The first trimester is the woman’s first three months after conception. It is a time of 1-12 weeks of fertility. Throughout the first trimester of pregnancy, a woman will have signs of a missed period as the fertilization and implantation happen, ovulation gets ceased and verifies pregnancy.
The First Trimester of Pregnancy Creates Many Emotional and Physical Changes.
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Hormonal changes will affect every organ in the body. Some signs of early pregnancy include:
- Extreme fatigue
- Mood swings
- Constipation
- Nausea and morning sickness
- Swollen and tender breast
- Cravings
- Heartburn
- Headache
- Frequent Urination
- Weight gain or loss
Whether you do yoga or not, this post will help you. Being pregnant and creating a new life inside of you is a wonderful thing. Yoga is the best workout during pregnancy when done with safety and expert guidance. Yoga helps to relieve pains, stress linked with the growing baby, and develop power and strength.
Necessary Steps
Before beginning any type of workout, it is always required to take your doctor’s help to know it is safe for you and your baby. There are many things to consider before beginning or continuing yoga practice during the first trimester. You need to ask every small detail about your pregnancy to be reliable and cautious. Also, find out what type of yoga you need and how much yoga is enough for you during a sensitive time.
During your initial 3-months of pregnancy, it may not feel like your body is performing very few changes. Yet, the truth of the thing is your body is working a great chance for the essential function to develop an infant.
Your hormones start to change drastically, such as estrogen and progesterone. The blood volume rises significantly, and blood pressure lower so your heart can safely pump the extra fluid from the more blood volume. Your muscle tissues get to relax, and joints become loose from the hormone to make the uterus get to stretch. All of this internal and physical activity can make a woman feeling exhausted in her first trimester, even though it is not visible outside the body.
The fetus is get implanted, and the placenta is developing during the 1st trimester, it is required to take caution because of the miscarriage chance during the 1st trimester. A gentle yoga such as a restorative class or gentle flow is recommended. It is not suggested to perform intense sequences like high energy vinyasa flow with jump backs.
The CAP-Wellness-Center provide prenatal yoga completely. Doing yoga under a certified expert who understands the physiology and anatomy of a pregnant woman is a safe way to practice. They know what is safe and what is not unsafe and guide you with relaxing practice.
Yoga Asanas for the First Trimester of Pregnancy
1.Bhujangasana
Bhujangasana is also described as a cobra pose, which follows the lifted hood of a cobra. It is a starting level Ashtanga yoga asana. Do this yoga in the morning before eating anything, and hold this asana as you feel relaxed but not more than 30 seconds. Avoid expanding more in the pose and do it lightly.
Benefits
Bhujangasana reduces the stiffness in the lower back. It raises the flexibility of the body and also raises the mood.
Note: This yoga asana should be continued in the second trimester as it needs to lie on the back, which puts stress on the abdomen and fetus.
2.Baddha Konasana
Baddha Konasana also describes as a butterfly pose as it resembles the flapping wings of a butterfly. Baddha Konasana is the starting level of Vinyasa yoga asana. Perform this yoga with an empty stomach and hold as much as possible but not more than five minutes.
Benefits
Baddha Konasana stimulates the heart and improves your blood circulation in the body. The pose helps to relieve anxiety and fatigue.
Precautions
- Here is some precaution to follow while doing this asana.
- Skip this yoga if you have a knee injury.
- Use a pillow if you have sciatica.
Beginner’s Tips
Lowering knees such that they sit level on the floor can be difficult, especially if your knees are high, and back is rounded. You can also sit over high support to prepare things easier till you get comfortable with this asana. The support can be higher like a foot from the floor.
3.Bitilasana
Bitilasana also describes as Cow Pose as it resembles the cow stance. The Bitilasna is a Sanskrit word that means cow. It is a beginner level of Vinyasa yoga asana. Perform this yoga with an empty stomach and hold as you feel good and not more than fifteen seconds.
Benefits
Bitilasana helps to improve posture and balance. It calms down your mind and reduces stress. This pose also stretches the neck and spine muscles.
Precautions
If you are suffering from a sensitive neck, then do not perform this yoga as it may put more strain. Also, make sure to keep your shoulders away from ears.
Take your doctor’s advice before choosing this yoga to in case of a neck injury. Do this yoga under the guidance of a yoga expert.
Beginner’s Tip
As a beginner, you must be cautious about your neck while doing this asana by extending your shoulder and bring them down away from the ears.
4.Marjariasana
Marijariasna also describes as cat pose, which stretches the back like a cat. It is a starting level of Ashtanga yoga asana. Do this yoga with a vacant stomach and hold as you feel comfortable but not longer than fifteen seconds.
Benefits
Marijariasana helps to promote digestion. It also relaxes your mind and promote blood circulation and relieve stress.
Precautions
If you are experiencing neck or back issues, it is acceptable to take a specialist’s recommendation before practicing marijariasna posture. Even if your doctor tells you to do, make sure to perform this yoga under expert guidance.
Beginner’s Tip
Marijariasna is simple yoga. If you find it difficult to round the upper back top, you could ask a friend or expert help. Ask them to keep their hand in and over the shoulder so that it can help to activate the region.
5.Viparita Karani
Viparita Karani is a leg up the wall pose is a mild inversion, which is restorative and relaxing. The asana is the starting level of hath yoga asana. Perform it on an empty stomach and hold this pose for less than 15 minutes.
Benefits
Viparita Karani is the best to treat tired legs and feet. It treats the headache and reduces insomnia symptoms. The pose calms down your mind and nerves.
Precautions
Viparita Karani is a gentle inversion, and therefore, it must be skipped during menstruation.
A woman suffering from eye problems like glaucoma also take certified instructor advice.
If you notice a tingling sensation in feet while doing this asana, flex your knees and reach the soles, get heels near to the pelvis.
Beginner’s Tip
Viparita Karani may be difficult for a beginner to align the pose. You must take a breath and keep your thigh bones heads firmly against the wall. It will help to release the belly, spine, and groin. You must assume the inhalation fall through the torso and push the heads of thigh bones against a wall.
As you take a breath every time, let your thigh bones push harder to the wall and body pull away from the wall.
6.Tadasana
Tadasana also describes the mountain pose is an asana of all standing yoga poses. It is a beginner level of hatha yoga asana. You can do Tadasana any time of the day and not necessarily on an empty stomach. Hold this pose for less than 20 seconds.
Benefits
Tadasana increases your breathing. It helps to relieve the pains of the body. The pose restores and refreshes your health. Also, it increases your enthusiasm and energy.
Precautions
It is good to skip this yoga if you are suffering the following problems: insomnia, headaches, and low blood pressure.
Beginner’s Tip
As a beginner, you may believe that it’s difficult to adapt to this posture. To adjust your parity, place your internal feet around three to five inches separated until you get comfort in the posture.
7.Virabhadrasana II
This yoga also names as warrior II pose because of the mythological warrior called Virabhadra. It is an opening level of vinyasa yoga asana. Do this yoga with a vacant stomach and try to continue till 30 seconds.
Benefits
The virabhadrasana helps to increase the strengthen lungs and shoulder. It raises stamina and therapeutic for osteoporosis. This pose also stretches the groins and hips.
Precautions
- Pregnant women with irregular blood pressure levels should take expert advice.
- Do not perform this yoga if you are suffering from diarrhea.
- If you experiencing a neck issued, then skip this yoga.
Beginner’s Tips
Beginners should flex left knees to a right angle as you enter in this pose, flex it quickly with a deep exhalation, and keep inside to the left knee near the little toe side of your left foot.Â
Yoga Tips for the First Trimester
Learn under a qualified instructor
If you have never done yoga or exercised little during your pregnancy, you ought to do just pre-birth yoga during pregnancy. It is prescribed to get familiar with these asanas under master direction, as opposed to yoga recordings for pregnancy.
Keep Doing Yoga Practice During Pregnancy
If you already developed a good yoga practice, then continue it till the end of pregnancy. Make sure to choose different asana in different trimester with modification.
Use Your Body In A Gentle Way
During your first trimester, both the starting and experienced yoga experts should only perform a gentle practice, as the fetus is still getting implanted, and there will be a risk of miscarriage at its highest. Perform basic yoga poses with some modifications. Develop flexibility and strength with suitable poses, and make good use to feel balanced and prevent tiredness.
Adjust Your Yoga Practice To Support Your Baby
Avoid close twists, inversions, and backbends. These might put pressure on the uterus or overstretch your abdominal muscles.
Relax Into Mindfulness
Allow enough time for good relaxation at the end of practice or class. It is a perfect time for you to practice breathing and meditation to be in the current moment.
Trust in yourself
Keep in mind, being pregnant doesn’t mean you are harmed or debilitated. Utilize your yoga guidance to know the quality of the body. While you have to adjust a few postures, you are as yet an incredible, competent lady.
Choose yoga, which is suitable for you. With some determination and practice, yoga benefits to advantages of your pregnancy.
There is also the belief that if you did an activity before pregnancy, you can proceed to experience it in the entire pregnancy without alteration or changes. You should not ignore hormonal, anatomical, and physiological differences that occur to a pregnant woman indifferent to pre-pregnancy conditioning.
Focusing more particularly on yoga and the first trimester, a woman may find themselves facing challenges of fatigue and nausea. Not every woman gets this, but for those that perform, even thinking about physical workout may be completely out of the question. Yoga helps to relieve fatigue and nausea.
Knowing the Pregnancy Hormones
The pregnancy hormones are progesterone, relaxin, and estrogen. The level of these hormones undergo many big changes and affect the body in a great way. There are other changes to the endocrine system, but doing yoga can help to manage them in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Estrogen raises 1000 fold which:
- Raise blood flow
- Growth and capacity of uterus and breast
- Water and salt retentions
- May affect mood swings
- Raise elasticity of connective tissues
Progesterone rises 1000 fold which:
- Raise the hypothalamus to create fat storage
- Increases basal body heat
- Raise the amount of sodium passed by kidneys
- Reduce gastrointestinal mobility
- Reduce soft muscle tone of bladder, intestines, stomach, uterus, sphincters
Relaxin
Relaxing helps to relax the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This hormone promotes the birth process by causing lengthening and softening of the cervix and the pubic symphysis.
It is released into your body quickly after the conception and peaks at 3-months. It continues until labor with a significant rise. You will notice with all the three hormones, which is a common denominator is that in a few manners or other, there is instability being formed in the body by the weakening of connective tissue, tendons, smooth muscle tone, and ligaments. These are important to create placenta, uterus growth, and space for the baby.
Recommended Modification
Modifying a yoga practice in the first trimester can seem odd to some as they visible physical changes. But the body undergoes great hormonal surges that affect the mom to be.
Additionally, the focus should be on the fetus implantation and proper placenta attachment while not over affecting the fatigued body. This pregnancy stage is considered a more delicate time because of the miscarriage risk.
Note if you are an expert yogi, the body changes regardless of your previous experience. What the previous experience offer is a deeper natural sense of being able to know your body.
Here is some mindful modification for the first trimester of pregnancy.
Prone Poses
Certain lower belly poses are good like Bhujangasana as long as the expert is grounding the pubic bone and extending from the lower back and actively use legs and lower belly does not get direct pressure. However, asanas such as Salambhasana and Danurasana keep direct pressure on your uterus, should be skipped.
Deep Twists
The deep twists are a family of poses, which wonderfully therapeutic for the non-pregnant body as it provides compressing to internal organs, which cleanse and stimulate the organs. Even though the uterus is still moderately small and located in the pelvis. It is recommended to avoid deep belly twists during the first trimester of pregnancy. You can try twists of the upper back to keep the baby point forward and twist over the bra strapline.
Deep Backbends
These postures ought to likewise be drawn closer with alert since they as well, pack the uterus and can overstretch the stomach muscles.
Jumps And Jerky Movements
These movements can disrupt implantation.
Certain Pranayamas
Avoid doing pranayams, which involves deep and forceful movements and breath retention of the belly, such as Bhastrike or Kapalbhati. Alternate nostril breathing is good as long as you do not include retention. The ujjayi breath should not be performed if the mucus membranes get swollen.
It seems difficult to know which yoga is better and which is unsafe. Therefore, choose yoga asana under expert guidance for the first trimester of pregnancy. Make sure your pregnancy does not have any complications.