New Delhi: Your body is simply not the same when you are carrying a developing child. Your internal organs shift and squeeze together to make room for your growing uterus. Yoga has many benefits during pregnancy, including building pelvic strength and preparing your body for labour, but there are some yoga poses to avoid when you are expecting. The following yoga poses are a complete no-no during pregnancy:
Revolved Side Angle Pose
Pretty much as soon as you see a bump, or beyond the first trimester, you want to stop doing exercises that require you to twist along the midline. Baby is trying to grow in there and you don’t want to cramp his space.
Full Wheel
The full wheel actually isn’t completely off-limits during pregnancy…if you’re used to doing it. If you are very comfortable in the pose and it is part of your regular practice, you can continue doing it until it no longer feels comfortable. For me, I did full wheel up until about 25 weeks before starting to modify.
However, every pregnancy is different. And again, this is not the time to push yourself to try new poses.
Bow Pose
After your first trimester, it’s best to avoid lying face down. That makes any poses on your stomach a no-no. When your class is doing bow pose or other belly-down series, it’s natural to not know what to do — but you have options!
Chaturanga To Upward-Facing Dog
Chaturanga to an upward-facing dog is usually fine to do until late in your pregnancy, when the weight of the stomach may prevent you from keeping your pelvis raised. You may also find that the size of your stomach prevents you from completing a vinyasa sequence.
Forward Fold
It’s pretty obvious why you’d want to avoid a full forward fold during pregnancy, but this pose can easily be modified.