During your pregnancy, it is normal and expected to feel discomfort. For Heaven’s sake, you have another human growing inside of you! As your uterus expands, your organs are pressed in different directions. As your baby grows, you grow. A woman of average weight before pregnancy, gains 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Some of this weight is extra blood and fluids (a woman’s blood and fluid volume increases by 50%! This is to help support the uterus.), fat (your body stores fat to produce breast milk), and also the baby itself (typically reaching up to 7-9 lbs by 40 weeks). Although a woman’s body is built to do this, it can still be uncomfortable. It is so important to listen to your body during your pregnancy.
During my pregnancy, I have felt the most discomfort and pain in my lower back (specifically in my sciatic nerve), abdomen, and pelvis. There are stretches that have helped me with this. Side note, I also have a pregnancy pillow and heat pad to help me sleep with any discomfort I may be having! Additionally, I have incorporated a stability ball to help with even more stretches. I will talk about stability ball exercising in a future post.
In the video linked at the beginning of this post, it shows some of my favorite stretches. This routine leaves you feeling opened and centered. You will want to grab a yoga mat and follow along! As it states in the video, please consult with your doctor before doing any exercise. If not, you shall acknowledge that you are practicing at your own risk. Pay attention to your breath. Breath deeply to open up your body.
I have outlined the video below:
Chest Opener (go to 0:55): Good for indigestion.
Side Stretch (go to 1:10): Back and belly release.
Wide-legged Forward Bend (go to 2:14): Hamstring and Back stretch.
Modified Peaceful Warrior Pose with Straight Leg (go to 2:57): Front body and belly stretch.
Extended Triangle Pose (go to 3:17): Back and hamstring stretch.
Downward Dog (go to 4:24): Arm, back and hamstrings.
Child’s Pose (go to 4:35): Spinal stretch. MY FAVORITE!
Cat/Cow (go to 5:06): Back tension release.
Hip Circles (go to 5:55): Lower back release.
Side Stretch (go to 6:06): Side body stretch.
Threading the Needle (go to 6:54): Upper back opening.
Extended Puppy Pose (go to 7:27): Deep upper back stretch. This is AMAZING.
Modified Head to Knee Pose (go to 8:11): Hamstring and Back
Butterfly Pose (go to 9:04): Opening inner thighs.
Hope you enjoyed this! I am trying to do these each night.
Here is an additional video specific for sciatic nerve pain (PURE GOLD):Sciatica Stretches & Exercises – Ask Doctor Jo (Links to an external site.)
One more video specific to Hip and Pelvic area exercises:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPbxi5biFCU (Links to an external site.)
Product links:
Here is the link to my stability ball: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07S4GQRY1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Links to an external site.)
Here is the link to my pregnancy pillow: https://www.amazon.com/Full-Body-Pregnancy-Pillow-Hypoallergenic/dp/B01MQVHYDU/ref=zg_bs_382727011_31?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=M3ARQK7GFWX0CM7V3WPH (Links to an external site.)
Here is the link to my hot pad: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00474Z0Q4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Bump-it-Up Fitness 