Hatha Yoga for Pregnant Women: 1st Trimester

Features of practicing Hatha Yoga in the 1st trimester

When practicing pregnancy yoga in the 1st trimester, while the body is still adjusting to this unfamiliar state, it’s important to exclude poses that put pressure on the abdomen from your practice. Experienced yogis need to cautiously perform power poses, while beginners should listen to their bodies and avoid any poses that cause even the slightest discomfort. It’s better to practice a little bit daily. Additionally, it’s advisable to reduce the holding time for asanas and exclude standing poses from your routine if there’s even a slightest risk of miscarriage.

7 yoga poses in the 1st trimester

Savasana

To enter Shavasana, lie on your back with arms extended alongside your body, palms facing up. Then, mentally track the relaxation of all muscles sequentially. The pose of complete stillness helps achieve harmony and balance, relieve fatigue, and reduce anxiety levels. The simplicity of performing Shavasana is deceptive. Fully relaxing the entire body is a challenging task, but regular practice of the asana allows you to achieve the desired results.

Supta Virasana

The reclined hero pose is one of the positions that alleviates morning sickness, which is why it is often found in prenatal yoga sequences during early pregnancy. The standard virasana serves as the basis for performing it. From this starting position, leaning on your elbows, you should recline backward and carefully place your head and then your back on the floor. Then, without lifting your shoulder blades from the surface, stretch your arms upward. Beginners who find the traditional version difficult shouldn’t refrain from including the pose in their routines: you can ease the exercise by placing a support (a cushion or bolster) under your back.

Gomukhasana in Virasana

Another pose performed from the hero pose. Sitting in virasana (it’s more comfortable to sit on a special block rather than the floor), you need to clasp your fingers behind your back. One elbow ends up on top and the other on the bottom. After a few breathing cycles, the hands need to be switched. Gomukhasana strengthens posture, opens up the chest well, and reduces the manifestations of toxicity.

Having a beneficial effect on kidney function and improving hormonal balance, the snake pose is often practiced early in pregnancy. To perform it, you must lie face down on the floor. Then the upper part of the torso is lifted upwards with support on the hands, with the neck stretched to the maximum. It’s important to achieve the lift through the muscular strength of the torso, not by pushing off the floor with your hands. The legs should be together, and the thighs should not lift off the floor.

Viparita Karani with Legs Up the Wall

The name of the asana is often translated as bent candle pose. It is also known as the inverted lake pose. It can be performed on the floor or on a bed. It involves lying on your back with your legs raised along the wall. A pillow is placed under the lower back for comfort. The main purpose of the asana is to normalize blood circulation in the legs and pelvic area. Including Viparita Karani in yoga exercise complexes for pregnant women in the first trimester can significantly reduce the chances of developing varicose veins. Additionally, this pose is perfect for relaxation.

Baddha Konasana

A popular pose that helps balance the functions of the genitourinary system and stimulate blood circulation to the pelvic organs. It is an excellent preparation for successful childbirth and a wonderful prevention of varicose veins and sciatica. The classic version of the Butterfly Pose is performed sitting down. The knees are bent so that the heels are as close as possible to the groin area. The feet are joined together, and the knees are lowered to the floor as much as flexibility allows.

Vajrasana

Diamond Pose stabilizes digestion, reduces acidity, and helps cure stomach diseases. This is a position of sitting on the heels, or rather on the inner surfaces of the feet. The big toes are joined together, while the heels are spread apart, thus touching the outer sides of the thighs. The eyes should be closed, and the body relaxed. The duration of staying in the asana depends on the experience in practice; any discomfort in the ankles, knees, or thighs is a reason to end the exercise.

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Hatha Yoga First Trimester: Video Lessons for Beginners

Balance the load during prenatal yoga in the first trimester with videos on our website. Here, there are various complexes: some are intended for regular practice and offer the opportunity to work the entire body. Others are aimed at solving specific problems:

• back strengthening;

• pelvic floor muscle strengthening;

• training in proper breathing techniques;

• relaxation of the body and preparation for sleep;

• receiving an energy boost (morning asana complex).

Yoga for pregnant women 1st trimester: what is useful for home practice

For successful home practice, expectant mothers will find yoga videos for the first trimester of pregnancy useful, along with a comfortable non-slip mat, blankets and pillows, or special yoga props: bolsters and blocks. The room should be well-ventilated, and the clothing should not restrict movement and be pleasant to the skin.