Yoga for Pregnancy: Can it Really Help Conceive a Baby?

The practice of yoga, among other benefits, is an excellent helper in conception and in preparation for pregnancy. Each yoga pose is aimed at strengthening the body and mind and restoring their balance. Yoga poses (asanas) in addition to a direct physical effect on organs and tissues. They have a regulatory effect on body functions, including the reproductive system. In almost every school of yoga, there are special complexes of yoga for pregnancy that improve the hormonal balance of a woman, increase blood flow in the hip area, and organically massage internal organs.

When Planning a Pregnancy

Yoga for pregnancy (fertility yoga) is a complex of classical asanas that are adapted to the needs of the body of a woman planning a pregnancy and contribute to solving problems with conception.
When preparing for pregnancy and having difficulties conceiving (and also during pregnancy), it is categorically not recommended to perform dynamic, complex exercises.

In the situation we are considering – when planning a pregnancy and wanting to conceive a baby, it is necessary to practice calm and measured complexes of asanas that increase the chances of having a baby. Such asanas and their complexes are aimed at restoring and strengthening the endocrine and reproductive systems.

Benefits

• Pregnancy yoga helps to “reset” and maintain the endocrine system, which helps to establish hormonal balance
• Increases blood circulation in the areas of the body responsible for reproductive function
• Can help eliminate adhesions and blockages in reproductive areas
• Supports a healthy immune system and supports the body with detoxification
• Prevents stress and keeps the whole body in good shape, which in itself is the key to a good mood and well-being
• Yoga successfully eliminates the causes of both male and female infertility due to the relaxation effect. Stress and nervous tension, which occur both in everyday life and in futile attempts to have a baby, affect the hormonal balance in the body

Yoga for pregnancy consists of exercises that “massage” the endocrine glands, and thereby stimulate the production of hormones. Its beneficial effects on menstrual disorders and infertility therapy have been repeatedly proven by many women around the world.

Other Advantages of Yoga for Pregnancy

Yoga for pregnancy is beneficial for both mental and physical health. When practicing daily, you will notice several obvious changes in the body:

• Increase in muscle tone
• Body plasticity
• Improved breathing
• Improved blood circulation. This is especially important for pregnancy – proper blood circulation provides the reproductive organs with enough oxygen and nutrients
• Increase in energy level and body stamina
• Your psyche and nervous system will also come into shape
• Less likely to experience a feeling of fatigue
• Mood will improve
• You will cease to be stressed
• Complexes and guilt associated with the problem of conception will dissolve in confidence in success

Fighting stress is one of the most important functions of yoga for pregnancy. Although at first glance it seems that the relationship between stress and infertility is not obvious, studies at Harvard Medical School have revealed that most often it is stress that prevents a woman from getting pregnant.

Scientists have proven that women who practice yoga are twice as likely to become pregnant in the first or second cycle. Yoga relieves stress and nervous tension, which interfere with hormonal balance.

Another plus is that yoga promotes greater communication and mutual support in a pair of future parents. The trust and understanding that arise in the process of non-verbal communication during the joint practice of yoga, lead to greater intimacy and support.

Types of Yoga for Pregnancy

In almost every school of yoga, there are complexes of asanas to improve hormonal balance in a woman’s body. However, not all of them are suitable for conceiving a child.

For example, it is not recommended to perform dynamic complexes of yoga schools such as Ashtanga Yoga or Bikram Yoga (the so-called hot yoga). On the contrary, slow, measured asanas increase the chances of having a baby.

• Hatha Yoga: This school of yoga focuses on the methodical execution of all movements, slow and gradual. It focuses on techniques for proper breathing and deep relaxation while performing asanas.
• Kripalu Yoga: This technique is, in essence, deep meditation. The meaning of Kripal Yoga is to establish a connection between the mind and body using simple techniques and deep breathing.
• Pair Yoga: This is the most popular form of yoga for pregnancy. This technique requires performing asanas with a partner. This type of yoga is considered the best for couples who have long and unsuccessfully tried to become pregnant. It helps to improve communication and intimacy in the couple.

Does it Help?

Does yoga increase the chances of conception?

Considering the benefits of yoga for pregnancy, listed above, it is safe to say that yoga for pregnancy can really help rebalance your reproductive system, strengthen reproductive organs and muscles, which increases the chances of conception.

In addition, this area of yoga helps prepare your body for pregnancy, which will help bear the child later.

Despite the fact that fertility yoga can help with the problem of conception in itself, it is best to practice yoga in combination with other programs for preparing for childbirth (infertility treatment): special massages, a healthy diet, etc. All these procedures will help not only with fertility but also with the general state of health.

If the cause of infertility in women is an infection, obstruction of the tubes, or troubles with the ovaries, then, of course, yoga will not help.

But, in the case when pregnancy does not occur due to stresses, nervous shocks, or congenital anatomical features of the structure of the genital organs (for example, the uterus is bent), then a special set of yoga exercises will help strengthen the abdominal muscles, remove the block from the pelvic muscles, and enrich cells organs with oxygen.