By Michael Gleason
Are you curious about postpartum weight loss? Before we get into it: Congratulations and welcome to motherhood! This is by far one of the most exciting and potentially scariest things you will ever go through. As your child grows up, or as you bring more children into your life, making the time get back to into your yoga practice might be challenging. So when your little one is down for a nap, or you are on lunch break per returning to work after maternity leave, you will really need to sneak in some you time. Any easy way to reintroduce yourself to, well, your self is yoga for postpartum weight loss.
The first three months after your infant’s birthdate can introduce some physical challenges, too. Sally Susinno, RYT-200 of Wellesley, Mass describes these first few months as a “fourth trimester.” During this time a new mother will be holding and rocking the infant but also doing a lot of bending forward. This includes raising and lowering the baby to and from the crib or bassinette or stroller. And then even more bending forward while nursing, rocking, or changing. And while these are required in a parent’s daily life that does not mean you might start to feel it in your back.
Susinno recommends starting the day with a “keystone” habit. An example would be starting the day with a cup of warm water with lemon vs. a massive iced mocha latte. Once your day is off on the right foot with these “keystone events” you will find positive choices more and more within reach. This includes better food choices as well as bringing exercise and yoga back into your already packed schedule. Once exercising, be cognizant of your tailbones. Those are getting a workout already from all that lifting and bending. Once in a yoga for postpartum weight loss be sure to work in the cat and cow poses. Both require the student to inhale so that your stomach is touching the tailbone as best as possible.
If you are going to do a postpartum yoga class or yoga class that is weight loss-oriented be sure to check in with your instructor. You will more than likely find yourself doing modified versions of very strenuous positions such as plank and forward fold. Moreover, if you are doing any kind of hot or power yoga avoid locking your knees. Locking the knees puts a lot of strain on the ligaments and, if you are carrying an infant or bringing cardio back into your regiment, you can cause a lot of unwanted strain or injury.
In general there are 15 yoga poses for postpartum weight loss. Give yourself time to become reacquainted:[1]
– The standing prayer pose, hold this for three to five minutes
– Yoga mudra
– Mountain pose
– Triangle pose
– The angle pose
– Konasana 3
– The hand-to-leg pose
– The seated forward bend pose
– The all member pose (Sarvangasana)
– Plough pose
– Locust pose
– Hand to toe pose
– Crocodile pose, relax in this asana for three to five minutes
– Ashvin mudra, be sure to repeat this 15 to 20 times
– And then treat yourself to hip bath (Kati snan), do Asvini Mudra for four minutes once in the tub and then relax for six minutes
Be sure to maintain stability throughout these practices as your abs and core are going to feel quite different. More advanced yoga positions such as scorpion may be too difficult for the time being. Any kind of yoga for postpartum weight loss should be gentle as so much has happened to you over the past nine months and now this “fourth trimester”.
If these 15 are too challenging or too boring here are 10 others. Just remember as mentioned before: communicate with your yoga instructor that this is your first postpartum class. Moreover, these are the changes to your pelvic region and sits bones. Once you get back to that keystone mentality you don’t want to throw off your winning streak. Try these or their modified poses and remember to inhale and exhale mindfully and stay hydrated:[2]
– Tiger pose
– Cobra pose
– Pigeon pose
– Wide legged child’s pose
– Camel pose
– Quarter dog
– Triangle
– Eagle
– Half tortoise
– Half-spinal twist (you will literally “wring” yourself out)
Citations
[1] https://www.thehealthsite.com/news/15-yoga-asanas-for-post-pregnancy-weight-loss/
[2] https://www.thefitindian.com/yoga-poses-to-lose-weight-after-pregnancy/
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