Exercise is important for your overall well-being during pregnancy. Yoga is a popular choice for most pregnant women to stay fit during pregnancy. It helps you to remain active throughout your pregnancy. Prenatal yoga nurtures your body and offers a lot of benefits during pregnancy. Hot yoga is a particular type of yoga performed in a heated environment. It is beneficial for your health in many ways. Hot yoga is generally not recommended for pregnant women by gynaecologists as it is harmful to the growing fetus. Read about the risks of hot yoga during pregnancy and preventive measures to practice the same.
Hot yoga is a type of yoga which is performed in a room with increased temperature and humidity. The temperature of the room ranges between 32 and 40.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The high temperature and humidity increase the intensity of the workouts. It also helps perform difficult poses and reap better health benefits. People choose between the different hot yoga classes based on their intensity. Bikram is a vigorous form of hot yoga generally performed in a hot room of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, which includes standing and stretching poses. Other forms of hot yoga, including Hatha and Vinyasa poses, are usually practised in a warmer room.
As hot yoga is performed in a heated environment, it is highly recommended to avoid it during pregnancy. This is because high temperatures during pregnancy are dangerous, as they can affect the baby's growth in the initial weeks. It is said that performing yoga in high-temperature rooms may result in complications that may cause significant damage to both the mother and fetus.
You can continue with hot yoga during pregnancy with certain safety precautions. Hot yoga could be continued during pregnancy if you practised the same before pregnancy. It is safe to opt for hot yoga when you do not suffer from pregnancy complications. Your physical and mental well-being is important during pregnancy. So, make sure you continue hot yoga under the guidance of a certified yoga practitioner.
Research suggests that hot yoga in a heated environment with high humidity is not safe for pregnant women. These factors result in various risks affecting both the mother and the baby. Here are the risks associated with practising yoga during pregnancy:
● Adds Stress to Your Baby: Intense workouts may lead to excessive sweating and increased body temperature. This causes loss of body fluids, resulting in dehydration, which can put your baby under stress.
● Dizziness: Prolonged heat exposure during hot yoga sessions can lower blood pressure levels, leading to dizziness.
● Miscarriage: Hyperthermia or overheating may increase the risk of miscarriage. So, you're at risk of miscarriage when practising hot yoga during pregnancy.
● Neural Tubal Defects: Practicing hot yoga in the first trimester when conception occurs is harmful. Overheating or hyperthermia during hot yoga sessions can impact the growing baby. High body temperature is said to increase the chance of neural tubal defects.
● More Chances of Injury: Vigorous stretching in hot yoga sessions can increase the chance of joint injury, and overheating may also increase the risk of injury.
Even though hot yoga is associated with certain risks during pregnancy, there are certain benefits to practising the same.
Improves Your Mental Health: Hot yoga relieves stress and supports emotional well-being, making it a great way to improve your mental health.
Keeps Your Body Flexible: It is good for your body to remain flexible during pregnancy. Hot yoga tones your muscles and keeps your body flexible.
Increases Blood Flow: Hot yoga aids in improving your blood flow to your arms and legs.
Overheating is one of the primary concerns for pregnant women when performing hot yoga. Here are tips to practice hot yoga safely:
● Drink a lot of water and stay hydrated during hot yoga practice sessions.
● Take ample rest based on your body's needs.
● Make sure you practice yoga moves in an environment of not more than 93.2 degrees.
● Switch to slow paced moves when you continue with hot yoga during pregnancy.
● Modify the hot yoga poses based on your body condition.
Hot yoga may not be an ideal choice for all pregnant women. To stay fit during pregnancy, it is better to look for alternatives to hot yoga.
● Brisk walking is an excellent physical activity to keep you fit during pregnancy.
● Swimming is a great workout for flexibility.
● Indoor cycling is a safe activity to practice during pregnancy.
● Prenatal yoga without excessive heating keeps you energetic during pregnancy.
● Pilates workouts mainly focus on breathing, which helps with smooth labour.
● Running is a good alternative, but you can continue after consulting your gynaecologists.
Many types of exercises are prescribed for pregnant women and it is advisable to follow only those. In case you are particular about doing Hot Yoga, inform your yoga instructor well in advance that you are pregnant. This will enable them to help you decide on the type of hot yoga moves that you can perform. Discuss with your yoga trainer ways to modify the forms of hot yoga that do not impact your growing baby.
Doctors usually do not recommend hot yoga during pregnancy. If you were performing hot yoga before pregnancy, you can continue under the advice of your gynaecologist. However, it is safe to discontinue hot yoga during pregnancy as the high temperature and humidity can affect the growing baby.
Your body cannot withstand high temperatures when you're pregnant. If your core body temperature reaches more than 32 degrees Celsius for a longer period, it is too hot for pregnancy.
Inversions, hot yoga, belly down postures, yoga twists, back bends, bow poses, and abdominal twists are the yoga moves you must avoid during pregnancy.
Prenatal yoga performed under normal room temperature is highly recommended during pregnancy. Certain yoga poses, such as cat-cow pose, butterfly pose, warrior pose, goddess pose, and squat, are completely safe during pregnancy.
