Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal yoga classes are more popular than ever. When paired with a cardiovascular exercise such as walking, yoga can be an ideal way to stay in shape during your pregnancy. Yoga is also beneficial because it helps you learn to breathe deeply and relax, which will come in handy as you face the physical demands of labor, birth, and motherhood. In fact, one of the first things you learn in a yoga class is how to breathe fully. The breathing technique requires you to take in air slowly through your nose, filling your lungs, and exhale completely until your stomach compresses. The benefits of yoga aren't limited to your physical well-being. "Taking a prenatal yoga class is a great way to meet other pregnant women — to become part of a community”. Remember to follow the safe pregnancy exercise such as drinking lots of water before, during, and after exercising to keep your body hydrated. Learning how to breathe well helps you for labor and childbirth by training you to stay calm when you need it most. When you're in pain or afraid, your body produces adrenalin and may produce less oxytocin, a hormone that makes labor progress. A regular yoga practice will help you fight the urge to tighten up when you feel pain, and show you how to relax instead.

Types Of Yoga

There are four distinct yoga systems, or sadhanas, and each one offers something different to the practitioner.

•             Hatha yoga: This is considered to prepare you for more spiritual or meditative yoga practices. The term Hatha yoga comes from the Sanskrit words “ha,” meaning sun, and “tha,” meaning moon. Therefore it is all about balance. Once the body is tamed through Hatha Yoga, any Yogi can move to more advanced technique which focuses on mastering the mind through meditation, postures and breathing.

•             Jnana Yoga: This is a yoga that strives for self-knowledge. A practice most commonly associated with Buddha himself. Students are taught to sit quietly and working, disregarding their previous abstract notions and beliefs.  Through self-questioning, practitioners can come to understand the separation between their bodies and souls, and thus achieve a greater understanding of what is eternal (real) and temporal (unreal).

         

•    Bhakti yoga: This strives towards loving-kindness and devotion to a personal form of God. Bhakti means Devotion, a kind of selfless love and generosity with no personal ego.

•   Karma Yoga: Karma means Action. It stresses on divorcing ones actions from selfish motivations. Emphasizes on calming the mind and connecting to God for inner peace, instead of worrying about the future.

In all the above forms the body and the mind are strongly connected. Physical strength is nothing if not combined with spiritual strength. Performing all the above mentioned yoga therapy practices together or separately can benefit the yogis both physically and mentally.