Exercises To Perform And To Avoid During Pregnancy Time

Abstract

During Pregnancy, a lady experiences an entirely different zone of the world. She suffers a lot of changes within her body as well as in her mental state. Giving birth to a child is a BLESSING a girl can have. The desires of the fetus are expressed through the mother hence it should always be fulfilled because negligence or non- fulfillment can cause abnormalities or even death of the fetus. She needs to be active and fit, for this certain exercise works really well. In Ayurveda, focus on her dietary regime and lifestyle management is given so that she will deliver a healthy baby through Normal Labor (Delivery).

Introduction

In our classical text detailed explanation of changes women experiences from the first day of conceive to the Post partum (After delivery) is available.

1. Signs / Symptoms Of Sadyograhit Garbha (Immediately Conceived Woman)

Acharya charaka and sushruta beautifully explain the signs/symptoms of immediately conceived women.

• She feels Nisthivika (Repeated vomiting), Gaurav (Heaviness), Angsaad (Fatigue), Tandra (Sleepy), Praharsh (Goosebumps), Haridya vyatha (Pain in cardiac region), Tripti (Fullness).
• As per Acharya Sushruta – Shram (Fatigue), Galani (Tiredness), Pipasa (Excessive thirst), Skathi sadan (Lassitude in thighs), Shukr shonit avbandha (Retention of semen and female menstrual blood), Saffuranasch yoniya (Trembling in vagina).

2. Signs / Symptoms Of Vyakta Garbha (After Origin Of Body Parts Of Embryo)

• Satnyo Krishanmukhta (Blackening of areola)
• Romraji udgansthta (Development of linea nigra)
• Excessive blinking of eyelids.
• Emesis without any cause.
• She doesn’t like good odour.
• Increased salivation.Lassitude (tiredness).

In our classical ancient text the detailed explanation of lifestyle schedules a pregnant lady needs to follow and to avoid for delivering a healthy baby. They are as follow:

1. If she follows a proper dietary regime from 1st to 9th month of pregnancy her fetal membrane or vaginal canal, sacrum, flanks region and back portion become soft so that she ultimately expels the excellently developed and healthy child very easily and after that she eventually gains proper strength and stamina.
2. During the 1st trimester of pregnancy most of the women experience vomiting and nausea, so might feel discomfort in taking a proper diet. It may lead to various complications so she needs to have a cold and sweet fluid rich diet or milk that will help in combating dehydration  and piled up her body with proper nourishment.
3. From 4th month onward means after the 2nd trimester of pregnancy – the muscular growth of the fetus grows sufficiently, thus she needs a more protein rich diet for this ‘meat/chicken soup’ is a marvelous choice.
4. By the end of the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, most pregnant ladies suffer from swelling in the feet/ankle region or other ailments related to water absorption and accumulation.

• Use of Gokshura (Tribulus terrestris) , the best diuretic herb, mentioned in our classical text, usually advises her that it will prevent water retention and its complications.

Most pregnant women feel constipated in late pregnancy (last trimester) due to the pressure of the gravid uterus over her intestines.

• Use of enema in the 8th month will relieve this constipation.
• Use of a vaginal tampon may also soften the vaginal passage thus aid in normal labor.

Our acharya’s doesn’t explain the specific exercises to be performed during antenatal care, but they do explain proper dietary regime and lifestyle management steps,  need to follow without any variation so that it will help a pregnant lady in attaining proper growth of developing baby.

List Of Some Useful ‘Yoga Asana’ For A Pregnant Lady Are As Follow:

1. Kon Asana (Sideways Standing By Using Both Arms)

How To Perform It:

• Stand still on your both legs
• Now slightly expand your legs.
• Raise both your arms, bend them to the left side firstly by slowly inhaling deep.
• Bring them back downward.
• Again raise them slowly but this time turn to the opposite side from the previous one such as to the right side.
• Repeat this for 1-2 times only.

Benefits:

• This asana stretches the complete abdominal organs along with the spine.
• Help in attaining stability.

2. Baddha Kon Asana (Butterfly Pose)

How To Perform It:

• Sit down on the floor by extending your legs to the front.
• Bring your feet toward your groin area and attach your sole together. Do Namaste with your legs.
• Place your knee closer to the ground, do little bit movement with your leg but not vigorously but very slowly.

Benefits:

• Raises flexibility of sacral and lower region of body.
• Help in relieving pain in the thigh region.
• Aid in facilitating smooth labor.

3. Kon Asana (Raising Your One Arm)

How To Perform It:

• Stand on your both feet by keeping your legs apart.
• Raise your one arm up while breathing in, rotate your arm from behind exhaling.
• This rotation of the arm is a must to perform.

Benefits:

• Help in relaxing your body very well.
• Make breast tissue firm and relieve pain.

4. Parvat Asana (Mountain Pose)

How To Perform It:

• Sit in sukh asana, move both arms up, hold both hands together by placing fingers of each hand in one another.
• Now slowly and deeply start inhaling, bring it back to down.
• Repeat it twice.

Benefits:

• Good calmative asana to relax your body.
• Help in relieving mental stress out.

Exercises To Be Avoid During Pregnancy

1. Avoid harsh exercise procedures as they will put excessive strain on her body  that will eventually harm fetal growth.
2. Vigorous stretching poses – like Ushtra asana (Camel pose), Chakra asana (Wheel pose), Nauka asana (Boat pose).

• As they cause extreme stretching of the body, may even damage ligaments of her body.

Kapal bhatti pranayam – As it raises the heat/warmth of her body thus will make her body dehydrated easily, may lead to bad impact on fetal growth.

Acharya charak explains that –

(Ch. Sharir 8/38)

• Some acharya states that – If inspite of having labor pain, she is not delivering the baby, ask her to get up, take any stick/pestles and start beating the grains put in mortar slowly, but it is not approved by lord atreya.
• He says that severe exercises should always be contraindicated for pregnant lady mainly near the Parturition (Delivery) time, as at that time her all Dhatu (Essential organs) and dosha’s (Imbalanced energies) are in moving state, Vata (Vayu) will got raised by such exercises that will have a bad result on the fetus in her womb.
• Give powder of kustha, ela, langalaki, vacha, chitraka, chirbilva and chavya to smell. Along with that smoke of leaves of bhurja patra and sinshpa patra to be inhaled. Do massage with lukewarm oil in the area of the waist, back and legs. All these above mentioned methods help the fetus to move downward smoothly inside the mother body.

She should not Strain (Pravahan) until the Pains (Aavi) appear, as the lady who does so her efforts goes into waste and will affect the growth of the child growing inside her.

Conclusion

Thus we can conclude that in ayurveda detailed reference of useful exercises, dietary regime and important points to be added in pregnant lady life are available. Our acharya use herbal and realistic procedures that will work very effectively in attaining healthy and proper growth of the child. All the above mentioned yoga asanas are indigenous to our ancient system of medicine (Ayurveda).

So believe and have faith in ayurveda, it will enhance your body, mind and soul growth i.e. overall body growth.