Prenatal Yoga in Vista, CA

If you’re interested in staying active during your pregnancy, prenatal yoga is the perfect place to start. 

Not only is it a great way to get your body moving — which has numerous health benefits for you and baby! — pregnancy yoga can help you destress and connect with your baby. 

Read on if you’re looking for our top 5 pregnancy yoga poses, plus the many benefits of prenatal yoga and our favorite prenatal yoga classes in Vista, CA. 

Our 5 Favorite Pregnancy Yoga Poses

Pregnancy yoga is a great way to get you up and moving at any time in your pregnancy. And we love how many pregnancy yoga poses there are — making it easy to create custom workouts that support your unique health needs and goals. 

But where do you begin? 

Here are 5 of our favorite pregnancy yoga poses: 

  • Calming breaths and belly breaths: Breathwork is a wonderful way to connect with your deep core abdominal muscles and reconnect with your inner strength. 
  • Cat-Cow Stretch: A great pregnancy stretch to take pressure off your low back and relieve back pain.  
  • Leg Extensions: This simple pregnancy yoga pose can help relieve round ligament pain. 
  • Downward Facing Dog Prenatal Pose: Try this classic pregnancy yoga pose to experience some much-needed relief from the downward pressure of your baby. 
  • Legs Up the Wall Pose: Give your swollen feet and legs a bit of a break with this relaxing prenatal yoga pose. 

For more pregnancy yoga poses, it may be helpful to ask your midwive/OB-GYN or a pelvic floor physical therapist. 

You may also enjoy attending a pregnancy yoga class! For our top prenatal yoga classes in Vista, CA take a look at the end of this post. 

Benefits of Pregnancy Yoga

Prenatal yoga is a gentle form of exercise that has lots of great health benefits. One of the most helpful things about choosing pregnancy yoga over other forms of exercise is that it has been modified to support your growing belly. 

This is important because the hormone that is helping to prepare your body for labor and delivery — relaxin — is loosening and relaxing your muscles, joints and ligaments throughout your pregnancy.

And while this extra flexibilty is helpful to accomodate your expanding uterus (Cleveland Clinic)…  It can unfortunately make you more susceptible to injuries and sprains. Not to mention your expanding belly can also weaken your pelvic floor and impact your posture in a negative way. 

But pregnancy yoga stretches can help — more on that in a bit! 

In addition to being a great source of exercise during pregnancy, modified prenatal yoga can also help lower your stress levels, improve flexibility, and encourage stretching and focused breathing. 

How Often Should You Do Prenatal Yoga During Pregnancy

Growing a baby is no easy task! There may be some days where you don’t feel like getting up off the couch. (We’ve been there!) 

But, if you can, it’s a good idea to try to move your body a little bit each day. This will help keep you and your baby healthy throughout your pregnancy. 

Ideally, pregnant women should get “at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week,” according to the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 

That’s only 20 minutes a day! 

Let’s break this down a bit. An aerobic activity is one in which you move large muscles in your body (like those in your legs and arms) in a rhythmic way. And moderate intensity means you are moving enough to raise your heart rate and start sweating. 

Incorporating pregnancy yoga into your daily or weekly exercise routine is a great way to check off these boxes and get your body moving in a gentle way. 

How to Stay Safe During Pregnancy Yoga

Whether you’re wanting to raise your heart rate a bit and break a sweat… Or you want to relax and unwind… Pregnancy yoga is a wonderful aerobic activity for any point in your pregnancy. 

That being said, it’s important to honor this unique season in your life and be mindful of your changing body during this time. 

Follow these helpful tips to stay safe while practicing pregnancy yoga provided by the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology: 

  • Choose a prenatal yoga class or look for an instructor that can help you modify yoga positions to accommodate your baby bump. 
  • Take extra care during balance yoga poses as you may be a little more unsteady on your feet. 
  • Drink plenty of water before, during, and after your workout. Watch for signs of dehydration that can include dizziness, a racing or pounding heart, or urinating only small amounts or having urine that is dark yellow.
  • Wear a supportive sports bra. Also consider a belly support.
  • Avoid hot yoga and becoming overheated, especially in the first trimester. Wear loose-fitting clothing and opt to exercise in a temperature-controlled room instead of outside when it is very hot or humid.
  • Avoid standing still or lying flat on your back as much as possible. These positions may cause your blood pressure to decrease for a short time.

With these tips in mind, pregnancy yoga can work wonders for easing many common pregnacy complaints — like pregnancy back pain and pregnancy leg cramps. 

Prenatal Yoga for Pregnancy Back Pain

If your back has been hurting more than usual during pregnancy…you’re not alone. Backache is one of the most common pregnancy problems, especially in your second and third trimesters. 

That’s because your growing baby and uterus can stretch and weaken your abdominal muscles, leading to unwanted back pain. It can also change your posture, putting a greater strain on your back. 

The good news is, this pain usually goes away after your baby is born! But until then, you shouldn’t have to endure unpleasant back pain. 

Regular physical activity — like pregnancy yoga — can help! 

Exercise during pregnancy can help keep your back strong and might relieve back pain during pregnancy. Some additional benefits are (ACOG):

  • Strengthen and stretch the muscles that support your back and legs
  • Promote good posture
  • Keep the muscles of your back, abdomen, hips, and upper body strong
  • Help ease back pain
  • Help prepare you for labor and childbirth

Prenatal Yoga for Pregnancy Leg Cramps

Did you know that nearly half of all pregnant women suffer from leg cramps (American Pregnancy Association)? Yikes!

You may remember those painful growing pains in your legs from when you were a kid. Pregnancy leg cramps are similar and can feel like painful, involuntary muscle spasms that strike out of the blue in your calf, foot — or both.  

Pregnancy leg cramps can happen at any time during your pregnancy, but particularly in the second and third trimesters. 

Thankfully, regular exercise — with a focus on stretching — can help prevent and alleviate leg cramps. 

Our friends at the Mayo Clinic recommend doing a few calf stretches before you head to bed for the night. 

Here’s a quick run-down of how to do an easy calf stretch at home. All you need is a wall!

To stretch your calf muscles, stand at arm’s length from a wall. Place your hands on the wall in front of you and move your right foot behind your left foot. Slowly bend your left leg forward, keeping your right knee straight and your right heel on the floor. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds. Keep your back straight and your hips forward. Don’t shift your feet inward or outward. Switch legs and repeat. (For more information visit: Mayo Clinic). 

Using a Pregnancy Exercise Ball

If your regular dining chair is starting to feel a tad uncomfortable during pregnancy, it may be time to swap it out for a more supportive alternative. 

That’s where pregnancy exercise balls save the day! Also called “birthing balls” or yoga balls, pregnancy exercise balls are a great way to boost your comfort during pregnancy, labor, and beyond (Cleveland Clinic). 

Pregnancy exercise balls are made of soft rubber and come in different sizes and colors. You’ll want to get the size that matches your height so that you can sit comfortably — with the bottoms of both your feet touching the floor and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.

We love using a birthing ball during pregnancy to help ease any pain, discomfort or pressure in your back, pelvic area and tailbone. 

In fact, studies have shown that birthing ball exercises during mid to late pregnancy can reduce pain and fatigue in the waist (Cleveland Clinic). 

Use your pregnancy exercise ball while you work or sit at your dining table. It’s also great to incorporate into your exercise routine! 

Pregnancy Yoga Near Me

Did you know that there are prenatal yoga classes specifically designed for pregnant women?  These classes are great because they teach modified yoga poses that accommodate the unique needs of your body during pregnancy — like your growing belly and shifting balance. 

And the benefit of an in-person pregnancy yoga class is that you’ll have a trained instructor that can help you ensure that you’re performing the poses correctly. They can also assist you in further modifying poses to meet your body’s needs. 

And while it may be hard to squeeze regular physical activity into your busy routine (yep, we know how long your to-do list is to get ready for baby!)… 

There are some amazing prenatal yoga classes in Vista, CA. 

Be sure to check out two of our favorite pregnancy yoga instructors: 

For more help finding pregnancy yoga classes in Vista, CA, San Diego, give us a call at the Babies in Bloom Boutique! We love sharing recommendations and would be happy to help connect you to a prenatal yoga class that meets your needs. 

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