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!