
RELATED: Easing Into a Fitness Routine After Childbirth.Even if you prefer to practice at home, an occasional class at a studio lets you tap into this network. Joining other women in a postpartum yoga class is a great way to make new friends, all of whom are facing the same challenges you are. Yoga also opens up your chest, making it easier to stand up tall. Some of the best yoga benefits are increased back and shoulder strength, which improves posture. Then you start nursing, pushing a stroller, and lifting a baby and your posture may really suffer, says Larson. Pregnancy can cause even the straightest arrow to slouch. Some new parents also swear by yoga for postpartum anxiety and depression. For many people, this focused breathing triggers feelings of deep relaxation and well-being. Yoga's emphasis on breathing and moving simultaneously helps you breathe more deeply, says Larson. The poses and breathing exercises help you tune in to what you are feeling inside and out, expand your assumptions about what your body can do, and connect you with being in your body in the present moment. Yoga is a wonderful tool for becoming better acquainted with your body, says Jyothi Larson, author of Yoga Mom, Buddha Baby (Bantam). Thinking of trying postpartum yoga after a vaginal delivery or Cesarean delivery? Here are four key benefits. Just starting and doing your best is all you need to do to reap the benefits of a yoga practice.

And you can start with just a few poses and progress from there. Even better, it's perfect to try during the postpartum period as you can access yoga with any level of physical fitness. Yoga is exercise that is as good for the body as it is for the mind.
