In pregnancy the body can feel tight and at the same time loose. It can be confusing to determine how to manage both of these seemingly conflicting experiences. Yoga can offer wonderful ways to address each of these concerns. Stretching and dynamic movement, especially joint rotations, help to keep the fluids of the body flowing as they should. This can alleviate stiffness and help prevent or reduce swelling.
The tightness can come from the almost 50% increase in blood volume that occurs to nourish the baby. You may also experience swelling (edema) as well as the limbs feeling tight, since the veins and arteries are at higher capacity.
Looseness comes from the hormone relaxin, whose purpose is to soften the ligaments around the pelvis to make birthing possible. Unfortunately this can lead to discomfort prior to labor if the pelvis becomes unstable. Relaxin enters the system fairly early in pregnancy which means that stretching must be coupled with stabilizing and strengthening actions to ensure that the ligaments supporting the joints are not over stretched. The great news is there are plenty of very safe and effective ways to maintain and even build strength during pregnancy.
Image Source: Jenny Sugar (POPSUGAR)
I’ll share my favorite birth preparation pose that has the perfect combination of hip opening, alongside excellent strengthening & stabilizing: Goddess Pose.
Some pointers:
- Make sure that your heels are directly below your knees.
- Align your feet in the same line with your thighs.
- Press your weight down toward the base of the big toes and press the knees back.
- This helps strengthen the inner thighs.
- A great practice is to see if you can hold the pose for 20 breaths. It should take you about 1 minute. This is the length of an average contraction. If you can breathe through this challenge and keep your heart and face soft, you are doing excellent preparation for labor!
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While you are here, you might also be interested in these top blog posts by Walnut Creek chiropractor Elon Bartlett:
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