When selecting a prenatal yoga class, seek out classes taught by instructors with prenatal yoga teacher training. Ask your instructor any questions you have and let them know of any specific complications with your pregnancy. Yoga instructor and "Yoga Journal" contributing writer Brenda Plakans emphasizes that you can do most basic yoga poses in your first trimester, but should avoid inversions, back bends and deep twists throughout your pregnancy. Talk to your doctor before starting a yoga class.
Basic Class
A basic prenatal yoga class should have the same components as a regular yoga class, including breathing, meditation, pose work and relaxation. Ask the yoga studio whether you should bring anything specific to class besides a yoga mat, such as a blanket or pillow. A prenatal yoga class might include gentle warm-ups with modified sun salutations, and strengthening and stretching poses, including warriors, triangles and hip openers. Instructors may encourage you to be near a wall or sturdy chair so you can practice poses safely.
Yoga Breathing
You may find a local yoga studio that offers prenatal yoga breathing classes. These include breathing exercises, which are also known as pranayama techniques. You might learn Ujjayi breathing, which may be useful during labor and delivery. The nonprofit website Helpguide, which offers free self-help resources, recommends using breathing techniques to help the body and mind relax.
Couples or Partner Prenatal Yoga
Because yoga studios offer prenatal yoga classes that are often intended strictly for pregnant women, they may also offer couples classes. Yoga instructors may take a variety of approaches to this format, including teaching poses that you can practice with your partner, or partner poses; massage and comfort techniques for labor and delivery; visualization exercises; pranayama and meditation techniques. Yoga studios usually hold couples prenatal classes in sessions, which last anywhere from a weekend to six weeks or longer.
Rajashree's Pregnancy Yoga
If you are a fan of Bikram yoga, founded by Bikram Choudhury in the 1970s, then you may decide to take a break from it during your pregnancy. Choudhury popularized hot yoga with his sequence of 26 poses practiced in a yoga studio set at 105 degrees. The Bikram website mentions that some doctors may advise pregnant women to avoid overheating the body during pregnancy. Taking this into consideration, Choudhury's wife, Rajashree Choudhury, developed Rajashree's Pregnancy Yoga, which uses modified versions of many of the Bikram poses and skips prone and head-to-knee poses. Rajashree emphasizes the importance of heeding your doctor's advice regarding the practice of yoga.
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