Pregnancy Yoga

About Pregnancy Yoga

Pregnancy yoga is divided into 2 parts: pre natal and pos natal yoga. Pre natal yoga is done while you are pregnant and it prepares you for the childbirth physically and mentally. Pre-natal yoga usually includes lots of pregnancy-safe deep stretches which strengthen your muscles to deliver the child and help you balance the increasing weight. It also improves your sleep, reduces anxiety, and helps with the lower back pain, nausea, headaches and breathlessness. Pre natal yoga strengthens the bond between the mother and the baby while the baby is still mother’s womb. Post natal yoga focuses on the physical, emotional and mental challenges faced by a new mother. It helps them to lose weight, tone their body and reduce the stress.

Frequently Asked Questions

The biggest difference is that everyone in the room is a pregnant woman! This results in a class tailored more specifically to address the aches and discomforts of pregnancy. Also, the aspect of community is a major part of prenatal yoga classes. It’s a wonderful place to meet other women who are going through a similar experience as you, making it a great place to vent, share stories, get tips, or whatever else you may want to hear/say.<br>

The other difference is that the teacher is usually trained in prenatal yoga or at least has some experience with birth that qualifies them to teach this speciality, therefore they have a fairly good understanding of the process of pregnancy and birth and are comfortable offering options and answering questions.

Studies have suggested that practicing yoga during pregnancy can:<br>

  • Improve sleep<br>
  • Reduce stress and anxiety<br>
  • Increase strength, flexibility and endurance in muscles needed during childbirth<br>
  • Decrease some common “side effects” such as carpal tunnel, low back pain, nausea,
    shortness of breath, headaches<br>
  • Decrease risk of pre-term labor<br>

Also prenatal yoga can help you meet and bond with other pregnant women as you prepare for the stresses of new parenthood. Another awesome benefit of prenatal yoga is the focus on the breath. Many of the breathing practices that we practice during class can be extremely helpful to use during labor. Some women even find that they use certain yoga poses during labor.<br>

As long as it feels good! I have had students practice during their 41st and even 42nd week, just days before giving birth. I even know of one student who went into labor later in the day after attending a prenatal class that morning!

Again the best answer is to trust your intuition and listen to your body. Generally, it is best to avoid closed twists as they can decrease circulation. Also poses that target the abs aren’t great to do, including poses with a strong focus on strengthening the obliques as overly strong obliques can pull your abdominal muscles apart further than they are already being pulled, which causes a condition known as diastasis recti. Deep backbends such as full wheel can also cause diastasis recti. Better to stick with milder back bends such as camel or upward facing dog with a bolster under the thighs. It is also best to avoid poses that require lying straight on the tummy, mostly as that just won’t feel very good for you and your baby.