Why Should You Exercise During Pregnancy?

A recent report suggests that physicians should recommend low to moderate levels of exercise to their pregnant patients, even if they have not exercised prior to pregnancy. Exercise can strengthen and improve overall musculoskeletal and physiologic health as well as pregnancy related symptoms. Pregnant women’s weight distribution is altered as the baby grows; therefore the muscles must work harder to support a normal gait pattern. Exercising during pregnancy will help keep the muscles conditioned to handle the increasing weight throughout pregnancy. Additionally, both impact and nonimpact exercise can ease back and other musculoskeletal pain; lower maternal blood pressure; reduce swelling; improve post-partum mood; and reduce the risk of gallstones and preterm birth.

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published findings in 2002 suggesting that women who exercise throughout pregnancy have larger placentas. The volume of the placenta is an indicator of its ability to transport oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. Exercise may help to create a large and healthy placenta which can lead to a healthier baby. Studies also found that pregnant women who exercised three to four times a week had the best chance of having a healthy weight baby. Exercising more than four times a week, or less than three, appeared to be linked to lower birth weight.

Many pregnant women choose low or no impact exercises during pregnancy such as yoga or swimming as these are much easier on the joints during a time in which the body is carrying excess weight. While pregnant women must avoid certain yoga postures when pregnant, such as any poses that put too much pressure on the uterus, including certain twists and floor poses, yoga can help expectant mothers with back pain, hip soreness and leg cramps often associated with pregnancy. Additionally, yoga can help to create space for the baby within the pelvis and abdomen regions, reduce stress for the expectant mother, and help aid in better sleep.

Sources

http://www.expectantmothersguide.com/library/chicago/yoga.htmezinearticles.com/?The-Benefits-of-Yoga-For-Pregnant-Women&id=2739706

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/yoga/CM00004/NSECTIONGROUP=2

articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/25/Exercise-is-Healthy-for-Mother-and-Child-During-Pregnancy.aspx

Five Principles of Exercise! Yoga Meets Them All!

According to the experts, there are four main principals of exercise that each person should incorporate into their personal workout routine! Practicing various forms of yoga certainly covers each of these four principals!

1. Aerobic: Jogging, using an elliptical machine, walking fast, and flow based yoga are all examples of aerobic exercise. As you get your heart pumping, the amount of oxygen in your blood improves, and endorphins, which act as natural painkillers, increase. Aerobic exercise also activates your immune system, helps your heart pump blood more efficiently, and increases your stamina.

2. Interval (Anaerobic) Training: Research has shown that the BEST way to condition your heart and burn fat is to alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods. This type of exercise, known as interval training or burst type training, can dramatically improve cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities. It also drastically decreases the amount of time you need to spend exercising. For example, intermittent sprinting (30 second bursts followed by 1-2 minutes of recovery) produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin. Other examples of interval training include a 2 minute fast paced bike ride with a 4-5 minute recovery, or a series of fast paced vinyasa’s for 1-2 minutes followed by a 2-4 minute recovery. Intervals should be repeated ~5-10 times.

3. Strength Training: Within strength training, you need enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough to exhaust the muscles within less than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. Yoga uses your body weight and proper positioning to achieve better results than you would receive by using artificial weights! Note: It’s also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need one to two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.

4. Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability. Exercise programs like yoga, budokon, and pilates are GREAT for strengthening your core muscles.

5. Lastly, in addition to the four principals discussed, focusing on your breath, mindfulness, and increasing flexibility are an important element of your total fitness program.

Welcome to Yoga Club

The yoga culture in each community is very unique. Many yogis find detoxification through in-studio “hot yoga” classes. But, Yoga Club offers a fresh approach to all forms of yoga, through affordable classes, fresh air, and a growing club community. In July of 2008 Yoga Club began by offering cost-efficient yoga practice to people of all levels in the Charlotte area. In its first six months, Charlotte Yoga Club grew rapidly into a vibrant, inspired and health-conscious community of over 500. The class schedule expanded from Sunday mornings, practicing in Freedom Park, to ~15 classes a week both indoor and outdoor. Queens College enthusiastically partneres with the Club to offer Yoga and Pilates to students and community members. CYC then began to partner with yoga studios including Breathing Room Studio in the historic South End, just outside of Uptown Charlotte. In the spring of 2009, Yoga Club expanded to Atlanta and reached ~125 members prior to offering its first class.

Why is Yoga Club attracting so many members?
The prices are unbeatable at $5 per class. The setting is amazing for the outdoor classes as you view the sky and rolling clouds as you flip your dog, or at the lake in the backgroung in full wheel! You get natural heat many months of the year which depending on the time of the class and whether or not you have it in the sun or shade can provide warm, hot, and even Bikrim levels of heat! But fresh air heat!

Instructors flock from the best studios in their area to offer their teaching technique and expertise to students. While members are learning the benefits of practicing yoga and are able to meet new friends and community members in a refreshing, natural environment. All of this for a very affordable price!

How can you join  Yoga Club?
If you’d like to add outdoor yoga to your practice, you’ve been intimidated by the studio environment, or frustrated by the price of yoga, then Charlotte Yoga Club and Atlanta Yoga Club can offer you what you’ve been looking for. You can also visit our main Yoga Club website for more details and a directory of studios in your area! If you’d like to start a yoga club in your area just let us know and we’ll help get it started!