|
We're great fans of this core yoga pose for pregnant women - practise it whenever possible! It will help open up your pelvis to make space for your baby, improve the mobility of your hip joints ready for birth and is good for easing any tension in your neck and shoulders. Start with you back against a wall (or a partner) legs stretched out in front of you. Now spread your legs as wide as possible, just as far as feels comfortable without over-stretching. Move away from the wall to lean back onto your hands and then lean forward slightly, placing your hands on the floor in front of you. Keep your weight focussed on your sitting bones and hips. Breathe deeply as you return to an upright position. Extend your legs away from you, stretching your heels out and turning your toes up towards the ceiling and let your hands rest on your thighs. Continue to breathe, lengthening your spine whilst keeping your pelvis firmly grounded on the floor. Pregnancy yoga tip: This is good pregnancy yoga pose that you can practise regularly as it becomes more comfortable. There's nothing to stop you sitting in this position when you're watching the television, reading a book or playing on the floor with your toddler. Seated Side Bend If you're comfortable sitting with your legs wide take the pose one step further and include a side bend. This stretches your oblique abdominal and side muscles, lengthens the spine and expands your chest. It should be a comfortable exercise when pregnant but avoid straining and build up to the full posture gradually - only stretch within your limit! Start in the sitting position with your legs wide apart and your buttocks and hips firmly on the floor. Breathe deeply lengthening your spine and filling your upper body with each inhalation. Keep breathing gently and rhythmically and bend to the right, extending your right arm towards your right foot. Bring your left arm up and over your head as far as feels comfortable. Remember to carry on breathing and make sure your hips and buttocks stay firmly grounded. Don't go any further than you can without straining. Relax into the stretch and hold it for around half a minute before gently releasing and repeating the exercise on the other side. Pregnancy yoga tip: If you've got into the habit of sitting with your legs wide it's easy to add this lovely stretchy extension to the pose - you'll be opening up your hips and pelvis ready for birth and stretching your spine and side muscle as well. Alexandra McCabe is a founder of FittaMamma, the healthy pregnancy experts. FittaMamma is a free resource to help women enjoy an active pregnancy with workout videos, recipes and step by step yoga guides. Read here for tips for how prenatal yoga poses can be used to help a variety of pregnancy aches and pains http://bit.ly/13pBmsu
Related Articles -
Prenatal yoga, pregnancy yoga poses, yoga when pregnant, yoga during pregnancy, healthy pregnancy, pregnancy pelvic floor, pelvic floor during pregnancy, pos,
| 
