Yoga is one of the best ways to gently build strength after pregnancy and birth, especially if you’re looking to get back into running!
The best yoga poses to practice postpartum will be those that relieve tightness in the hips, hamstrings, and upper body whilst gently engaging the core. In this post, we’ll discuss kegel exercises, bridge pose, forward fold pose, cow face pose, boat pose, warrior I pose, and triangle pose as some of the very best postpartum asanas to prepare for a return to running.
It’s important to make sure that your body is ready before you lace up your trainers and hit the road, and yoga can help you to get there. Start by adding a few yoga poses into your daily or weekly routine to relieve the aches, pain, and tightness that often accompany life with a newborn baby. By practicing yoga, you’ll also start to strengthen your entire body in preparation for more impactful exercise.
The benefits of practicing yoga postpartum
By practicing yoga during the postpartum period, we begin to strengthen and stabilize the pelvic muscles, spine, trunk, and lower body in a gentle way. It’s a great way to get to know your body after pregnancy and birth so that you can respect its new boundaries and limits.
When we start to move the joints and stretch the muscles in the lower body before getting back to our running practice postpartum, we can reduce our recovery time as well as the likelihood of getting injured.
Things to keep in mind
Through gentle yoga is almost as safe as it gets, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind when practicing postpartum.
Listen to your body
If there’s one time that you need to listen to your body, it’s now. When your body tells you that it’s time to stop, don’t push it. Similarly, if your hips are begging for some movement, practice a few of the yoga poses in this article to open them gently.
Mind your core
Your core will be weak and in need of lots of TLC after pregnancy, so be mindful when practicing any yoga poses that require core strength. Begin by checking with your doctor or midwife that it’s safe for you to start engaging the core; then practice poses such as triangle pose and warrior I to warm up the abdominal muscles.
Go easy on yourself
Your practice might not look how it used to, but your body is nothing like it used to be! The transition back to running is going to take time. Yoga will help you to get there in a safe and stable way, but remember to take things slowly and remember to love your body for what it’s done in bringing your child into the world.
Yoga poses for runners postpartum.
Kegel exercises
First and foremost, get practicing your kegel exercises! Kegel exercises will strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, which, in turn, give you greater control over your bladder and bowel – something that will be particularly important to you if you’re a runner.
To do kegel exercises, squeeze the pelvic floor muscles (as though you’re trying to stop peeing) for 10-15 seconds, then release for 5-10 seconds. Repeat this 5-10 times a few times a day. You can even bring this into your yoga flow by practicing kegel exercises as you move between poses.
Bridge Pose
Bridge pose helps to stretch the shoulders and chest whilst alleviating tightness in the hips – it can also help with new mum anxiety!
Start by laying on your mat with your knees bent and the soles of your feet on the floor. Bring your heels hip-distance apart and close enough to your glutes that you can about touch them with your fingertips without having to reach them.
Keep your hands by your sides with palms facing down as you take an inhale. As you exhale, push into your feet to lift your hips towards the ceiling, peeling your back away from the mat until you are resting only on your upper back/shoulders.
Stay here for 2-3 breaths and repeat three times, ensuring that you come all the way down to the mat to rest for a couple of breaths in between rounds.
Standing forward fold
Standing forward fold is a gentle inversion that allows us to stretch the hamstrings and relieve pain and discomfort in the lower back.
Stand on your mat with your feet hip-distance apart. Take a deep breath in to bring your hands to your hip crease, then, as you exhale, slowly fold at the hip crease as you bring your belly towards your thighs.
As you fold, deeply bend the knees to help you keep the belly and thighs connected and bring your hands to rest on the mat or on two yoga blocks. Let the head hang heavy. You can straighten the knees a little if you want to increase the stretch.
Stay here for 3-5 breaths before slowly rolling up through the spine to stand.
Cow-face pose
The cow-face pose is great for relieving the pain that we often feel in the hips after pregnancy and is also wonderful for stretching the muscles across the chest.
Start from sitting comfortably on your mat with your legs straight out in front of you – you might like to bring a cushion underneath the sit bones.
Keep the left leg out long and cross the right leg over the top, bending the knee to bring your right foot towards the left hip. If this is enough of a stretch, stay here. Otherwise, begin to bend your left knee to bring the left foot towards the right hip. Your knees should be stacked and creating a sort of triangle shape on the floor in front of you.
From here, bring the left-hand overhead, bending at the elbow to reach your hand between your shoulder blades. Reach the right arm behind you to hold onto the left – using a towel or strap between the two hands if they don’t quite meet. Keep the left elbow pushing behind you so that you can remain tall through the head and open through the chest.
Stay here for several breaths before repeating on the other side.
Boat Pose
The boat pose will help you to start engaging the core and strengthening the abdominal muscles following pregnancy.
Start by sitting on your mat with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Keeping the spine straight, gently start to lean backward as you lift your feet away from the floor – keeping a bend in the knees – until your shins are parallel to the ground.
Point your toes and reach your arms alongside your calves. Remember to keep the chest open, spine long, and core engaged.
Ensure that you’re ready to bring gentle core exercises into your routine by confirming with your midwife that you do not have diastasis recti.
Warrior I Pose
Warrior I pose allows us to stretch and strengthen the body. But mostly, it makes us feel powerful, confident, and ready to commit to self-care and movement following pregnancy and birth.
Start by standing on your mat with your feet hip-distance apart. Step back by about 1 meter with your right leg, turning the right toes out to 45 degrees and bending the front knee deeply.
Keep the torso facing forwards as you engage your core, gaze ahead, and lift your arms above you. If you have any pain in the knee of the back leg, turn your toes to face forwards. For balance, you might like to widen the space between your feet.
Stay here for 3-5 breaths before repeating on the other side.
Triangle Pose
A triangle pose is a gentle way to work the pelvic floor and engage the obliques after pregnancy.
Start in a standing position, then step back with the right foot as though you were going to move into Warrior I (outlined above). This time, turn the toes out to 45 degrees and keep both of your legs straight.
Let your torso face towards the right as you stretch your arms out to either side of you, gazing over the left fingertips. Take a breath in as you gently shift your hips towards the back of the mat, then exhale to hinge from the hips, bringing the left fingertips to meet the shin, a block, or your yoga mat.
Stay strong in both legs, adjusting the distance between your feet if necessary. Reach the right arm towards the sky, and look up to the right fingers for a gentle neck stretch. If this causes pain or discomfort, look down towards the left toes.
Stay here for 3-5 breaths, keeping the core engaged, before repeating on the other side.
The takeaway
It’s important to wait until you’re cleared by your doctor or healthcare advisor before beginning any exercise postpartum. When you are ready, yoga is a great place to start!
Take it slowly, making sure that you’re taking the time to get to know your body and your new limits. Remember, your body has just grown and birthed a child! It needs time to heal and recover – so take things slowly when getting started.
Begin by adding poses into your daily or weekly routine. You might like to try setting aside time each day to practice or drop into a soothing yoga pose whenever you get the chance.
Listen to what your body tells you, respect it, and you’ll be ready to return to running in no time!
