During pregnancy, mothers find it quite difficult to settle into a comfortable sitting position. As their belly grows, they may start slouching which will tighten their muscles and cramps their baby’s space in the womb. This is why it is important to stretch and strengthen your muscles during pregnancy. Tailor sitting is one such exercise that helps you achieve that by correcting your posture and giving you the much-needed comfortable sitting position. Here’s more about how to get into a tailor sitting position, what its benefits are, and if there are any precautions to be taken.
Step-by-step Direction For Tailor Sitting
Sitting cross-legged or criss-cross applesauce is essentially tailor sitting. To get into this position:
- Sit on your buttocks (sit bones) on the floor. Get a yoga mat if you want. You may need a thick mat or a folded blanket to sit on to get comfortable.
- Keep your feet right in front of you and focus on keeping your tailbone straight.
- Now, bring your right foot inward with your right knee sticking outwards.
- Bring in your left foot towards the right while crossing your shins. Remember that both your knees should be pointing outwards from your body.
- Sit straight and relax your shoulders.
Now you have got the position. Let’s see what you need to do now:
- Draw the crown of your head towards the ceiling and lengthen your neck in both directions. For extra back support, you could move your location so that you can align your back up against a wall.
- As you are sitting, let your knees relax towards the floor. If your hips get uncomfortable, support your knees on rolled blankets/towels or yoga blocks.
- Breathe in this position for 30 seconds and work towards stretching your time limit for several minutes.
Once you get comfortable in this position, you could even try a tailor press. Here’s how to do it:
- Get into this same tailor position.
- Place your hands underneath your knees.
- Press down with your knees and inhale all the while pressing up with your hands for counter pressure.
- Do this for 5 seconds and release.
- Repeat it a few times.
Benefits of Tailor Sitting During Pregnancy
Tailor sitting is one of the 5 key exercises to do as per Bradley’s Method of natural childbirth. All kinds of pelvic floor exercises, including tailor sitting, prevent urinary incontinence and uterine prolapse after childbirth. It garners a massive amount of benefits such as:
- Good posture
- A good posture will improve blood circulation and ease back pain by keeping the circulation up and running along the midline of your body.
- A good posture also ensures that the uterus moves forward which will give your baby extra wiggle room for a favorable birth.
- Strength gain: This position strengthens your thigh, hip, and pelvic muscles and works wonders even after you give birth to build up strength in your pelvis.
- Flexibility: Tailor sitting stretches your groin and inner thighs, giving you some extra flexibility.
When Should You Do Tailor Sitting?
You can do tailor sitting at any convenient time during your pregnancy. As your belly grows, this might become your only comfortable sitting position. How long you sit in this position is entirely up to you. However, begin by tailor sitting for 30 seconds or so. Once your get more comfortable, you can increase your time limit to even 10 minutes and repeat this 3 or more times a day.
Ring Sitting vs Tailor Sitting
Tailor sitting is quite similar to ring sitting but the difference is the foot placement. With ring sitting, your feet are resting sole to sole to form a ring whereas, with tailor sitting, your feet will be crossing over one another. The benefits of ring sitting are similar to tailor sitting as it stretches and strengthens the same areas of your body such as the inner thighs and the pelvis.
Precautions While Tailor Sitting
Tailor sitting is fairly safe for most people, however, if you have endured any injury beforehand in your groin or knees, you might want to consult a doctor before doing this position. They could suggest modifications such as placing yoga blocks, towels, or blankets under your thigh or knees.
Tailor sitting usually doesn’t hurt but if it does then tone down the intensity or discontinue and ask your healthcare provider for advice. Thye might come up with safer and more comfortable exercises. Remember that pelvic pain or back pain or pressure could be a sign of preterm or early labor so get immediate medical attention. Look out for these other signs of labor:
- Sudden change in vaginal discharge
- Bleeding or spotting
- Vaginal fluid
- Abdominal cramping
- Timeable or regular contractions
The Bottom Line: Is Tailor Sitting Good During Pregnancy?
Tailor sitting for a few minutes a day will strengthen the groin, thigh muscles, hip muscles, and pelvic muscles. It will give you a good posture and stretch as well as strengthen all sore muscles which are extremely important during pregnancy. This could your baby and yours me-time where you could feel each other while your baby gets into a better position for taking birth. Make sure you notice any kind of pain during tailor sitting and consult your doctor for the same.
FAQs
Why do tailors sit cross-legged?
Tailor sitting is a position that can help in stretching the tight inner muscles and improving the hips’ position. This position also challenges the core muscles and is a great alternative to W-siting.
What is tailor sitting exercise in pregnancy?
The tailor sitting exercise makes the thighs, hip, and pelvic muscles more flexible. You need to sit on the floor by keeping together the soles of your feet. Remember to keep your back straight. Now, gently lean forward till you feel a mild stretch of your thigh and hip muscles.
Does sitting position affect the baby?
Crossing your legs while sitting down during pregnancy could be uncomfortable due to possible inflammation, poor circulation, and swollen joints. Here are a few sitting positions you must avoid during pregnancy:
- Sitting crossed leg
- Sitting in a recliner or chair with no leg support
- Twisting or turning at the waist
- Sitting in the same position for a long time
- Using a stool or a chair with no backrest