Postnatal Yoga for Women

 Postnatal Yoga for Women

Guest post written by Gagandeep Bindra – Fitness,Yoga and Diet Expert at Yogic-experience.com

Pregnancy and childbirth are such huge moments of life, and they put us through a whirlwind of emotions. The mother, in specific, experiences a lot physically too and gets rewired into a new person in the entire process. It is believed that the woman takes rebirth to deliver her child. It creates confusion for this new mother to understand her transformed self while taking care of the new-born, and you wouldn’t wonder why postpartum depression has become common. Postnatal Yoga helps you to understand yourself from within, gain your energy back, get back in shape, and to alleviate postpartum depression.  

What is Postnatal Yoga? 

Postnatal Yoga is also called postpartum Yoga. It is a restorative and regenerative form of Yoga that helps women combat the physical and mental stress and fatigue they carry post-delivery. It helps address the most common and basic concerns such as the weakened pelvic floor, back pain, mood swings, postpartum depression, and fatigue. Depending on how your delivery went, you can begin practising yoga a few days to a few weeks after giving birth.  

Postnatal yoga aids in the recovery process after pregnancy and childbirth. It restores the mind, body and also helps in restoring all tissues to their previous splendour.  

Benefits of Postnatal Yoga 

Know Your Body 

Yoga is a medium that helps you understand yourself better, both physically and emotionally. The deep and conscious breathing techniques practiced while performing the poses allow you to unwind your thoughts and explore your inner strength and potential. Delivering a baby is no less than a rebirth for any woman, and it is all the more essential to learn your new self and understand it better. The mother’s body undergoes a gamut of changes to nurture the fetus inside the womb and experiences things like Braxton Hicks Contractions, rupture of membranes (water breaks), changes to the cervix, and the actual labor. The pain endured during labor is subjective, and it varies. It can be as bad as breaking a bone and enduring immense pain before the delivery. Most women become strong physically and emotionally, which is no less than being reborn as a new self. 

Posture Perfection 

Your posture takes the biggest hit after the entire journey of pregnancy and childbirth. It can be the most ignored aspect considering the rush life speeds into after the baby’s arrival, but posture correction is essential.  Developing a slouch is quite common after carrying the baby all these months, and the strain that the spine experiences during delivery doesn’t need a mention. Yoga helps you retain the perfect posture, which indirectly boosts your confidence. 

Mood Moderation 

Postpartum depression could be an uninvited guest that might cause mood fluctuations. The conscious efforts of practicing Yoga with the right breathing techniques help relax and unleash all the unwanted stress making you feel deeply relaxed.  

Hormonal Balance 

Postnatal Yoga helps reduce the pressure on the nervous system and helps minimize the effect of carrying the baby for 9 months. It helps restore the hormonal balance of the body and pushes it slowly towards improving the core strength. It also aids in the development of spine strength and reduces the impacts of holding and nursing a new-born. 

Psychological benefits 

In addition to mood moderation, Yoga can help improve the psychological health of an individual and can make them strong from  

within. While stress is inevitable for any person, the intensity of stress is considerably high in new mothers due to the worries that keep popping in their heads about their baby. Yoga helps big time in managing stress. 

Quick Tips 

  • If you had a normal and natural delivery, then you could start your stretching any time after 6 weeks. But if you had a C-section, it is recommended to start after a good 20 weeks of delivery. In either case, consult your doctor before starting with any workout to avoid injuries. Start with mild-paced walking for at least 10 minutes every day during your initial waiting period before getting into Yoga. 
  • Remember to choose the workout intensity based on your fitness quotient before and during pregnancy. If you are joining a class, you can discuss this with your trainer but if you are doing something all by yourself at home, exercise with caution. You could opt for deeper stretches only if you worked out regularly before and during pregnancy too.  
  • You might have been consistent with your workout sessions before pregnancy, but if your medical condition demands rest during your pregnancy and if you have been under complete bed rest, please start with your postnatal workout sessions as a beginner only. Let your body start slow. 
  • Try to join a postnatal Yoga class at a studio or even online where you could interact with moms sailing in the same boat. You could find friends to discuss and gain moral support too.  
  • If you are a breastfeeding mom, try to feed your kid and start your workout session. You would feel much lighter to move. It would also keep you at bay from leaky breasts caused due to the let-down reflex. On the other hand, you could also take your time to stretch while your kid is happy and tummy full. 
  • If you are someone who had an episiotomy (a cut through the area between the vaginal opening and the anus) during your delivery process, it will take as much time as it needs to heal. Do not commit the mistake of calculating the 6 weeks. To begin with your workout, take it slow. Start only when you are ready and get the approval of your doctor.  
  • Hydrate yourself and munch on a protein bar right after the exercise to avoid any dip in your energy levels. Remember that you are on a 24/7 duty as a mom with your kid. Focus on what you eat, don’t go for Junk. 

Basic Poses to Kickstart 

Just like any other Yoga session, you would need the right mat, to begin with, the basic poses. But it would be great if you could have a bunch of support gear, like Yoga blocks, belts, bolster, straps etc., that could help the transition back to exercise and fitness easily. After all the physical strain the body undergoes, these props help a big time in your healing without leaving the minutest chance for any injury. Some basic poses that you could start once your doctor approves are listed below. 

  1. Stretching – Begin your workout session only after stretching your neck, shoulder, chest, and feet. This helps prepare your body to take full advantage of the Yogic poses that are to follow and work as the perfect warm up.  
  1. Pelvic Floor Exercises – The best part of pelvic floor exercises is that they can be done while lying down. Kegels, bridge, and posterior pelvic tilts are some of the common exercises. 
  1. Child’s Pose – This is a very natural and simple pose. It helps to stretch your upper back and lower back muscles.  
  1. Bridge Pose – This pose alleviates the thoracic spine discomfort that arises after childbirth. It opens the chest and shoulders while stretching the hip flexors. All these body parts become tight after childbirth, and this pose can be soothing. 
  1. Cow Face Pose – This pose helps nursing mothers combat the shoulder hunch. It stretches the neck, shoulders, and hips. 
  1. Happy Baby Pose – Just as the name suggests, this pose resembles a happy baby. It stretches and comforts your spinal muscles while also working on other muscle groups of the body with its slow rocking motion. 
  1. Tiger Pose – This pose helps rejuvenate the reproductive organs and alleviates back pain. Try to wear a body shaper if comfortable; this avoids the further sag of the loose skin around the tummy when you are on your fours. 
  1. Cobra pose – This Asana strengthens the spine, shoulders, arms, and buttocks. It helps alleviate the back pain, which is commonly triggered after a delivery. 
  1. Camel Pose – This pose helps to reduce the weight around the tummy. It strengthens the spine and tones your upper body. Do not attempt this pose without getting a go from the doctor. The stretch in the abdominal area could be troublesome if your body isn’t ready. 
  1. Corpse Pose: This one is the final pose after any Yoga session to calm your mind and body. Lie down and stretch your arms alongside your torso. Close our eyes and relax. You can check out this article on Corpse Pose to understand why it is so important. 

Conclusion 

Postnatal Yoga could be the solution to all your needs as a newbie mom but remember not to be in a rush for weight loss or toning. Keep your body flexible and consistently train it over a period. Do not miss this fabulous period of enjoying motherhood with your little one but try to find a fine balance with your workout sessions. After all, you and your health are important too! 

Barbara Santini

Barbara is a freelance writer and a sex and relationships adviser at Dimepiece LA and Peaches and Screams. Barbara is involved in various educational initiatives aimed at making sex advice more accessible to everyone and breaking stigmas around sex across various cultural communities. In her spare time, Barbara enjoys trawling through vintage markets in Brick Lane, exploring new places, painting and reading.

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