11 Best Yoga Poses for Pregnant Women

During your pregnancy, you need to stay energetic and active. As prioritising rest becomes a necessity, taking precautions before and after pregnancy will benefit your body and your newborn's development. Doctors might ask you to perform yoga to build strength, develop body balance and enhance flexibility.

Here is a list of yoga for pregnant women that you can follow to promote your mental and physical ease. Additionally, this will help you to adapt to the changes that come with your pregnancy.

Performing prenatal yoga can be beneficial for you and the child as it keeps you active. Prenatal yoga during pregnancy focuses on light stretching and breathing techniques. They help you prepare for labour.

Here are the benefits of prenatal yoga:

• Improves Blood Circulation - Stretching and movement during yoga help blood circulation in your heart. The more oxygen-rich blood your baby receives, the better it is for healthy development.
• Reduces Stress, Depression and Anxiety - Intentional movements during yoga help to alleviate symptoms of depression and stress, as per research. Slow and rhythmic breaths during yoga block cortisol and stimulate your nervous system.
• Helps You to Communicate - As you enrol yourself in yoga classes, you connect with other moms-to-be and communicate with them. This helps you to share emotions as strong communication helps during postpartum.
• Enhances Sleep - As per studies, prenatal yoga improves sleep and alleviates fatigue. Therefore, you feel more energised throughout the day.

Exercise and yoga are always good options during pregnancy, but it is equally important to understand safety measures before practising one. For example, twisting and bending during pregnancy can lead to serious issues. It increases the risk of falling as it puts you off balance.

Therefore, it is essential to know the proper exercises, and you must follow them after consulting a doctor.

Here are the best yoga postures in pregnancy:

During your first trimester, focus on releasing stress and building strength in your lower back and hips. Try to maintain your regular physical activity during this period.

Here are the exercises:

1. Head-to-Knee-Forward Bend or Janu Sirsasana

Sit on a cushion or a folded blanket, extending your left leg. Try placing the sole of your left foot against your inner thigh. Reach your arms overhead and inhale. Fold forward softly and exhale, stretching the front section of your torso. Place your hands on the floor or your body and hold this pose for about one minute. Repeat on the other side.

Modifications -

• You can place a folded blanket or cushion under your knee for better support.
• Avoid bending too forward.
• Try using a strap around the sole of your foot.

Benefits -

• Strengthens and straightens your back muscles, hips and legs.
• Relaxes and boosts your digestion.
• Lengthens your spine.
• Stretches your hamstrings
• Massages abdominal organs.

2. Wide-angle Seated Forward Bend or Upavistha Konasana

Sit on a cushion or on a folded blanket, stretching your legs to the side. This will help your pelvis to move forward. Reach your arms overhead and bend your hips folding forward your arms. Hold your toes or keep your hands in front. Stay in this pose for one minute.

Modifications -

• You can bring your legs closer if they point out sideways.
• If you have tighter hamstrings, keep your cushion under the knees for better support.

Benefits -

• It stretches your back, calves and thigh muscles.
• It lengthens hamstrings and builds strength in your spine.
• Decreases anxiety and depression.

3. Cat-Cow Pose or Marjaryasana to Bitilasana

Begin on all fours by keeping your hands and shoulder wide apart and hips and knees apart. Gaze towards the sky and inhale, lifting your breastbone and tailbone (coccyx) upwards. Softly try to stretch your lower back. Exhale and bend your spine like a rainbow shape, bringing your chin to your chest. Continue this pose for a minute and release.

Modifications -

• Use a folded blanket or a cushion under your knees for comfort.
• Try this sequence standing with your hips and feet width apart and keeping a soft bend on your knees. Keep your hands on the thighs.

Benefits -

• Improves spinal mobility.
• Boosts blood circulation.
• Relieves anxiety and tension.
• Stretches your neck, torso and shoulders.

During your second trimester, your body starts releasing relaxing hormones. It eases ligaments, muscles and tendons to prepare you for labour. You tend to become more flexible these days. Therefore, stretching your body too much during this period is not advisable.

Here are some yoga asanas for pregnant women to follow during this period:

1. Bound Angle Pose or Baddha Konasana

Sit on a cushion or folded blanket, tilting your pelvis forward. Then, press the soles of your feet gently together. To deepen the stretch, bring your feet closer to your hips. Straighten your spine and root your lower body onto the floor. Place your hands on the shins or your ankles. Hold this pose for two minutes and release. You can also repeat it twice or thrice.

Modifications -

• Place the cushion under your knees or thighs to ease.
• For proper support, you can also add cushions behind your body.
• Keep the head upwards and lie back comfortably (Supta Bhadrasana).

Benefits -

• Stimulates the digestive system.
• Enhances relaxation.
• Boosts blood circulation.
• Initiates flexibility in your lower back, thighs, calves and hips.

2. Child’s Pose or Balasana

Begin with all fours and try to touch the big toes together, spreading your knees wider. Press your hips back onto the heels and reach your arms forward. Breathe deeply. Hold this position for about one minute and release.

Modifications -

• Place a cushion or folded blanket under your forehead to provide support.
• If you require adequate space for your belly or feel your toes hurting, widen them to ease your body.

Benefits -

• Stretches your lower back, shoulders and chest.
• The spine, thighs and hips become more flexible.

3. Triangle Pose or Trikonasana

4. Standing Forward Bend or Uttanasana

Start by standing and keeping your feet wider than your hips and bending your hips down forward. Then, slightly bend your knees and place your hands on the floor. You can also touch your opposite elbows in this pose. Hold on for 30 seconds and release.

Modifications -

• To reduce stress on the soles of your feet, you can use a folded blanket.
• If your hamstrings hurt badly, bend your knees to ensure comfort.
• Use a wall for support if there is a balance issue.

Benefits -

• Relieves stiffness in your back.
• Releases tension and anxiety.
• Improves hips flexibility.

During this trimester, you might experience difficulty breathing and moving since your baby is taking up space. You need to relax and take more rest during this time.

Here are some yoga poses for pregnant women to follow during this period:

1. Warrior II or Virabhadrasana II

Start by standing and stepping your left foot backwards. Then, turn your toes out towards your left. To keep the left foot aligned with the right heel, align it properly. Stretch in a way that your hips open, and face sideward. 

Move your arms upwards to keep them parallel to the floor. Face palms downwards. Bend your right knee slightly, ensuring it doesn't expand more than your ankle. Hold onto this position for a few moments and release. Repeat the same on the other side.

Modifications -

• Stand beside a wall and practise this exercise for support.
• Under your front thigh, place a chair or a tool.
• To reduce the intensity, do not bend much onto the right knee. Keep a comfortable position.

Benefits -

• Strengthens your body completely by improving blood circulation.
• Relieves neck and back pain.
• Improves the balance of your body.

2. Garland Pose or Malasana

Stand in the way so that your hips are slightly wider than your feet. Turn the toes outwards at an angle, bend the knees, and lower the hips comfortably. Place your heels on the floor and press your palms tightly onto your chest. Press elbows on knees and hold this pose for a few seconds.

Modifications -

• For support, sit on cushions or a chair.
• Position yourself in front of a wall to ensure support.
• Put a cushion or a folded blanket under the knees for support.

Benefits -

• Boosts digestion.
• Loosens and relaxes the hip muscles.

3. Easy Pose or Sukhasana

Sit on a cushion and tilt your pelvis forward, crossing your right leg onto the left leg. Place your hands in a comfortable position as per choice. Then, close your eyes and breathe. Hold onto this position for a few minutes and release.

Modifications -

• Place cushions under your knees for support.
• To support your spine, sit by placing your back towards the wall.

Benefits -

• Improves posture as the spine is aligned to the wall.
• Boosts digestion.
• Stretches knees and ankles.
• Provides relief from anxiety and stress.

4. Side Corpse Pose or Parsva Savasana

Lie down on your left side and keep your left leg straight. Then bend your right knee, supporting it with cushions or a folded blanket. Keep a cushion beneath your head and hold this pose for about fifteen minutes. Release it.

Modifications -

• You can keep additional folded blankets to level the knees.
• Widen the knees in case you feel uncomfortable to allow more space.

Benefits -

• Relaxes you and relieves you from stress and anxiety.
• Improves overall body posture.
• Strengthens your back muscles.

You are your best guide during pregnancy. This is because you are the only one who knows your body better than anyone else. List down the things that suit you and things you must avoid. So, while performing these exercises, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Relax your body as much as possible without putting too much pressure on yourself.
• Make sure you can breathe while practising all poses.
• Always twist slightly at the chest or shoulder level and not beneath the lower abdomen.
• Avoid bending your head too much, as this can cause nausea.
• Skip any yoga that feels uncomfortable
• Do not put much pressure on your belly.
• If any pose doesn’t feel right, you can modify it according to your comfort level.
• Try to use a wall or a tool for support during any balance exercise or yoga.

Additionally, you should immediately stop practising any yoga pose if you:

• Feel dehydrated
• Feel nausea or vomiting
• Notice unusual vaginal discharge or bleeding
• Suddenly feel overheated

Practising exercise with safety will build your strength. Meanwhile, there are certain poses that you must not practise during pregnancy.

Here they are:

• Handstand pose (Adho Mukha Vrksasana)
• Boat pose (Paripurna Navasana)
• Locust pose (Shalabhasana)
• Fish pose (Matsyasana)
• Half-moon pose (Ardha Chandrasana)
• Full-wheel pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana)
• Half-prayer twisting pose (Ardha Namaskar Parsvakonasana)
• Lying on the back pose (Savasana)
• Seated forward fold (Pashchimottanasana)
• Cobra pose (Bhujangasana)
• Hot yoga (Bikram yoga)
• Chair pose (Utkatasana)

Now you have a list of yoga for pregnant women to follow. However, before starting to practise any one of these, it is best to consult a doctor who will guide you with the correct poses and other necessities. There are video demonstrations available too that will help you.

Additionally, you can skip a day or two in a week if you do not want to practise yoga. In that case, rest and have a good sleep.