Yoga for pregnant women

Yoga is all about well-being. It is among those activities that would help even a to-be-mom go through the special phase of her life well. MetroMela therefore toured the city to find out yoga centers that have special programs for expectant women.

Patanjali Yoga Center was started by yoga guru Kannara Vijaykumar and has become pretty popular in Aundh. It is said to even be recommended by gynecologists. Here they have a package of yoga, diet and naturopathy for pre and post natal care. Mild pranayama (breathing technique) is recommended and some yoga asanas are encouraged to help stretch the muscles. They also have a mudpack to ease the pain of pregnancy.

Rishi Samskruti Vidya Kendra has a special program that is a compilation of a whole lot of things. It is a two-months long weekend program of three hours each day. Called the infant program, it is something that can be done pre or post natal. It comprises consultation, right diet, meditation and simple asanas like Vajrasan, Butterfly asana and mild pranayama. Following the concept of Garbhpurva sanskar (behavior while pregnancy), parents are even taught about relationship management to ensure good emotional development of the child.

Ramamani Iyengar Institute has a separate medical and ladies batch. They also have props to facilitate movement. The institute believes that asanas (yoga exercises) help to make the uterus stronger and function more effectively. It also strengthens the spinal column and lessens lower back pain. The cavity in the pelvic region gets expanded with asanas like Virasana, Baddha Konasana, Sapta Virasana, Sapta Padangusthana and Upavistha konnasana they say, thus ensuring that there is proper blood circulation and adequate room for the baby to move. The breathing techniques like Ujjayi pranayama I and Vilomi Pranayama II are also directed towards relieving stress and revitalizing the internal organs.

Apart from the ones listed above, Pune is home to a few other good yoga centers as well. Now these may not have special programs for pregnancy per se but they do teach yoga to expectant women. Sahaja Yoga in Kothrud is one of them. There are Malcolm’s classes (09890234259) in Koregaon Park too.