Yes!**
The miracle of birthing can only be experienced by a female. Doesn’t that make her the most privileged specie on this planet?
That time in a woman’s life is the most beautiful but challenging at the same time. While she is given care and support by her loved ones, the medical team and all the others who make up her eco-system still she may long for someone or something that can hand-hold her like a mentor. Yoga can be that guiding light in her life. All she has to do is to give it a chance and open herself to experiencing its unconditional offering and the beautiful life developing inside her.
There are different schools of thoughts when it comes to understanding if yoga is safe to practice in pregnancy and that too in the first trimester. As a #prenatal and #postnatal #yoga facilitator so far I have seen women enrolling for my yoga program from their second trimester onward. If I were to share my thought then I would recommend an expectant mother to enroll for a prenatal yoga program right from the time she discovers that she is pregnant. Yes, my opinion is quite contrary to what we hear about joining a yoga program in the first trimester or being overtly cautious in the seed stage. I do not disagree with being cautious in the first few weeks. Yes, she must take care, she must follow all precautions that her doctor advises. At the same time, if there are no major complications that she is facing or if she is not on bed rest then I will only give three reasons for her to start yoga and the kind of a program she should look for in the first three months of pregnancy:
- Devotes time to her spiritual upliftment – this is my strongest reason for a woman to consider yoga during her first few weeks of pregnancy. Just when the seed is sown a woman should consider starting or increasing her spiritual well being. The energy and wisdom that she will generate from spending more time in knowing herself will directly affect her own brain, the seed in her womb and its further development. Haven’t we all heard that whatever a mother feels and thinks, the baby does it too. Why wait then? This world needs good souls and a woman is empowered to contribute atleast one good (sattvic) soul to this planet. Her own thoughts and faith at the time of conception go a long way in shaping up the spiritual emotion in the seed in her womb. A yoga session that can germinate thoughts of #sankalpa (positive resolves), yoga nidra, power of #visualization, endurance to deal with changes in the body and provide a calm and nourishing environment for a woman will go a long way in shaping her attitude towards #harmony in her own body and mind, labour time and life thereafter.
- Relieves Pain and builds the body stamina- every woman’s journey is different when she is pregnant. I personally believe that there should be a #unique yoga program for every #unique woman. Many women complain of #nausea, #morningsickness, #constipation, #bodystiffness, #lowbloodpressure during their first trimester. While these problems are not uncommon, most women choose to stay away from starting a regime. Unless there are major complications in the first three months, a woman is more ready than ever to begin working on building her inner immunity and create more antibodies in her system to fight these problems. yoga programs that are NOT STRONG but gentle, include sukshma vyayama, standing asana, #pranayama, #meditation, chanting and cleansing are ideal for any expectant mother to consider in initial stages. A yoga program with few combinations from the above that are tailor made for a pregnant woman and her specific condition will build her resilience without a doubt. If you are someone who has a strong yoga practice then you must modify your regime to slow down, relax often and focus more on inner strength. If you are someone who has never practiced before and are pregnant – welcome to yoga!
- Improves Stress and Anxiety – now we all know that yoga is beneficial to relieve stress and anxiety in any human being but its direct influence on a woman during her pregnancy is very well known too. Giving birth can be intimidating, can flare up thousands of questions in a woman’s mind, can bring lot of unknown fears to her. To top this up, there is vast information available on the internet today which can leave her confused and more fearful most of the times. It is extremely important for a new mother-to-be to draw her lines. How much information she wants, what she wants to absorb and what she should just leave on time. To be in balance reels back to strengthening the body mind connection. Yoga is known to establish that connection since ages.
If you google up, you will find thousands of benefits of doing yoga during pregnancy and another million websites claiming why yoga should not be practiced during the first trimester. It is with you, dear mom, the decision rests. Take a leap of faith and contact a qualified yoga instructor if you decide to befriend #yoga in the most contenting phase of your life.
** to be checked by doctors in case of serious complications during first trimester of pregnancy.