Pregnancy yoga to balance nerves can really support us in pregnancy at tuning into our parasympathetic nervous system. But what is this and how do we do this? There are yoga poses in pregnancy that can balance our nerves and help create a calming effect for the central nervous system. This article can show you how.
But first what is an overactive nerve?
What is an overactive nerve
An over active nerve is stimulated from our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) continually being switched on. It’s our fight or flight response to stimulus. When these stress hormones kick in, it releases an increase of cortisol of adrenaline into the body in order to help us respond better.
The counteractive system is our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). This system is responsible for rest and digest of the body. It can work as a counter balance to our overactive nerves (SNS). It enables us to calm our nerves by bringing us back into a more restful state of being.
The endocrine nervous system is responsible for the hormones in the body.
For further medical details of this here’s a great article https://www.livescience.com/22665-nervous-system.html
Why can pregnancy hormones affect overactive nerves?
There are so many examples that could affect why our nerves become overactive. The threat may be as simple as a babies cry, a babies kick, sharp pain in our stomach.
It is a natural response triggered in the body to help us react quickly and efficiently, in order to protect us from danger.
The saying,”their a bag of nerves” comes from an overactive sympathetic system. As a mother, this is pretty much consistently on when our children are in the toddler phase. Eyes at the back of our heads indeed.
When pregnant, a main anxiety is giving birth. I remember looking down at my beautiful big, getting bigger everyday, belly and foreseeing how on earth my baby was going to fit out of here.
Births a major cause of anxiety for pregnant women especially the first. Our bodies are phenomenal, i’m still to this day, amazed at how capable our bodies can be to adapt and function in helping enable birth. But and this is a big but, I’m writing this five years after having my baby, i’m saying this after doing my pre and post natal teacher training. Honestly, hands up, if id known what i’ve since learned, would I have been as nervous? Definitely not, but isn’t hindsight a beautiful arena.
Isn’t life great at giving us lessons on a plate, that we aren’t able to see till years later.
What’s hormones got to do with it?
The main reason nerves can become overactive in pregnancy is the increase of hormones. This main hormones involved in pregnancy are progesterone, oestrogen.
The function of oestrogen Sally Parkes Yoga 2018 states, “enables the uterus and placenta to improve vascularisation, transfer nutrients, and support the developing baby.”
Progesterone is responsible for loosening our joints, particularly the uterus to allow a baby to be birthed, to enable space for baby to grow and be able to retain water in the feet, ankles, hands, face, belly, hips. All natural processes of pregnancy.
Here’s an article which explains the effects of hormones in pregnancy and by which affect our nerves. It also touches on why mothers get “baby brain’ and ladies, theres science to support it
Its completely natural to feel nervous about an unknown experience ahead. In this medical article it states over 20% of pregnant women report fear of giving birth, with 6% having disabling fear.
Breathe work is key to creating calm and improving nerve function.
⚠️ Hormones and injuries in pregnancy
The main hormones in pregnancy are progesterone and oestrogen and they are vital for babies development in pregnancy, and also responsible for creating challenges in exercise.
This is due to the pregnancy weight gain, influencing our sense of gravity, as it is shifted to accommodate for our baby. The weight of the front body increases, it adds to the weight in the lower back, and pelvis The feet then need to readjust to counteract the change in the bodies alignment.
As the pelvis becomes more unstable with the weight shifting our usual gravity perspective, it can create more pressure on the spine, especially when exercising.
Ligaments then soften, it can create an easier chance to experience a sprain, as our body becomes much more flexible when pregnant. This can then lead to further issues postnatally, if the body is overworked with exercise, in pregnancy.
The uterus becomes larger as the pregnancy progresses, which heightens a sense of even more discomfort as the trimesters progress.
It is for all these reasons, that it is very important not to overwork the body in exercising, when pregnant.
Breathe work and pelvic floor muscle exercises are crucial in pregnancy. Leave your marathons and weightlifting for a year.
Pregnancy is a great time to start tuning into you and connect with your baby, by breathing into your belly.
How to help nerves with breathing
Our breathing is crucial to help our nerves.
What helped every time I felt the sudden beat of my heart and thought of giving birth and the how’s and why’s and oh my god how on earth is it going to happen?
I breathed a sssssaaaaaaa sound out loudly, sometimes with tear’s and reminded myself every day, everything is going to be alright.
Having the exercises and breathe work i’m going to be discussing below, will support overactive nerves, by tapping into our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).
When we’re in a hot yoga class our SNS and PNS have to be balanced in order to cope with the heat, the sweat, the pose. The more you practice yoga and hone into your amazing abilities of the PNS, the more magic you will find within.
Living in a modern world, we’re bombarded with stimulus. It’s a go go go culture, there can be so much pressure on pregnant woman, there isn’t time for PNS, ‘sleep when you’re dead’ competitive lifestyles, can make us tired thinking about it.
SNS is great, that rush of adrenaline, the hit of the high, keep chasing it as a parent and in time, the consequences will catch up.
Mums say to me, “I haven’t time there’s so much to do before the baby comes” and my response is “you’ve got to make time.”
Whether its first thing in the morning or last thing at night, a time when you are able to make time for you to be with you, and your baby within. Try to make it a daily 15 minute habit and watch your brain and body benefit from it, for the health of you and your growing baby.
Sleeping as much as you can, to increase PNS will help you cope with the daily challenges, life can chuck your way.
Rest is as important as exercise and is so good for our nervous system.
As much as both nervous systems are important to have and necessary for survival, when we’re pregnant and hopefully safe and secure in our home and family environment, it is much more important time to get in tune with our parasympathetic nervous system, through breathe work.
It will help you now , through labour and beyond. This ability to switch this system on, will be a life raft now and as your baby gets bigger.
The calmer we can maintain our emotions, the more our baby will learn too, as they grow.
Pregnancy yoga breathing exercises to help nerves
Breathing is so vital for life, breathing properly is an art.
When we are able to control our breathe and tame it, here lies our power.
When we feel our heart beat faster and our nerves start to react to the stimulus and as a consequence to the hormones doing their amazing job, to protect our baby and us, we are able to cope with the picture of pleasure or drama on show better when we breathe more fuller.
- Mothering Lotus
- – inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Imagine a golden thread (your breathe) escaping your pursed lips. The breathe, is long and gentle. No pushing of the breathe, just allow it to come in and out and become longer as you repeat as often as is needed. Start with an inhale and exhale of 4 counts and increase the count to your ability.
- Alternate nostril (nadi shodhana)
- With your thumb on your right nostril, index finger on forehead and pinky of left nostril side, inhale through your left nostril close the nostril with pinky finger and exhale through right nostril. Inhale through right nostril, exhale through left nostril. This is one round. Repeat 9 rounds.
- Belly Breathing longer and deeper will support your nerves settle. The deeper you breathe in, breathe out a little longer. Add in the ssssaaa sound on the exhale.
- ⚠️ You’re not pushing the air out and contracting the belly hard. Instead it is a gentle hug to your baby, via your abdominals.
- Sitali breathing
- Stick your tongue out and curl it in.
- Inhale through your straw shaped tongue.
- Bring your tongue back in and close the mouth.
- Exhale through notrils bringing your chin towards your chest as you exhale.
- Inhale through curled down and bring your chin parallel to floor.
- Exhale through nostrils, close the mouth, tuck chin to chest.
- Repeat 5-15 times.
Pregnancy yoga to balance nerves- A helpful sequence
This sequence below can create more calm and less chaos for the central nervous system.
The pregnancy yoga to balance nerves exercises encourage our nervous system to slow down, tune in and connect.
Slow, steady movements.
Birthing ball exercises to balance nerves
Exercising with a birthing ball in pregnancy and postnatally is the ideal tool.
Sitting on your birthing ball;
- Imprint to neutral exercise
- 15 times
- 15 breathes
- Stir the cauldron exercise
- Circle your hips in a circular motion, groan on your exhale.
- Really go inside you and feel your baby.
- Breathe into your baby belly
- Exhale whatever sound you’re feeling, out.
- Get that stuff out
- Change hip wiggle direction
- Half moon hip stretch
- Breathe in and on your exhale, move your hips to the right while looking over right shoulder.
- ⚠️ If looking over shoulder doesn’t feel good, please don’t do it, just move the hips instead.
- Inhale back to centre, exhale to other side. Repeat 10 minimum and as often as needed.
Pregnancy yoga to balance nerves-On all fours
On all fours;
- Stir the cauldron exercise
- Bring your eye gaze to in between your hands
- Create a circular motion with your hips
- 5-10 times
- Groan whatever sound comes natural out, on your exhale.
- Really go inside you and feel your baby.
- Breathe into your baby belly
- Change hip wiggle direction
- Melting heart
- On all fours extend your arms forward
- Use a cushion if need be to rest your head on
- Bring your chest to the floor
- Your booty will be high, your chest will be low.
- Wide Crawl
- Crawl with wide stance
- Drop your head so your looking in-between your hands
- Close your eyes and crawl
- Breathe
- Really go within.
- Child’s Pose
- Over a birthing ball, toes together, knees as far apart as is your comfort, rest your forehead on the ball
- This is a lengthening to your back inhale into your lower back and as you exhale, try to create more length to this area.
Pregnancy yoga to balance nerves lying down using a wall
The best of the best for resting the nervous system comes from
The number one exercise for a pregnant mum and mums in general is:
- Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
- How to get into the pose pregnant?
- 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
- ⚠️ Use cushions where necessary to raise your back, so you’re not lying directly on the floor, but have some raised back height.
- Put feet up the wall
- Lie here for at least 5 minutes, ideally 20 minutes.
- Breathe through nose.
- Close your eyes.
- Benefits of this pose
- This yoga pose is an ideal all rounder for motherhood but especially in pregnancy and postnatal times. I still do this pose most nights.
- Most mums nervous systems are switched on full power all day.
- This exercise not only resets the nervous system bringing us into a calm relaxed state.
- It also lowers blood pressure
Other exercises to help balance overactive nerves
Most gentle exercise will calm nerves especially yoga and if you like swimming even better. This is because yoga and swimming bring you back into your body, via your breathe.
You’ve got to breathe deeper in water to aid buoyancy, or you’ll choke. When we swim in and out of the water with our breathe. The body then moves with our breathe flow, at creating a naturally relaxing state for the body.
Swimming when pregnant is fabulous, as it creates a weightlessness effect and can aid a more comfortable feeling.
Walking is always a winner, unless it’s raining. Just the slow pace, maybe waddle, will relax the body and bring your nerves back into a restful state. As you grow bigger, walking in circles in the house/garden can be a go to.
At night before my meditation, I practiced these Pregnancy yoga to balance nerves exercises below.
Tips to support your nerves
Sleeps so vital for our health and maintaining a calming energy within. It’s tough when we’re pregnant because getting comfortable can be tricky.
Limiting caffeine and increasing herbal teas can aid better sleep which always supports our nervous system.
Using a pregnancy pillow in bed especially when lying with one knee over the pillow to create more space, can really aid comfortableness.
By having decent friends around, in which you can share with and talk with is key at supporting nerves. I spoke about this as the mum olive branch in parenting.
If you haven’t got this, change this.
Pregnancy is such a vulnerable time for us woman, its a life changing, transformative period of welcoming us to motherhood.
We need as much love, kindness, and nourishment around us as is discussed in a guest blog exercise guidance in expecting a little one.
We moved into our home when I was 7 months pregnant and I ordered a blender on the first day. Smoothies every day rich in vegetables and fruits are so good for our nerves, because they nourish us from the inside out with what our body needs, vitamins and minerals.
Even the clothes I wore helped my nerves feel better, because how I felt visually, helped me mentally and emotionally feel better and more positive about myself, by treating me holistically.
Tools to help nerves
There are so many useful tools we can use in pregnancy yoga to balance nerves. My favourites which helped in pregnancy were
- birthing ball
- First go to when feeling nervous get some deep breathing exercising in.
- Pukka Love, Organic Herbal Tea
- Are a great start for limiting caffeine and calming nerves.
- Braun handheld blender
- Fabulous for making smoothies and soups, all of which helps boosts the immune system and supports our nervous system.
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