Obstetricians, midwives and pregnancy fitness experts generally recommend yoga as one of the safest and most beneficial prenatal exercises. Yoga is a low- to no-impact workout that helps you maintain—or improve—muscular endurance, strength and flexibility. A regular yoga practice improves circulation, contributes to good posture, reduces stress and relieves common aches associated with pregnancy, such as lower back pain.
Considerations
If you’ve been practicing advanced yoga for months or years prior to becoming pregnant, you might be able to continue your practice at the same level—with appropriate modifications as your pregnancy progresses. Likewise, if you’ve never practiced yoga before, you can ease your way into a more gentle—but equally beneficial—prenatal yoga practice, which you should be able to maintain throughout a healthy pregnancy. In either case, discuss your appropriate level of physical activity with your health care provider before continuing or beginning yoga training while pregnant. If you’re at risk for premature labor, have heart disease, chronic back problems or a history of miscarriage, your doctor might tell you to avoid yoga.
Training Options
You’ll find group yoga classes in a number of distinct settings, including gyms and health clubs, hospital facilities and yoga studios. While you may be able to find an excellent instructor in any type of setting, hospitals and yoga studios are more likely to offer prenatal yoga classes and hatha, or gentle, yoga classes. Gyms tend to emphasize vigorous yoga workouts, such as power yoga, vinyasa flow and ashtanga. If you belong to a gym, scan the schedule for prenatal or hatha yoga classes. If you don't find either, call and ask the program director which scheduled instructors are certified to teach prenatal yoga. If none are, you may be better off seeking a class elsewhere. Other training options include hiring a qualified yoga instructor as a one-on-one trainer a few times a week, or using prenatal yoga videos on your own at home.
Prenatal Yoga
All yoga focuses on the relationship between breath and movement. Prenatal-specific yoga training also focuses on breath, teaching you how to breathe fully and use it as a means to relaxation. Breathing to achieve calmness is a practical childbirth skill that can boost your confidence during labor and delivery. Prenatal yoga also focuses on poses that alleviate back pain, such as the cat-cow stretch or pelvic tilts; poses that open your pelvis, such as yoga squats or cobbler’s pose; and relaxation poses, such as side-lying corpse pose. Prenatal yoga classes don’t include any contraindicated poses.
Poses to Avoid
If your yoga practice takes place in a mainstream, non-prenatal yoga class, be aware of which poses are contraindicated during pregnancy—especially if your instructor isn’t certified to teach pregnant women. After your first trimester, avoid lying in a supine position, as it restricts blood flow to the uterus. Also avoid lying in a prone position after your first trimester. Inverted positions, such as handstands, direct blood away from your uterus and should be avoided, especially in the third trimester. Avoid any pose that stretches, twists or fully engages your abdominal muscles, such as backbends and boat pose.
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