Pregnancy is a great time in a woman's life but is also the period when her body experiences a lot of changes.
Not all of these changes are welcome because the woman also puts on a lot of weight during this time.
Yoga is a great way to exercise during pregnancy because it offers many benefits to the expectant mother.
As a result, increasing numbers of women are taking to this ancient Indian exercise form.
There are many reasons why Yoga is gaining in popularity, especially with pregnant women.
This exercise form involves a lot of bending and stretching exercises that help pregnant women stay limber.
There are specific positions, known as Asanas, which are especially beneficial to pregnant women because they help the thighs and hips to get stretched.
One such position is the Butterfly.
This position helps to loosen up the muscles of the hips, inner thighs and groin if done regularly.
There are also squats in Yoga that tone the muscles of the thigh, buttocks and pelvis.
A woman who includes these positions in her regular workout will almost certainly have an easy childbirth.
Another Yoga position that pregnant women should include in their workout is the Cat position.
This position focuses on the muscles of the neck, shoulders and spine and it therefore helps pregnant women carry themselves better.
Women who exercise in this way tend to have better posture and therefore do not suffer from backaches.
Most women who do not have strong back muscles complain of back pain during the third trimester when the baby begins to get very large and heavy.
It is common for women with weak muscles to adopt a swaybacked posture in order to compensate for the weight of the baby.
Apart from toning and strengthening the muscles, Yoga also helps to calm a woman down if she is taking on too much stress during the pregnancy.
Many women find the demands of pregnancy to be too much to handle and they do not take good care of themselves as a result.
This particular style of exercise involves a lot of regulated breathing and meditation.
This helps to relax a woman considerably.
It is believed that the baby also remains calm and happy along with the mother.
A mother who has too much stress in her life exposes her unborn child to these negative feelings as well.
If you are planning to start Yoga then you should only do so under the advice of a qualified medical practitioner.
There may be some exercises that are quite difficult for you to do especially if you have never attempted it before.
You should also make sure that you get training from a proper teacher.
There are many people who claim to be experts in this particular style of exercise but are not necessarily so.
If you select your teacher well and do all the exercises properly your pregnancy will be a breeze.
You will also recover your pre pregnancy figure very fast.