Pregnancy Yoga Stretches for Back, Hips, and Legs

Stretching has several beneficial effects on pregnant women. Pregnant women can get many benefits from stretching techniques. Stretching helps them to get prepared for labor and stay relaxed. Some aches and pains can also be eased through pregnancy yoga stretches during pregnancy.

However, it’s not as simple as it looks because several hormonal changes occur during pregnancy and delivery time. The production and release of these hormones help the body relax its ligaments and cervix during pregnancy. Relaxin is an example of these hormones that can lubricate and loosen the pelvic joints and ligaments. These loosened ligaments and joints allow them to overstretch in yoga activities. Therefore, too frequent yoga stretching can be harmful for pregnant women and can cause severe injuries.

So try to practice light yoga stretches to avoid any potential problems. Don’t try to go to deeper poses as you could before pregnancy. Try with the mantra “ slowly and gently” while starting yoga stretches during pregnancy. Your doctor’s approval before practicing yoga stretches is necessary because they can help you select the best one that can save you from pregnancy complications that would make your exercise dangerous or harmful.

So, if you’re in search of pregnancy yoga stretches for Back, Hips, and Leg pain, Online Health Point gets you!

Pregnancy is the onset of different body changes, including back, hip, and leg pains.

Studies published in Women’s Health journal claim that pregnancy yoga stretches help alleviate these pains that arise due to body changes occurring during pregnancy. Expectant mothers can get relief by practicing certain pregnancy yoga stretches. These stretches not only ease your discomfort but also help improve blood circulation in your body and promote relaxation in your muscles, ligaments, and joints. In addition, the pregnancy yoga stretches can also help in childbirth procedures by improving range of motion and flexibility. 

So before getting on the ship for the journey to find out the most beneficial pregnancy yoga stretches for Back, Hip, and leg pains, you should know the significance of these stretches. Let’s learn about their useful effects!

Advantages of Pregnancy Yoga Stretches

Research shows that yoga is similar to having a massage. It helps reduce anxiety and stress along with an improved energy level during pregnancy. Yoga stretches also promote efficient blood circulation in the body and ease pregnancy cramps and aches. 

Some more benefits of yoga stretches during pregnancy are:

• Pregnancy yoga stretches to strengthen your muscles and joints.
• These promote flexibility in your joints and ligaments.
• They help improve your blood circulation and energy levels.
• They stabilize your metabolism, at an optimum level.
• They help remove depression and fatigue.

So try the following yoga stretches to ease your routine aches and pains that cause discomfort in your body during pregnancy.

Pregnancy Yoga Stretches for Back Pain

The Cobra Stretch

• All four are used in this stretch. 
• Lift your chest off the ground while inhaling.
• Now arch your back.
• With an exhale, go back to your initial position.
• Repeat this practice a maximum of 7 to 8 times.

Child Pose Stretch

This is a gentle stretching pose and is a good resting option for pregnant women. This stretch is the best choice for relieving pains in the thighs, pelvis, and back. Stretching your spine can lower back pain. Several muscle groups are involved in this stretch such as spinal extensors, rotators, gluteus maximus, and hamstrings.

• Start with all fours.
• Keep your knees under your hips and touch your big toes. This practice will make your belly area spacious that helps slide between your knees and lessen the strain on your hips.
• Inhaling can widen your belly room and your spine will grow longer.
• This will make your chin tuck to your chest.
• Put your forehead on the ground and take some rest.
• Don’t Stretch your arms and use a yoga block to let your head rest on it.
• Stay in this position for at least 10 seconds.

Cat-Cow Stretch

You can strengthen your lower back gently by practicing cat-cow stretch during pregnancy. This can also help decrease round ligament pain and lower back and hip pain. This stretch has positive impacts on your spine mobility by increasing the circulation of your spinal fluid. This helps in lubrication and ward off back pain. Several muscle groups are involved in this stretch such as abdominals, arm, back, and spine muscles.

• You use all fours in this stretch.
• Keep your feet top flat on the yoga mat.
• Keep your hip over your knees and shoulders over your wrist.
• Let your back arc with a drop in your belly while inhaling.
• In the next step, you will go to the cat pose.
• For this, press into your hands and round over your upper back. 
• Look in toward your belly while exhaling.
• Move on your arch continuously along your inhales and round on your whales. Repeat this for your five even breaths. 

Half Pigeon Stretch

This is the best choice to relieve sciatic or back pain. A small muscle found deep in your glutes is called piriformis and it can spasm during your pregnancy duration. This muscle often becomes responsible for leg and back pain because it is close to the sciatica nerve. However, gentle stretching in this muscle helps relieve pain and decrease tightness. Muscles of the glutes, piriformis, and spine are involved in this stretch.

• You can start by sitting on a chair keeping your feet flat on the ground.
• Cross your knees in the shape number “4” by crossing one foot over the other.
• Lean forward gently and keep your back flat until you feel a slight stretch in your buttocks and lower back while exhaling. 
• Rest at this position for 45 seconds.
• Now, repeat this practice on the opposite side.

Pregnancy Yoga Stretches for Hip Pain

Garland Pose Stretch

• Stand active with your feet hip-width apart.
• Make a pose just like you’re looking at a squat.
• Lower your hips and bend your knees.
• This pose will make your movements easy and strain-free.
• Place your hands on the ground.
• This pose will help you release your inner thighs and hips.

Pigeon Pose Stretch

• Make a pose by keeping your face down like a dog’s position.
• Try to give your right leg a big hug.
• Bring your right knee forward, close to your right wrist.
• Now, lower your right thigh and shin towards the floor.
• Keep your left leg straight and try to extend it behind you.
• You can easily release your outer thighs and hips.
• Repeat This practice on the opposite side. 

Lunge Stretch

As pregnancy brings several changes in the body organs of pregnant women, including changes in their muscles, joints, and ligaments, there is a flexor muscle in your hip that runs along the front part of your hip. During pregnancy, this muscle often gets tight due to sudden dislocation of the hip bone and makes it a thigh that creates an unbearable pain in your hip and thigh. Several muscle groups are involved in this yoga stretch including, the glutes, hip flexor, and core muscles.

• Take a pillow to get a comfortable pose.
• Kneel on the pillow keeping it on the floor.
• Lean forward slowly and gently and put your weight on your front leg.
• Rotate your back hip forward by squaring off your hips until you experience a stretch down the front thigh and hip.
• If you need to, use a chair or a wall to maintain a balance in your posture.
• Hold this position for at least 20 seconds.
• Then repeat it on the opposite side.

Bridge Stretch

Your hip flexors can get comfort through practicing bridge stretches. This stretch helps relieve your hip and lower back pains. It also helps strengthen your different muscle groups like glutes, abdominals, and lower back muscles. 

Yoga instructors consider bridge and a backend in yoga. Therefore, you are advised to avoid big backends during pregnancy as it can cause injury. However, a gentle bridge stretch can help relieve pains and aches during pregnancy. You should have pelvic awareness before starting this yoga stretch. This stretch eases you during labor. Different muscle groups are strengthened through this stretch, including hip flexors, hamstrings, gluteus maximus, and quadriceps.

• Bend your knees and lay flat on your back.
• Keep your feet wider approximately at a hip-width distance or even more spaced if it is easy for you.
• Keep your arms straight alongside your body and bend your legs enough that your fingers can graze the back of your heels.
• Press your back gently against the floor and curl your pelvis while inhaling. Then lift your hips and back off the floor. Press your feet gently by keeping a neutral spine.
• Hold for 15 seconds.
• Now, prepare for the next lift and keep your spine neutral.
• Lift your lower back slightly off the ground and maintain the natural curve of your spine.
• Repeat this practice at least 5 times.

Bound Angle Stretch

This is a hip opener stretch that is a seated pose. It helps stabilize your pelvic bones and joints. It supports stretching in your neck, thighs, and back. You can try it as a supported stretch with a yoga pose for you to lean on. Inner thigh muscles, back muscles, and hip muscles are involved in this stretch.

• Bring your feet together in front of you by sitting down.
• Grip your toes and draw your feet slowly towards your pelvis.
• Keep sitting tall up on your sitting bones but not on your tailbone.
• Press your knees to the ground when you exhale and keep your spine straight.
• Then bend at your hips and bring your torso towards the floor.
• Then release tension in your neck, when you get as far as you can get apart feasibly.
• Drop your chin down and stay here for 10 seconds.
• Then lean further slowly as you exhale but avoid overstretching.

Pregnancy Yoga Stretches for Legs PainsTree Pose Stretch

This is another good option for pregnant women to practice a comfortable stretch.

• Stand on your feet together.
• Now lift your one foot and place it against the inside of your thigh. But keep the sole pointing upward.
• Then place your hands in front of your chest.
• Hold this pose for 5 to 6 even breaths and then repeat for the other side.
• This pose will help strengthen your leg muscles and maintain a good balance.

Forward Fold Stretch

Most pregnant women experience tightness along their back and legs during their pregnancy. This happens due to the tightness in the hamstrings, the large muscle that runs along your back and thighs. These tight hamstrings lead to lower back aches, poorer movements in the back, and leg pain. This stretch involves the calves, hamstring, and lower back muscles.

• Start with standing on the floor or yoga mat with your feet wider than hip-width apart.
• Keep your toes pointed upward.
• Lower your hands towards the floor slowly and lean gently forward with a flat back.
• Keep the stretch continuing until you experience a stretch down your legs.
• You can use any support to rest them. However, resting hands on the knee joint can cause an injury.
• Hold this position for 20 seconds.
• Then start walking your hands over one side and then the other until you feel a good stretching posture. This is the best pose to increase the stretch.
• Repeat this practice at least 5 times.

Conclusion

Pregnancy is a duration of abrupt changes in your body, which can be responsible for pains and aches in your body. You cannot perform your daily activities during pregnancy due to back, hip, and leg pains. Your joints and muscles also lose their ability to bear the burden of your daily routine activities because pregnancy changes decrease the overall quality of life.

You need immediate medical assistance from a healthcare professional in this regard. In most cases, healthcare providers suggest taking light exercises to improve these pains so that you may enjoy your pregnancy to its fullest. 

With the advice of a professional physical therapist, you can perform pregnancy yoga stretches to ease some of the severe back, hip, and leg pains during pregnancy. These stretches can improve common aches associated with pregnancy, strengthen your spine and core, and improve your flexibility. Regular light exercise can help prepare your body for a comfortable labor and delivery process.