yoga for your postpartum era
If you’ve seen my other content, you’ll know the benefits of prenatal yoga. But what about continuing your yoga practice after your baby is here? Well, the relaxing vibes and gentle stretches that you loved in pregnancy are just as important in your new postpartum era.
Postnatal yoga can improve pyschological wellbeing for new mums, potentially reducing feelings of anger, stress and tension (1). This is likely due to the way yoga helps you to relax and self-regulate your emotions. In my classes we always spend at least 10 minutes to practice calm breathing and listen to a relaxation script, similar to the ones you may have done in pregnancy. There’s also evidence to show that it can improve overall psychological well-being and quality of life (2).
Postnatal yoga is an effective stepping stone to returning to more intense exercise, and one that is recommended by the NHS (3). By following a specific postnatal program, you can ensure you are regaining strength and stability in a safe way, before returning to more high impact exercise like running or HIIT. Postnatal yoga classes work on rebuilding your core and pelvic floor through small, safe movements. I’ll talk you through everything as we can go, and you can continue to repeat some of the core exercises at home between classes if you like.
It’s also a space for some time to just be you - it’s not a baby class, it’s a class that focuses on your needs for once (though babies are very welcome to come along). And it offers a space to connect with other mums in a low-pressure environment.
I teach postnatal yoga every Friday at 5pm, at Om Yoga Works Farsley, Leeds. You can book your space and find out more on the ‘buy now’ section of my website.
References
3) pl-970.1-exercise-after-pregnancy-–-how-to-get-started.pdf
