Morning sickness affects most woman in pregnancy. Being mindful with what type of exercise you do, or not do, can help to relieve your morning sickness, in pregnancy. These 5 exercises can alleviate morning sickness to support you feel better in pregnancy.
When does morning sickness start in pregnancy?
Morning sickness is most common in the first and third trimester.
It affects most woman in pregnancy in one area or another.
Even if you are not physically sick it can still show up in other ways. Such as sleeping more, hot flushes, feeling nauseous, eating habits, skin complexion, fatigued, low in energy, and unpredictable behaviour.
Why does morning sickness occur?
Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a pregnancy hormone which is produced by your placenta once an embryo is created in your uterus.
The intention of this hormone is to tell your body to continue producing progesterone, which stops menstruation.
This in turn, helps protect the endometrial uterine lining and your pregnancy.
With the increase of oestrogen and progesterone affecting how well food is digested, this can also heighten feelings of morning sickness.
5 Exercises for morning sickness sequence
These 5 exercises below can help alleviate your morning sickness.
Exercise 1) Child’s pose (Balasana)
Bring your awareness to your breathe for a minimum of 5 breathes.
Use a bolster or a birthing ball if your baby belly really doesn’t dig this pose.
Place your forehead to the ball if it feels better to you.
Exercise 2) Squat into a low squat (Malasana pose)
Bring your palms together at your heart centre and concentrate on your breathe, as each exhale lifts the chest up and forward. This will limit arch or collapse to the back.
Elbows are on the inside knees
Find the resistance within of the elbows pushing against the inner knees outwards and the outer knees pressing in.
Exercise 3) Reclined butterfly pose
Lying on a bolster, block or pillow, all of which will enable height to your back.
Bring your souls of your feet together separating your knees into butterfly pose.
Relax the knees towards the floor on each exhale
Allow the hips to open
Soften your back and shoulders into the boulder as they open and gravitate to the floor.
Close your eyes and breath here for 5 minutes.
Exercise 4) Wide legged straddle
Sitting up again, use a bolster if more comfortable and bring your legs into a V shape.
Hands on your baby belly or where you feel is best for you.
Flex your toes towards the ceiling.
Breathe for 5 minutes, focusing on each breathe to your baby.
Exercise 5) Legs up the wall (Viparita Karani)
- Put a bolster behind your back to lie on
- Sit right bum cheek sideways to the wall
- Try to keep your right hip as close to the wall as you can
- Roll onto your left side and then onto your back and put feet up the wall
- Lie here for at least 5 minutes, ideally 20 minutes.
- Breathe through nose. Close your eyes.
Breathing exercises for morning sickness
Mothering lotus breathe is a trump card for the best breathing exercise for morning sickness.
By slowing down your body in connecting deeply with your breathe, it can enable better digestion.
It can also create more space within, really!
Bringing your mind to your heart and baby by breathing deeply and slowly can also calm the nervous system down too.
Another breathing technique to try is Sitali breathe. I personally love doing this exercise. Here is a 45 second video, explaining how to do Sitali breathe.
Tools to help morning sickness
There isn’t pregnancy without a birthing ball. Number one tool for pregnancy and postnatal exercises.
Liforme Travel Yoga Mat to go under the birthing ball to prevent slipping.
PharMeDoc Pregnancy Pillow to hug and snuggle into.
EARTHLITE Bolster Pillow has so many uses. It can be used at the head to stretch the back of the neck and align the spine. It can also create height to your back as seen in legs up the wall pose. Place it under your booty to increase more space in the hips. Or in child’s pose to give more height to your beautiful baby belly.
Top tips to help you exercise with morning sickness
- Listen to your beautiful growing body and baby.
- It’s ok to rest, you don’t have to exercise. Western life can be such a fast paced modern existence. Try and rest as much as you are able to, your body and baby will thank you.
- There are foods that can help and those that hinder morning sickness. Heres a professional article on this
- Try not to compare to other pregnancies.
- Love yourself more by being kinder and gentler towards your thoughtful mind. This feeling will pass.
- Always remember you are enough.
All included information is not intended to treat or diagnose. The views expressed are those of the author and should be attributed solely to the author. For medical questions, please consult your healthcare provider.
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