It is wonderful to be able to hold classes where people can enjoy and relax into their pregnancy fully for just an over an hour. However, yoga is not just a one hour class, it is a lifestyle and to fully benefit you need to practice all 8 limbs of yoga, not just the physical asanas, every day. Here’s are a few ways you can try to incorporate some of our LushTums pregnancy yoga techniques every day taking as little or as long as you like.
1. Breathwork
Taking a few minutes every day to practice birth breathing, inhaling through the nose and exhaling from the back of the mouth, is a great way to calm the nervous system and become accustomed to breathing in this way in preparation for labour.
2. Movement
Take this opportunity to tune into your body, notice how your pregnant body is changing and notice how it responds to certain movements. If there’s particular movements that you enjoy in class, practice these at home, perhaps first thing in the morning when you wake or to wriggle out any aches and pains before bed. Seated or standing pelvic tilts and circles are a great place to start as are circles and figure of 8 on all 4s.
3. Relaxation
It goes without saying that this is particularly important during pregnancy so scheduling in some downtime before bed or in the day if you have time is a great idea. There are some pregnancy specific guided meditations on the LushTums website or you can find others on Spotify and YouTube. Or even just taking the time to send your love and thoughts to baby.
4. Pelvic Floor Exercises
The great thing about exercising the pelvic floor is that it can be done anywhere, anytime! Making a promise to engage and relax those muscles when you do a certain activity such as make a cup of tea can be a good reminder. Strengthening the pelvic floor is so important to help support the area through the changes of pregnancy while knowing how to fully relax this area is also important to practice ready for birthing your baby.
5. Gratitude
At the end of the day take a few mins to either write down or mentally note three things that you are grateful for from the day. They do not have to be big or profound things but getting into this habit helps us to see shift how we see our lives the more we practice it, shifting to an emphasis on the positive.