Yoga Exercises For The Second And Third Trimester

With every passing week, a pregnant mother gets closer to that Grand Reveal she and her partner are looking forward to so much. There is certainly a lot to be happy about during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, then! At the same time, expectant mothers often find that they experience increasing levels of discomfort as they progress through their pregnancy.

Simple yoga poses that every woman that is experiencing a healthy pregnancy can practice at home serve to alleviate some of the discomfort, and help maintain the flexibility that will be so important during labor and birth as well as in the postpartum period.

At-home prenatal yoga exercises are great for women who don't have time for classes with other moms, or who can't or don't want to attend these classes for some other reason. They can also be a nice visual reminder for women who do go to yoga classes and who want to continue practicing in the comfort of their own home. In this article, we will show you six exercises that target different parts of your body. They will help you gain relief from pain and discomfort, work on your flexibility, and prepare you for labor and birth.

Yoga Exercises That Will Make You Feel Great

Many expectant mothers start feeling short of breath about halfway through the second trimester of pregnancy, something that can be unpleasant as well as worrisome. In most cases, this shortness of breath is nothing dangerous — instead, it is just another pregnancy symptom caused by the growing baby. As the uterus expands, the pregnant woman's other internal organs will have less space. This leads to a few unpleasant symptoms, including the need to urinate even more frequently than before and... being less able to breathe freely.

Simple yoga exercises, like this pose, can work wonders if you feel you can't breathe properly. Leaning backwards and using your hands to support your body's weight gives your chest more space. Make sure to breathe in a relaxed, controlled way. This pose is also beneficial for your hips, and helps to open the pelvis.

The next exercise can be immensely helpful to a lot of pregnant women. At the same time, it has to be said that it is designed to help relieve pain in an area that people do not typically think about when they hear “pregnancy ailments” — neck and shoulder tension. Almost anyone who has been pregnant can say that tense shoulders and neck pain become a problem at some point during their second or third trimesters. A combination of stress and poor posture due to a changing body shape are to blame for these nasty symptoms.

The exercise shown below will help alleviate some of that tension. Beware that even this apparently gentle exercise can cause quite a bit of discomfort in women with really tense neck muscles. Those who want to do this anti-tension exercise should listen to their own body carefully, and go slow if need be. Remember that yoga exercises can be a good way to relieve tension, but that massage is a good companion to this exercise if you are in a lot of pain.

Another exercise is designed to alleviate swollen ankles, and to increase the pregnant woman's circulation. Mothers to-be can benefit from the exercise throughout their nine months, but it is especially beneficial right at the end of pregnancy. The Hero's Pose gently but definitely exercises the quadriceps, as well as the muscles in your ankles and feet. An added bonus is the fact that this rhythmical exercise has a soothing, relaxing effect. What expectant mom doesn't need that?

Prenatal Yoga With An Exercise Ball

Pregnant moms who have an exercise ball at home and want to work on their upper-body flexibility will find the following exercise very helpful. Maintaining flexibility throughout pregnancy can be a challenge, because it is hard to find exercises in which the growing abdomen don't get in the way. With this exercise, women in their second- and third trimesters will feel their muscles stretch, but in a comfortable way. Adventurous moms can even add light dumbbells to work their arm muscles — they'll need it when they're carrying a newborn around all day long!

While the upper body should never be neglected during pregnancy, it is hard to deny that a lot of the focus is on the pelvic area. This video shows another opportunity to use the exercise ball that most pregnant women benefit from purchasing. The exercise works on pelvic flexibility through gentle stretching. It can soothe pelvic pain in the last few weeks of pregnancy, and is also a great way to work through a contraction in early labor. The swaying movement is very comforting to women who are just beginning to experience contractions.

The final exercise we will be looking at today is a pelvic exercise using sideways movements instead of circular, swaying movements. Note that the expectant mother's legs are shoulder-width apart, which benefits the hips and prepares the woman's body for a position similar to the one she is likely to end up giving birth in. This position, like the previous one, is also great for another thing — lower back pain. Many pregnant women struggle with lower back discomfort in the final weeks of pregnancy, and some women will have what is commonly referred to as “back labor”, where contractions seem to radiate into the lower back rather than around the abdomen.

So, do you really need an exercise ball to perform these work-outs? It is possible to use a chair or pillow instead. The videos in this article do an excellent job of showing how the exercise ball supports the pregnant woman's whole lower body, however. By performing the exercise on a chair or pillow, a mom will definitely lose out. Exercise balls are a small investment that most women will get a lot of use and enjoyment out of.

There are numerous prenatal yoga exercises that use the exercise ball, many of which can also be found right here on SteadyHealth. In addition to yoga, you'll find that exercise balls make great “desk chairs” that help pregnant women with posture while they are working. They are also essential for pilates, which is magnificent for weight loss after pregnancy.

Which is your favorite exercise?