Postnatal Yoga

Pregnancy drastically changes a women’s body. It shakes the original rhythm of your body. Due to spike in the hormones during pregnancy and plunging low of the same after childbirth, pregnancy changes reflect in various areas of your body including skin and hair. To top it all, postnatal depression takes a toll on your mental health, which further impacts your physical fitness. Many women struggle with their load of pregnancy weight and pull up different feats including crash diets, rigorous workouts etc which is highly harmful for your body in the long run. Instead, investing on a sustainable workout plan like postpartum yoga with modifying your lifestyle with mindful eating habits are the only ways that holds your body weight in healthy light for a lifetime.

So dear mommies, if you want to claim your health and fitness back and put your body in a right track, postnatal yoga or post pregnancy yoga should be your pick. Postnatal yoga is an effective way to redeem your fitness and have healthy goals set for your health after pregnancy. So, what are the great benefits of postnatal yoga and what are the better ways to achieve it? Let’s dive further to have a glimpse of the benefits and look at some of the must-try asanas for your postpartum journey:

Strengthens your pelvic floor – During pregnancy, your growing baby bump puts lot of stress and pressure, asking for more room in your pregnancy body. The weight of your baby presses down the muscles in your pelvis area and the outcome of it is weakening of your pelvic floor. Postnatal yoga exercises are built in such a way that it restores the pelvic floor by strengthening the pelvic muscles. While pelvic floor exercises are a major part of prenatal yoga, you should try to keep it going even after your have given birth to your baby. This will make the pelvic muscles more flexible, agile to the movement and tighten the softened muscles. Exercises like Kegel, Bridge and Squats are powerful form of postnatal exercises to build your pelvic floor but practice these movements in front of a postnatal yoga expert to be safe and not harm your body.

Achieve hormonal stability – Postpartum yoga aims to still your body, mind and soul. The hormones run amok after childbirth and it is important to control them. Only through a regular regimen of postnatal yoga, you can eliminate hormonal discord and achieve hormonal stability. The gentle movements in postnatal asanas restricts hormones to run haywire, relieves stress and strengthens mind focus.

Helps in managing postnatal weight – Shedding the extra kilos that pregnancy journey has bulked up on your body is one of the major struggles categorized by all pregnant women.Postnatal weight reduction requires good amount of active metabolism which postnatal yoga aims to achieve through the slew of asanas that come under its roof. It helps in toning the muscles, increase in stamina levels and offers tummy tightening benefits. Incorporating yoga to reduce the weight or maintain the certain range of weight is often recommended in place of starving yourself or treat yourself to unhealthy hacks.

Boosts positive mental health – Postnatal depression is very common among new moms. Having a new child in your lap to take care when your own body is unhealed is unsettling, painful and feels like an uphill task. Add to it, the societal expectations from you. Because of which, your mood is at an elevated pedestal and sometimes you are on a downward spiral. In order to bring harmony to your unsettling thoughts, engage in a postnatal yoga routine as yoga makes you go inward and puts internal conflicts at ease. There are different sessions around postnatal yoga which goes beyond traditional asanas and yogic gestures, for instance, dance therapy sessions have become a new fad in the postnatal yoga coursebook.

So what are some on the must try Yoga Asanas?

Corpse pose: This is one of the easiest poses in postnatal yoga.

Just lie flat on your back. Relax your body and close your eyes. Be comfortable and keep your feet and palms by your sides. Loosen up the area around your shoulders. Breathe slowly

Legs-up-the-wall pose – This yoga pose boosts sleep, relaxes you from fatigue caused by stress and anxiety.

Sit against a wall. Lie down on your back and keep yourself close to the wall. Gently move your legs up along the wall. Breathe softly and relax your body. Stay in this posture for few minutes

Trikonasana: Full body asana or Triangle pose strengthens chest, legs, arms and digestive track

Stand with your body straight and feet wide. Place your right foot at 90 degrees. Rest your right hand on floor or your shin. Move your left hand up with palm facing in the front. Gaze up towards your left hand Breathe gently Relax and repeat on the other side

Alternate nostril breathing: Breathing exercise such as Nadi Shodhana is all about engaging with your breath and focussing on it.

This focus will bring peace to your mind, reduce stress and fill up the gaps between mind and body. Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight. With your left hand on the left knee, fold your index finger so that it touches the thumb. Gently raise your right hand and place your right hand’s index finger in between the eyebrows. Let the ring finger and little finger touch your left nostril and the thumb stay on the right With each inhale and exhale, open and close the nostrils alternativelyRepeat this breathing practice for 5-10 counts and take a break

Now that you have seen some of the easy-to-follow asanas to boost your stamina and help with your postpartum recovery, keep in mind that any yoga asanas you try, your body should find them comfortable. Ease into it and not overwhelm yourself with complicated pose. Lastly, Do it under observation of a postnatal yoga professional or fitness expert.