6 Yoga Poses for Mamas-to-Be

There's no question about it: pregnancy is a transformative time in a woman's life. I can remember feeling so overwhelmed, excited, anxious, busy, scared, completely in over my head... and the list only goes on from there! One thing that helped me a bit with both pregnancies was practicing prenatal yoga. Now, I'm not a big yoga person in my every day life, I have to admit. But I did find it very helpful during pregnancy (the stretching felt great and the calming atmosphere of the yoga studio helped calm my growing nerves).

Diana Zotos, a physical therapist and certified yoga instructor at Hospital for Special Surgery, says, "Practicing yoga during pregnancy can aid women in maintaining both physical and mental balance." Additionally, yoga can help you to:

Breathe to soothe and energize both you and your baby

Strengthen the abdominal wall, back and leg muscles. This is important to protect your stretching ligaments, strained back and to prepare for delivery

Stretch the lower back, side waist and legs which get tight as the body changes shape

Click through for six of Zotos' favorite poses, and check out her blog post for accompanying videos to make sure you're doing everything correctly. As always, please check with your doctor first before trying these at home or attending a class. Namaste!

- By Ellen Schmidt

MORE ON BABYZONE
4 more prenatal yoga poses for your beautiful belly
Breathe in, breathe out: mindfulness yoga for pregnant women
7 ways yoga can be helpful during labor