CrossFlowP: Third Trimester Flow
CrossFlowP: Third Trimester Flow
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25m
CrossFlowP: Third Trimester Flow. 25 Minutes. Mama, your body is working HARD. You may be exhausted, you may be exhilarated, you may be feeling ALLL of the emotions right now. Now is the time to enjoy feeling your baby growing safely inside of you. You are GROWING A HUMAN! There is nothing more miraculous than that. This flow will help you open in all of the places that need opening, strengthen, and prepare for giving birth. This is a marathon, not a sprint. You have GOT THIS. And, this flow will help your birth experience be filled with calm, deep breaths, and as much ease as is possible. Go, mama, GOOOO!!!
Of COURSE, check with your OB or MFM before doing any of these moves. I am not a doctor!
I did love this flow in my third trimester. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Make sure you have a chair or wall next to you at all times, as your every growing belly WILL challenge your balance in ways you have never before experienced (unless this is not your first pregnancy!). Blocks are helpful for creating extra space, so keep them on hand.
Don't forget to take deep breaths, LISTEN to your body, and ENJOY!
Moves:
Deep Breaths connecting with Baby: always good to center and remember a little one is with you (although it should be impossible to forget at this stage of pregnancy!)
Sufi circles : great for releasing your very taxed spine.
Side bends : important to create space in your sides where it feels SO tight right now.
Open twist : important for spine health.
All 4s cat/ cow : important for spine health, and great to let the uterus hang and relieve pressure.
Calf stretch : many pregnant women experience crazy painful cramps in their calves at this stage, so it is important to stretch them out.
Puppy pose : great pregnancy pose as a precursor to (or modification for) down dog.
Down dog knee bends: great for those third trimester leg cramps.
Wide Feet to hands : keeping your feet wide gives your belly space.
Roll up: keep it super slow to avoid vertigo or dizziness.
Standing back arch: important to reverse the hunching that happens from all of the belly weight
Half Chair half Ankle to Knee : *Do this at a wall or with a chair for SURE*, fantastic hip opener for this stage of pregnancy, incorporating balance, plus strengthening for lower body aids in labor.
Lizard with psoas opener : psoas and hip opener. Psoas gets SO tight at this point from the stress of added weight and belly, and this is one of the few pregnancy approved ways to open it.
Gate Pose: fantastic side opener. There are never enough side waist stretches for this phase of pregnancy.
Head to knee pose: side, back, hip, and hamstring stretch.
Butterfly: gentle hip and back opener. Open hips aid in labor, and in the third trimester, all women's backs are tight and sore.
Breathing with baby: again, important to connect with your little miracle inside!