Yoga has many advantages for pregnant women, such as promoting the development of controlled breathing and relaxation techniques that can be helpful during childbirth. The Yoga Alliance, an organization that creates training standards for yoga practitioners, provides guidelines for prospective prenatal instructors.
Identification
Yoga is an ancient practice. Carvings that predate written history show yoga poses. The practice gained popularity in the United States in the 1960s, although it likely arrived in the country in the preceding century, according to the American Yoga Association. Prenatal yoga involves using a combination of breathing techniques and poses that are safe for both pregnant women and their unborn children. Even experienced yoga instructors should receive specialized training in how to work with pregnant students.
Benefits
A major benefit of prenatal yoga is that it teaches women relaxation techniques that can be used during labor. Yoga promotes calmness and deep breathing, which are helpful in managing the stress and pain involved in delivery. In addition, it helps to keep women flexible and maintain muscle strength. Yoga strengthens the pelvic muscles and uterus as well, according to class information from the University of North Carolina Health System's Rex Healthcare.
Training Curriculum
The curriculum for prenatal yoga instructor training focuses on applying yoga's philosophy and techniques to the needs of pregnant women. Major requirements include ethics and lesson plan development. You'll also learn when to recommend medical treatment for expecting students. Training involving the anatomy and physiology of pregnant students is also an important component of the curriculum. This includes learning about how the body functions during pregnancy and potential complications. This knowledge will help you design lesson plans that are appropriate for students at each trimester.
Training Practice
Teaching yoga under the supervision of an experienced instructor is a core requirement of a training program. The Yoga Alliance standards require that prenatal instructor trainees complete a 20 hour practicum. Half of these hours are dedicated to observing prenatal yoga instruction. You will be involved in direct teaching during the remaining 10 hours. Six of those hours requires that you work as the lead teacher.
Choosing a Training Program
Talk with the instructors of yoga training programs to find out about their training, experience and any credentials they have. Only instructors who have completed specialized training in prenatal yoga should be leading the program. Programs approved through the Yoga Alliance require that the majority of the prenatal yoga curriculum be taught by an experienced registered yoga teacher. Instructors with this designation typically have two to four years of teaching experience and participate in continuing education.
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