Yoga adds too many new colors to your lifestyle. No matter it is before or after delivery of a newborn baby. Yoga helps you to be in back in shape and the way you were before pregnancy.
It is not only the mom who gets benefits from yoga there are certain basic moves for the week that can make the infant more comfortable and calm. This also makes your body heal.
Well in this article you will have a fair share knowledge about the benefits of post postpartum yoga and the various yoga poses to do after delivery. You will also get to know the yoga moves to avoid after giving birth. So just scroll down the article and read on.
Is It Safe To Do Yoga After Delivery:
Once you have given birth you will love to get back to your previous shape and size before pregnancy. So for this, you can go back to shape by performing yoga and exercise.
As per the expert, there is no harm to do yoga after delivery but what matters over here is it should be the right time for when you do yoga asanas after delivery or start to yoga depends on your recovery.
Once your bleeding, cutting muscles and stitching comes back to normal or stop then it is wise you do any kind of yoga or exercise. Make sure your stitches dissolve before you start or begin any kind of exercise. Before going for yoga or exercise do refer to your doctor or pediatrician advice.
When To Start Yoga After Delivery:
Normally the doctor recommends six weeks of recovery time for new mothers after vaginal birth and longer after a cesarean. This varies from one person to another as it all depends upon the diastasis recti (abdominal separation) which help to figure out the approximately time frame of getting back to work out.
Once you get a clear certificate of yes from your doctor you can go for or start doing yoga again. But make sure of the thing that you should not push your self too hard after delivery at least during the initial days of starting yoga after a long time.
Benefits Of Postpartum Yoga:
Some of the benefits of postpartum yoga are as follows-
1. Postnatal Recovery:
During the phase of pregnancy, a mother goes with a lot of change in her physical, mental and emotional well being. They go through tremendous body changes. As a result, it leads to a lot of stress and painful events. So for this yoga plays an important aspect in making the body soothe the strain to endure on account of pregnancy.
2. Tones Important Muscles Group:
Yoga has significant influences that lead to tone the physical body especially the pelvic floor, hip, and abdominal core muscles. The yoga, as a result, helps in maintaining properly toned muscles which keep the right muscles balance between the length and strength. Building and maintaining muscle tone during pregnancy like lunges and gentle backbends, yoga poses can help minimize the aches and pains.
3. Weight Loss:
This is one of the major benefits of postpartum yoga. As we all know that the women put on weight during pregnancy as they take more intake of food and nutrition than normal. Yoga helps them to lose all the extra kilos they have put on and make the newborn mom back in previous shape and size.
The extra weight is no more required after post delivery, so yoga proved to have a positive result for losing weight post-pregnancy.
4. Endurance:
As women go through or experience weakness after pregnancy. yoga helps a lot to get rid of the weekend process with a speedy recovery. The Symptoms of this weakness include the loss of stamina, muscle/joint pain, and chronic exhaustion, etc goes off with the help of yoga.
Yoga will gently and slowly exercise the muscles and joints back to their original strength along with gradually boosting core strength and stamina. Moreover, it makes the body to heal.
5. Psychological Benefits:
Yoga also plays an amazing role not only a positive effect on physical well being but also has a wonderful effect on psychological benefits. Yoga leads to deep breathing, stretching and relaxing the body. This, as a result, helps in improving the blood circulation and oxygenates the body. It also helps a lot in inducing a state of deep relaxation in reducing stress and calming the mind and body.
Yoga Poses To Do After Delivery:
This form of yoga poses after delivery you can go for. Some of them are
1. Child Pose:
Child pose is one of the best yoga poses after delivery to reduce tummy. This helps to correct incontinence and strengthen the pelvic floor. This also focuses on alleviating head, neck, and chest pain, and opens the pelvic floor, hips, and low back.
How To Do:
- First, start with kneeling on the floor. Once after that touch your big toes together and sit on your heels.
- Make sure you separate your knees about as wide as your hips.
- Then exhale and lay your torso down between your thighs. Then after broadening the sacrum across the back of your pelvis and narrow your hip points toward the navel
- Then lay your hands on the floor alongside your torso and make sure the palms are up, and release the fronts of your shoulders toward the floor. This will gives you the stretch of the muscles.
- Stay in that pose from 30 seconds to a few minutes.
- Then come up, first lengthen the front torso, and then with an inhalation lift from the tailbone. It helps to presses down and into the pelvis area.
2. Cow Face Pose:
This is best for neck and shoulder aches. Mostly the new moms go with this form of change while breastfeeding. The cow face pose helps in keeping the shoulders away from the ears and the shoulder blades down the back. This is also a great stretching of hips as well as the neck and shoulder.
How To Do:
- First, sit in Dandasana pose by bending the knees and put your feet on the floor. Then Slide your left foot under the right knee to the outside of the right hip. After that cross, your right leg over the left stacking the right knee on top of the left. You should bring the right foot to the outside of the left hip to make you comfortable.
- Make sure you sit evenly on the sitting bones in this postpartum yoga.
- Then you can inhale and stretch your right arm straight out to the right, which must be parallel to the floor.
- After that rotate your arm inwardly and the thumb will turn first toward the floor. The point should be toward the wall behind you, that helps you with the palm facing towards the ceiling.
- Then with a full exhalation, sweep the arm behind your torso and tuck the forearm in the hollow of your lower back, it should be parallel to the waist, with the right elbow against the right side of your torso. Then after rolling the shoulder back and down and work the forearm up to your back until it is parallel to your spine.
- This will make the back of your hand in between your shoulder blades.
- Then you can start inhaling and stretching the left arm straight forward, pointing toward the opposite wall that must be parallel to the floor. Then after turning the palm up with another inhalation, and stretch the arm straight up toward the ceiling.
- Make sure you lift your left arm, then with an exhalation, bend the elbow in order to reach down for the right hand. Then after lift, the left elbow toward the ceiling and, from the back armpit, descend the right elbow toward the floor.
- Try to keep the left arm right beside the left side of your head at this yoga pose. Make sure you continue for about 1 min and then release the arms uncrossing the legs.
- Repeat the same with another side of arm and legs for the same length of time.
3. Cobra Pose:
This is an amazing pose that works great to tackle the back pain problem after delivery. It strengthens the arms, shoulders, spinal column and buttocks. It is also one of the great yoga poses for beginners after a long time.
How To Do:
- This you can start doing by sitting on your heels, and simply walk your hands out and lengthen your body. As of now, you can facedown on the floor, by resting your face to the side, on one cheek.
- Then you can press your hands fully into the floor beneath your shoulders, or lower towards your ribs, and hug your elbows in. Make sure you keep them close to the sides of your body. Now you can press the tops of your thighs, feet, and pelvis firmly into the floor.
- As you inhale, begin to straighten your arms by pressing your hands into the floor. Be sure you only go as far as you can with your pelvis and legs pressing into the floor. Don’t stress your self much at least at initial days.
- Do it for 3 to five 5 breaths as you engage your glutes and keep your shoulder blades down on your back. To maintain your head and neck in a gaze forwarding or slightly up without jutting your chin out.
- While exhaling makes sure you gently release your belly, ribs, then head back to the ground. Take a few deep breaths once you go for repeating the pose for another three to five breaths.
4. Leg Up The Wall:
This is the most relaxing, meditative yoga asanas after delivery. It helps to bring the blood flow in the opposite direction. You can do this yoga pose before savasana. This yoga pose acts as a passive inversion that helps to build core strength, and energize you. It also improves balance and give your heart a break.
How To Do:
- First, start with moving towards the mat to an area with open wall space and sit parallel to the wall.
- Then comfortably lie back with your feet on the ground, and keep the knees bent.
- Using your lower back/upper tailbone as the fulcrum point, gently swing your torso so it’s perpendicular to the wall, and extend your legs up it.
- Rest your arms next to you and make sure your palms are up.
- Stay for about 5-10 seconds for a two-three sets of repatriation.
5. Plank:
This is regarded as one of the best poses for firing on your abs. It put direct pressure on the belly which is a super yoga pose after delivery to reduce tummy fat. It also works on strengthening abdominals, back muscles, and arms.
How To Do:
- Start in a pose of Adho Mukha Svanasana (R) after that inhale and draw your torso forward until the arms are in a perpendicular manner that is touching to the floor and the shoulders should be directly over the wrists, and the torso must be parallel to the floor.
- After that press your outer arms inward and firm the bases on your index fingers into the floor. Then after firm the shoulder blades against your back, and spread them away from the spine.
- Once it is done now you can press your front thighs up toward the ceiling and lift the base away from the back of the neck and look straight down at the floor.
- stay from 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Then come back to the original pose and relax.
6. Standing Forward Bend
This is one yoga asanas that are performed in standing pose. It has numerous benefits like improving circulation. Decrease mood swings etc. You can try this yoga pose after delivery to reduce tummy.
How To Do:
- First, sit on the floor on your hands and knees. The position should be the knees must be directly below your hips and your hands slightly forward of your shoulders. Make sure you spread your palms, index fingers parallel or slightly turned out, and turn your toes under it.
- Exhale first and lift the knees away from the floor keeping the knees slightly bent and the heels lifted away from the floor.
- Make sure the lengthen your tailbone should be away from the back of your pelvis and press it lightly toward the pubis. Once it is done now you can lift the sitting bones toward the ceiling, and from your inner ankles draw the inner legs up into the ground.
- Then with an exhalation make sure you push your top thighs back and stretch your heels onto or down toward the floor. In it straighten the knees and do not to lock them. Hence after that firm the outer thighs and roll the upper thighs inward slightly.
- Make sure the outer arms should be firm and press the bases of the index fingers actively into the floor. On basis of this two points lift along your inner arms from the wrists to the tops of the shoulders and do also firm your shoulder blades against your back, then widen them and toward the tailbone drown them.
- Keep the head between the upper arms and don’t let it hang.stay in this pose for 1 to 3 mins and then bend the knees to the floor with an exhalation.
7. Bridge Pose:
Bridge pose is great for relieving thoracic spine discomfort after delivery. This yoga pose helps a lot to strengthen the legs while stretching the hip flexors and opens the shoulders and chest. This all area often gets tight after childbirth. It also helps to relieve anxiety, which the new mothers feel most often.
How To Do:
- First, lie supine on the floor and then bend your knees and set your feet on the floor.
- The heels should be as close to the sitting bones as possible while performing this postpartum yoga.
- Then you can exhale and, press the inner feet and arms actively into the floor. You should push your tailbone upward toward the pubis, and firm the buttocks to lift the buttocks off the floor.
- Keep your thighs and inner feet parallel and clasp the hands below your pelvis and extend through the arms as that will make you stay on the tops of your shoulders.
- Make sure you lift your buttocks until the thighs which must be parallel to the floor and keep your knees directly over the heels, pushing them forward and away from the hips, and lengthen the tailbone toward the backs of the knees. Do also lift the pubis toward the navel.
- After that the chin should be slightly lifted enough to keep away from the sternum and, firming the shoulder blades against your back, then you can press the top of the sternum toward the chin. After that, the outer arms should be firm, broaden the shoulder blades, and try to lift the space between them at the base of the neck
- Stay in the pose from 30 seconds to 1 minute and then release with an exhalation and slowly coming down onto the floor.
Yoga Moves To Avoid After Giving Birth:
There are certain moves that you need to avoid after giving birth. Such as-
1. Deep Twist:
This is one of the yoga poses that you need to avoid after giving birth as it put immense pressure on the belly and internal organ. This can also, in turn, worsen the separation of the abdominal muscles.
How To Do:
- First, sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you and shift over onto your right buttock, and bend your knees, and swing your legs to the left.
- You can layout your feet on the floor outside your left hip, and with the left ankle resting in the right arch.
- After that inhale to lift through the top of the sternum to lengthen the front torso. Then after you can exhale and twist your torso to the right, keeping the left buttock on or very close to the floor.
- Make sure you lengthen your tailbone toward the floor to keep the lower back long as that will help to soften the belly.
- Now tuck your left hand under your right knee and bring your right hand to the floor just beside your right buttock. Then pull out your left shoulder back slightly, pressing the shoulder blades firmly your back against it and evenly you can continue to twist the chest to the right.
- You can turn your head in one of two directions one into the twist of the torso by turning it to the right and the other by counter the twist of the torso by turning it left. You can even look over the left shoulder at your feet to be more comfortable.
- As with every inhalation try to lift a little more through the sternum, using the push of the fingers on the floor.
- Stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then release with an exhalation, return to the starting position, and
- repeat to the left side for the same length of time.
2. Fish Pose:
This is another yoga pose that should be avoided after giving birth to the baby.
How To Do:
- First, start sitting on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you, and the buttocks should be supported on some object. After that, you can bend your knees and put your feet on the floor, and hence after that, you can slide your left foot under your right leg to the outside of your right hip. This will make you right in the pose.
- After that put outside of the left leg on the floor and step the right foot over the left leg and stand on the floor outside your left hip. The right knee will point directly up at the ceiling
- Start with exhaling and twist toward the inside of the right thigh by pressing the right hand against the floor in about just behind the right buttock, which can set your left upper arm on the outside of your right thigh.
- You can pull the front torso and inner right thigh snugly together. After that make sure you press the inner right foot into the floor and release the right groin, and lengthen the front torso.
- Make sure you Lean the upper torso back slightly, against the shoulder blades, and continue to lengthen the tailbone into the floor.
- You can turn your head in one of two directions one into the twist of the torso by turning it to the right and the other by counter the twist of the torso by turning it left. You can even look over the left shoulder at your feet to be more comfortable.
- In every inhalation lift a little more through the sternum, pushing towards the fingers against the floor.
- You can also twist a bit more with every exhalation. Make sure you stay for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then release with an exhalation,
- Then you can return to the starting position, and repeat to the left side.
3. Malasana:
This form of a yoga pose is asked you to avoid because it requires you to spread your legs and can lead to holding you a squatting position. This is not advisable as it affects the stitches. Rather than this yoga pose, you can go for a position like vajrasana. As this has tremendous benefits such as get rid of back pain and constipation
4. Bow Pose:
This is a yoga pose that also includes a lot of stretching. You are not wise to allow so much of stretching just after delivery. This form of exercise put much pressure on both your surgical incision and on your weakened core muscles. Rather than doing this pose you can go for relaxing your body and flex your spine, choose seated stretches, like the staff pose or the cow face pose.
5. Hanumanasana (Splits)
This form of postpartum yoga is especially it should be avoided if you have a C-Section. As it can reopen the wound. It also not good as it extends your lower body and specifically engages your hip flexors and hamstrings. As the body is in a sphere to get well so it should be avoided.
6. Inversions:
The Inversions include the yoga pose with like shoulder stands which add more pressure to the lower belly area and could cause discomfort just after giving birth. It is wise for you to avoid this form of exercise until you scar heals completely and you feel stronger inside and outside of your body. You can go to savasana. Make sure to relax and close your eyes, and you’ll be sure to reduce bodily tensions, improve your memory and concentration, and relieve headache and insomnia.
Yoga plays a very important and major role in maintaining a healthy life after pregnancy and the best part is to get back to shape than you were before pregnancy. It is also wise to know what are the yoga asanas you should do after delivery and what to avoid. I hope this article has clear out the different forms of you you need and needn’t perform after giving birth.
