There’s no way around it. Pregnancy is tough! Your body doing all sorts of weird new things, emotions all over the map, and some pretty unpredictable mood swings sometimes.
Pregnancy hormones can cause a lot of unpleasant experiences in many pregnancies, but for one in five pregnant women these hormone fluctuations become more serious and lead to major depression.
The University of Michigan conducted an interesting study, researching the effects of yoga practice on expectant mothers suffering from severe depression symptoms. The results were stunning, and offer much hope.
Psychiatrically high-risk women participated in a 10-week study involving mindfulness yoga intervention. All of the study participants, ALL of them, reported extensive decreases in their depression symptoms at the end of the study.
Added bonus – these women also reported a stronger attachment to their unborn children. Mothers attached and property bonded to their children can only benefit all of us right?
Yoga during pregnancy can be quite different than the standard practice. You’ll surely be able to find a local studio that offers classes specific for pregnant women, or at least be able to find instructors who are familiar with your special needs. And if you’d rather practice yoga at home, there are plenty of DVD’s and online videos for yoga during pregnancy.
Whichever method you choose, take advantage of the calming, stress relieving, and gratifying effects of a consistent yoga routine.
photo credit: Simply Bike cc
