Exercising during pregnancy has a lot of benefits for the mother and the baby's health.

Hey mom-to-be! Hope you are doing well. Like every pregnant woman, you must be asking how safe is working out during pregnancy or if working out could potentially harm the baby? We understand your feelings completely as pregnancy is not something with which you can try and experiment.

Is It Safe To Exercise During Pregnancy?

Exercising while pregnant is key to you and your baby's health. It is safe to perform workouts during pregnancy until you are not restricted to do so. Be it yoga, pilates or ball workout, every type of exercise has benefits. But make sure you are not overdoing them.

"Exercising will boost your health, your unborn baby's health, and it can help get your body ready for giving birth and being a new mom."

Dear mom-to-be, take a look at other health benefits of workouts during pregnancy:

1. Prevents Illness: Staying active during pregnancy helps you sleep better, reduces anxiety and can prevent cramps, swollen feet and tiredness.
2. Blessing for Normal Delivery: Research shows that women who exercise are less likely to have a caesarean, while those who do exercise like walking and yoga have a shorter labour time with fewer complications.
3. Controlled Body Weight: While exercise during pregnancy isn't necessarily for weight loss, it can keep the extra pounds off. Also, it helps you to lose weight soon after the delivery.
4. Provides Energy: During pregnancy, the more you take rest the more you feel fatigued and restless. So, exercise will make you feel active and energised.

Every pregnant woman should get at least 20 to 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise but plan with your physician to rule out any medical complications. Here are the five best yoga poses for pregnant women.

Cat/Cow Pose: If you're experiencing back pain, you'll want to rock between these two poses. This basic set of movements stretches the spine and allows your belly to hang, which can ease tension. It can also help move the baby into optimal position for birth. These poses will help you during labor if you experience "back labor." To maximize benefits of these poses, sync your breath with your stretching by breathing in and expanding your abdomen on the cow stretch and exhaling and contracting your abdomen when you arch your back like a cat.

Balancing Table Pose: From all fours, stretch your right leg back behind you and reach your left arm forward, hold for 3-5 breaths and then alternate. This pose requires core strength to maintain balance, so it's good for working those abdominal muscles, which will be important during labor! You might also find relief from round ligament pain if practiced regularly.

Downward Facing Dog Against a Wall: This variation of downward dog is excellent to help ease upper back and shoulder tension as well as open up the sacrum and lower back. Using a wall keeps your head elevated, too, which is recommended if you experience heartburn. Note: the pictured version is not using a wall. To modify, place your hands on a wall instead of the floor.

Goddess Pose: A wide-legged squat can be done with or without the support of a wall for balance. This pose strengthens the legs and pelvic floor, and encourages hip opening—all key components of the birth process!

Bound Angle Pose: Practice good posture and deep breathing while in baddha konasana, or bound angle pose. You can even give yourself a foot and calf massage to improve circulation and ease the strain of added weight.