A good state of physical health during pregnancy means a good state of mental health. There are many day-to-day concerns, and with the proximity of the time of delivery, with the discomforts of pregnancy, your mind may need a rest, a breath, a pause.
The body too, that's why we're going to poponer a simple relaxation at home during pregnancy. Through these exercises we will be able to relieve tension, prevent stress, rest better and ultimately lead to a healthier pregnancy.
Stress can affect us during pregnancy, can cause anxiety, insomnia, depression ... and manifest in physical symptoms such as headache, muscle tension, back pain ... Continued and intense stress can affect the development of pregnancy, causing risk of premature delivery or low birth weight babies .
That is why it is good to learn to manage stress constructively, and although there are several ways to do it (and also to prevent it), we will focus on relaxation.
We also remember that one of the most recommended exercises during pregnancy is yoga, and this facilitates relaxation. But we may not be able to attend classes or not understand how to perform the exercises. So we are going to propose some simple actions to relax at home.
How to relax at home during pregnancy
The first thing you have to do is search a place that you find pleasant and comfortable. It can be the bed, the sofa, an armchair or on a carpet or mat. At the end of pregnancy with the large volume of the gut it can be more difficult to find a comfortable posture, but we can help ourselves with cushions or pillows.
The temperature has to be pleasant, and the clothes you wear should also ensure that you feel comfortable, without ties or compression, light.
You can choose the silence or a soft music, at low volume, that you find relaxing, that you like. Better if it is without lyrics, a melody, to "disconnect" better. Your favorite classical music is a good option.
With our eyes closed, we will imagine a beautiful scene, a landscape that produces peace and tranquility. It can be a valley, a beach, the sky ... We will try to breathe through the nose, slowly, through long inhalations and exhalations, keeping pace.
You have to relax your muscles, starting with those of the feet, being aware of the toes, the instep, heel ... We are going up gradually focusing our attention on relaxing the legs, the buttocks, the belly, the arms ... We reach the neck area, the shoulders and the face. We can open and close the eyes, move them, move the jaw to disengage it, so that the whole face is relaxed.
In this state you can fly over the imagination with the landscape you have chosen, let yourself go as if you were floating discovering new landscapes.
We can perform relaxation for 20 minutes or half an hour, as long as you feel comfortable (and possible). It doesn't matter if you fall asleep, you can see that your body needed it and the relaxation worked great.
There is also another type of "urgent" relaxation, for a moment of concrete tension, which consists in managing conscious breathing. Inhale deeply and slowly through the nose, being aware of the movement of the diaphragm when doing so. Count to four and exhale equally slowly, relaxing the muscles of the neck and shoulders. We count again and repeat the operation for four times.
These relaxation exercises at home during pregnancy You can do them once a day, at the time that suits you. They usually work very well before going to bed, as they help you fall asleep and rest better, especially in the final stretch of pregnancy, when we feel most uncomfortable.
If we already have family, it is likely that we find it difficult to find this moment to carry out the relaxation, but we should look for it and ask for help from the couple or relatives so that we can relax. Sometimes when children are already in bed it is too late.
Anyway, you'll see that this relaxation at home during pregnancy It makes you feel better inside and out. And don't stop practicing it once the baby is born!
