Pilates for Pregnancy

Pilates workout during pregnancy is a great way of keeping yourself and your baby fit and healthy throughout pregnancy. Prenatal Pilates includes various exercises which are important for a pregnant woman’s physical health and foetus growth. Each stage of pregnancy is different where miraculous changes happen in your body and no doubt about it that exercising helps your body to tackle with these changes in a more positive way.

In fact, Pilates is a great workout for women before, during and after pregnancy.

Prenatal Pilates includes:

• This exercise regime focuses on core muscles of the body which are overstrained during pregnancy. Because of the pressure of the growing baby, the entire pelvic is stretched and weekend and doing Pilates helps in regaining strength in pelvic floor and low back muscles.
• It concentrates on breathing (Diaphragm), pelvic floor muscle (helps prevent urinary incontinence), deep abdominals and deep back extensors (spinal stabilizers) and postural muscles.
• The basic concept of Pilates is to strengthen the weak muscles and to increase the flexibility of tight ones which greatly helps in postural correction and postural education.
• It promotes relaxation because it focuses on lateral breathing. Lateral breathing allows the ribcage to open up promoting more oxygenation which is useful for the growth of the fetus. It also helps lessens the discomfort of the fetus sitting in high position.
• It increases body awareness which provides more sense of your body parts in relation to each other. 
• It is a mind- body activity where the movements are performed in deep connection with breathing. It helps in increasing concentration and provides a sense of calmness.
• The movements of arms, legs, upper back, shoulders and neck with controlled breathing
• Pilates helps strengthens abdominals, muscles of arms, thighs, legs, neck, upper back and lower back.
• This form of exercise helps correct posture and prevents postural abnormalities which arise due to pregnancy.