When a baby enters your life it’s like a deep void being filled up, one that you never realized was there! The little bundle of joy sure makes everything alright—the overwhelming nine months of pregnancy, the excruciating experience of going into labor, and quiet not-your-favorite kind of changes happening with your body.
However, let's not lose sight of all the hormonal and visibly physical changes happening with your body in the post-partum and the need for a sustainable mechanism to psychologically relax and set your systems back to health. What better than yoga?
Assign someone trusted to the little one and take an hour’s or two’s break to give yourself the humble pampering of post pregnancy yoga. It can really do wonders to loosen up jagged muscles, soothe the nerves, ease off the tension, calibrate to the changed center of balance in the body, and refurbish the pelvic and abdominal muscles that must be so worn out from the entire period.
Here are five select poses for yoga after pregnancy that would be totally easy on you and bring back all the love to your body—
Boat Pose (Modified)
Abdominal muscles happen to sag and also form wrinkles, stretch marks, and blemishes of all sorts. There is a bunch of loose muscles hanging in the post-partum period in this area which need some serious toning done. That’s where abdominally-focused poses like the Boat Pose comes in.
You need to take it in a restorative way, mild and slow, and not too fast-paced and vigorous so that the toning happens rather organically.
Come to a seated position with your knees bent. Have your toes placed upon the mat and just below your butt. Now, pull in the abs steadily with a flat and straight back. This way your lower back will also find support and it is vital because, in the most postpartum cases, the lower back is still sore.
At this point, you may feel a lot of weight on your toes which can be effectively taken out by placing two fingers under the crevice of your knees just as the sit bones find support.
Regaining balance for the sit bones is a big feat in the post-partum period, so this is the step you are going to be at for a few weeks now. Advance later with prudence in this special yoga for pregnant ladies by lifting up one foot after the other.
Shoulder Binding Warrior I
Shoulder pain is an obvious ancillary of the post pregnancy stage. Mothers have to be breastfed in an exacting posture leading to chest constriction and rigidity in the shoulder blades. This can be done away within a few days time with effective chest openers like the Warrior I with a shoulder bind for support.
Begin with Warrior I to relieve your tightened hips and straighten out the lower body. Next, add a shoulder bind, interlacing the fingers and joining the wrists. You can also fold forward, heaving your chest towards the floor, thus hiking up the pose intensity.
Hold as long as three breaths.
Shoulder Binding Locust
Carrying on to dissipate tension from the upper back in your early motherhood, take up another great shoulder bind postnatal yoga posture which is the modified Locust. It builds tremendous strength in the spinal column with a prolonged practice. Nine months of pregnancy also happens to loosen up the glutes and hamstrings due to a lack of direct activity and it’s time to correct that with a Locust stretch out through the upper chest, back, and belly.
Try holding the pose as long as five deep breaths and do repeat three times.
Camel Pose
The camel pose will be a treat for you if you are longing for a deeper back fold and greater heart opening. The key is to take it slow and easy on your spine and abdominals, therefore, maintain an easy pace.
One great tip to make it soothing- rest your hands to your lower back, propping it up. Now, carefully arch your back and let your heart open to the sky. It may seem constricting at first, right after coming out of pregnancy when your muscles are still unprepared. However, as you gain strength, attempt reaching for your ankles when arching to the back.
Don’t strain your back but keep upping the pleasure quotient with every succeeding move. Camel is also known to work on the heart chakra, opening up the practitioner emotionally. So you have to be on your guard not to get all overwhelmed.
Bridge Pose
Pregnancy and its later stage usually get women a little jittery and anxious which is perhaps even necessary to be particular about the little one’s care. But if you feel rather snowed under with all the million thoughts of what could go wrong passing your mind all the time, maybe try a deep meditative relaxation with the Bridge Pose. This pose is markedly safe as a yoga for pregnant women and also sufficiently prop-able. Therefore, starting from your third trimester to postpartum, keep doing the Bridge to tackle motherhood jitters like a pro.
Braced with the magic of yoga, its Happy Mothers’ Day every day!