Pregnancy is a beautiful time that demands you to embrace the pain and mild discomfort that it brings along.

To make this experience better, more comfortable, you must incorporate exercise into your daily routine.

Yoga has been proven to be a safe form of exercise for pregnant women. It prepares your body for labor and delivery. It is vital for both you and the fetus.

Additionally, it can significantly help in stress relief.

This article walks you through a well-researched guide of yoga poses that will be conducive to a smoother pregnancy.

Standing Side Stretch

It targets your shoulders and back to relieve back pain and increase flexibility.

To do this, you need to place yourself in the mountain pose and lose your arms at your sides. With your toes touching, heels a little spread apart, and arms raised, lace your fingers together and point upwards.

Use your arms to make an arch, stretch them as much as possible, and push your hip in the other direction.

Ensure that you’re not bending your arms.

After holding the pose for 30-60 seconds, relax your arms and then stretch in the other direction.

If you find this to be a little tricky, you can do this while sitting too.

Wide Knee Child’s Pose

This pose affects your belly, back, and hips and is highly effective in relieving the force of the growing belly. Additionally, it helps in widening your hips, relieving back pain, stress, and birth anxiety.

To do this one, you need to kneel down on your mat in such a way that your heels should be touching your butt with the tip of your toes touching. Slowly, push your chest down and touch your forehead to the mat.

While in that position, stretch your arms and rest your palms on the floor.

Since this is a fairly relaxing pose, you can hold it for about 2-3 minutes. In doing so, you’ll notice an immediate therapeutic effect on your mind, body, and soul.

Bound Angle Pose

An excellent pose widens hips and thighs to promote easier childbirth, ease knee pain and relieve fatigue.

It works on your hips, thighs, and knees, to be precise.

You can do this by sitting comfortably on the floor while your legs are stretched. After this, you need to fold your knees so that your heels are as close to your pelvis as they can be.

The tricky part is to drop your knees to each side, alternatively down close to the ground.

Don’t force them but relieve your hips and thighs.

Stay in this position for 2-4 minutes and do this repetitively to improve flexibility.

Cat-Cow Pose

It affects your belly, back, shoulders and hips in a way to relieve shoulder and back pain while also decreasing pressure on the belly.

This exercise is a sure-shot way of prepping your body for labor.

It is one of the simplest yet most effective Yoga poses in the second half of your pregnancy.

You have to get down on your knees and palms for this pose to ensure that your hands are straight with your shoulders parallel to your palms.  

To begin with, the cow pose, lower your belly and raise your hips, then lift your head. This will look like a downward curve; from head to hips.

Hold your breath for a few seconds as you go into this position and exhale as you make an upward arch with your body.

Squeeze your belly while raising your back upwards and look down at your stomach. Now you’re in the cat pose.

Shift between the two positions while maintaining breath.

Summing Up

Congratulations, as you’ve made it through some of the toughest months of pregnancy and this blog.

In this rollercoaster journey of nine months, Yoga can be your best friend. Try out these easy poses at home and feel your body rejuvenate over time.

Prenatal Yoga should be practiced under the guidance of an expert (Trained & Certified Yoga Trainer).

As a lifestyle change, Yoga is your prenatal gift to your baby; do it for them!