Prepare for Childbirth With Yoga

The practice of yoga is a valuable tool in childbirth preparation. Yoga offers guidance through the practice of breath awareness and physical practice. It can help you prepare for, endure and recover from childbirth.

Steps

 * 1)  Get to know your breath. Breath awareness is key to childbirth preparation.  By fixing the awareness on something other than the intensity of a contraction, you can learn to lessen your reaction to the pain. Clenching an overly fatigued muscle only leads to more pain. By focusing on the breath, you encourage your body to relax as much as possible and promote a feeling of well-being in the face of adversity. Breath awareness can also help lower your blood pressure and your pulse.
 * 2) * Start by sitting comfortably, either in a chair or cross legged on the floor. Close your eyes. Feel the rise and fall of your chest and the openness of your belly. Allow the belly to feel full and round and soft. As the breath deepens, allow your shoulders and face to soften. Look for areas within the body that seem tense or fatigued and soften them with every exhalation. Let them go with the exhalation.
 * 3) *Learning deep breathing may help your body continue producing oxytocin, which helps your labor progress.
 * 4)  [[Image:Prenatal yoga 2985.jpg|thumb]]Practice some poses.  Choose poses that stretch and strengthen your legs, your hips and your side body. Do not twist or put weight on your abdomen.  Yoga's use in childbirth is about body-awareness. If you can find a class to attend, you should. Not only will you find some relief physically, but you may also make some friends along the way, watching your bellies, and then your babies, grow together. If there is no class available, try some simple stretches that you may have learned, pick up a prenatal yoga book, or do an internet search. Find ways to move that feel good to you. Side stretches and squats should feel wonderful. Roll your shoulders back and forth and do some neck stretches to each side. Do some standing forward bends with wide legs: keep your knees soft and hang forward from the hips, rolling up to standing when finished.
 * 5) *For some women, lying flat on your back put pressure on your inferior vena cava, the vein that returns blood from the legs to the heart, causing dizziness, shortness of breath, and nausea. If you find this happening to you, avoid any position that involves lying flat on your back.
 * 6) *As you get bigger, your sense of balance will be affected. Don't try to hold poses for a long time, and use support.
 * 7)  Don't strain. In childbirth, it is important to learn how to relax as much as possible. Straining, even in exercise, is not helpful. Learn to relax with your breath awareness and your poses in order to remain relaxed during childbirth.
 * 8)  End with a 20 minute relaxation.  This is the most important thing you can practice for optimal mind/body health. This practice helps lower blood pressure and pulse, and is beneficial for swollen legs and reducing stress. Lie down on your side, close your eyes and practice your breath awareness. If you fall asleep, that's okay! The key is to relax as much as possible and to get good at it so that you can stay relaxed during contractions. If you notice yourself becoming distracted by thoughts or noise, draw your awareness back to the breath. Stay here for 20 minutes or more.
 * 9)  Practice every day, even if you can only get in 5 minutes of quiet breath awareness at a time. Remember that a contraction only lasts a few minutes.
 * 10)  Stay positive. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years. They did it and so can you!

Recommended Poses

 * Cobbler's or Tailor's pose (baddha konasana):
 * [[Image:Bitilasana cow pose 5614.jpg|thumb]]Pelvic tilt or Cat-Cow - Helps relieve back pain.
 * [[Image:Pregnant warrior 3230.jpg|thumb|Modified pose]]Warrior
 * [[Image:Downward dog done right 7483.jpg|thumb]]Downward-facing dog

Warnings

 * Only embark on a physical fitness regimen with the consent of your physician.
 * This is not a good time to try ambitious poses like a headstand or shoulderstand for the first time.
 * Positions that stretch the abdominal muscles (e.g. deep forward and back bends, deep twists) may tear and strain muscles because pregnancy hormones loosen other connective tissue in your abdominal area.
 * Hot or Bikram yoga classes are not recommended for pregnant women.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Stay Fit While You're Pregnant
 * How to Be Pregnant Gracefully
 * How to Go Through a Pregnancy Smoothly
 * How to Cope With Being Pregnant at Work
 * How to Perform Yoga Postures
 * How to Perform Yoga

Sources and Citations

 * Candice Garrett Yoga - Original Source, shared with permission