Prenatal Yoga
Rewind to 2013, I had been practicing yoga for four years and teaching for 2 or so, and was newly pregnant with our first child. During my first pregnancy I practiced very little yoga since I had hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness with weight loss) until approximately 20 weeks along and had very little energy until then. Once I felt better, I immediately got back to class!
Prenatal yoga is great as it helps prepare you for labour, promotes the baby’s health, improves sleep, reduces stress, increases strength/flexibility for birth. Decreases lower back pain, nausea, headaches and shortness of breath.
Talk to your doctor before practicing, pace yourself and hydrate.
Ligament laxity is common from the relaxin, which essentially means the ligaments around your joints are looser during pregnancy and can lead to loose joints and result in instability. The joint is able to move beyond it’s normal range of motion and can cause pain. In my case, I had ligament laxity in my toes and hips. I had to be careful vacuuming carpet and swimming as one or two of my toes would feel like it dislocated if it didn’t have proper support and would start to spasm. I was able to combat this with massage and watching my toe mobility.
General constraints while pregnant:
No deep twists and backbends due to compressing the baby
No lying flat on your back past 20ish weeks as it presses on the inferior vena cava
No thoracic breathing
No shoulder/headstands
Poses generally considered to be safe while pregnant:
Reclining Goddess / Goddess pose
Tree pose
Garland pose
Warriors
Cat/Cow
Downward dog
Easy Pose
Bound Angle
Lord of the Fishes
Bridge
Camel
Wide leg bends
Figure Four or pigeon
Head to knee
Chair (at the wall)
Heart melting pose (gentle)
Poses to avoid while pregnant and alternatives:
Revolved Side Angle (2nd and 3rd trimester)
Instead try Supported Side Angle
Wheel
Replace with Bridge or Upward Plank
Bow, Cobra
Try Camel
Closed leg forward fold
Alternatively try Wide Leg Forward Fold
Twisted chair
Do with wide legs or regular chair or regular chair against a wall
There’s no reason you can’t continue your yoga practice, or start a gentle yoga practice while you are pregnant. Listen to your body and consult your doctor!