A yoga ball (also known as an exercise or stability ball) is a large inflatable PVC ball used to promote core stability, strengthen muscles, improve balance and posture. You’ll find them in many fitness classes and gyms.
Pregnant women love to use the yoga ball as a gentle way of soothing back muscles and easing lower back pain. It also helps to induce labour and get baby into a better foetal position.
Increased Core Strength
Using the yoga ball adds extra challenge to many exercises, forcing the stabilising muscles to work harder to maintain balance. Even if you aren’t particularly exercise-orientated, simply sitting on the ball can improve posture and strengthen core muscles, while helping to reduce back pain and stiffness.
Babies can also benefit from the use of a yoga or exercise ball, especially if they are struggling to learn how to sit up independently. Try gently supporting the baby’s trunk or pelvis and weight-shifting them on the ball, to help them develop the strength needed for this transition.
To do this exercise, sit on the yoga ball with your spine straight and abs engaged. Place your hands on the ball or behind your head (harder), or hold onto a wall for support if necessary, then lift one leg off the floor into the air to the side. Repeat for the other leg. Do a few sets of this and other core exercises on the ball to increase your strength.
Reduced Back Pain
While bouncing on a yoga ball does not alleviate back pain, it can help strengthen the core and reduce pain over time. It also encourages better posture by training the muscles to remain active. This is particularly beneficial for pregnant women, as weak stabilising muscles contribute to back pain.
A yoga ball (also known as an exercise or fitness ball) is a round, inflatable rubber ball that is filled with air and can be inflated to varying sizes by removing the valve stem and either filling with air or letting air out. It is most often used in physical therapy and athletic training.
When choosing a yoga ball, it is recommended to get the correct size for your height. This is crucial to ensure that the ball is not too soft or too hard, which can cause it to deflate or burst. For reference a 55cm yoga ball is ideal for people 5’1” to 5’7”. A 65cm ball should be used by anyone over that height.
Improved Posture
A yoga ball office chair forces you to change positions and bounce up and down while working. This can improve posture as well as keep you from sitting in a static, slouched position for long periods of time which can lead to back pain.
It also helps to have a healthy spine, specifically the lordotic curve which can help alleviate back and neck pain. A yoga ball can help improve this if it is used correctly by performing a simple exercise.
Begin by lying down on the ball with your belly resting on it and your knees bent balancing on the ball. Squeeze your shoulder blades down and back and raise straight arms in front of your body and slightly out, forming a Y position with your thumbs pointing out. Slowly lower back to the starting position and repeat. This will target the lumbar spine muscles and improve your posture. It also provides a nice core workout!
Induced Labour
There are a number of methods that are recommended for inducing labour naturally. Spicy food and bumpy roads, for example, may cause gastrointestinal distress and stimulate uterine contractions, but there is little evidence that they actually induce labour.
One of the more effective methods to induce labour is sitting on a birthing ball in a wide-legged position and rocking or swaying. This technique can encourage cervical ripening and open the pelvis to prepare for labor, according to some studies.
Another pregnancy yoga ball exercise that can help inducing labour is the ‘wall squat’. This is a very comfortable way to sit on the yoga ball and gently rock your hips back and forth. This helps the baby move into the optimal foetal position and accelerates the labor process, according to some studies. It also strengthens the lower back muscles, which helps to relieve labour pains by working with gravity rather than against it. The best part about this pregnancy ball exercise is that it can be done anywhere and doesn’t require a lot of space or equipment.