your body will take you. This is one of the best yoga poses for pregnant women because it stretches out a key area and helps you to relieve any tension in the body as well.