Prenatal Yoga Tips

Settling into a new experience, such as pregnancy, can be difficult. Yoga is a great way to find acceptance, work through your new emotions and physical changes, and prepare for the changes to come.

Here are some tips to get you started on—or continue—your yoga practice during pregnancy. Make sure to check with your doctor before starting any yoga or fitness regimen to know if it is right for you.

Meditate

Especially in the first trimester, it can be hard to want to do anything. Fatigue and nausea can make yoga practice seem impossible. However, meditation is one of the best tools at your disposal—not only for practicing yoga but also for improving your state of mind and helping you feel better.

The many changes occurring in your body and mind can be scary and daunting. You can gain greater awareness and understanding of these changes by meditating. Through conscious breathing, positive mantras, and working to release tension in your face and scalp you can help yourself feel better and be more accepting of the present moment.

Just Breathe

Similar to meditation, your breath helps you feel better, increase energy, improve mood, and gain mindfulness. It can be difficult to continue your regular asana practice when you are pregnant, so fostering your meditation and breath practices are important.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a great way to practice yoga and pranayama but it also helps you connect with your baby. As you breathe you rock him or her, providing comfort.

Your breath should be calm and steady. Pregnancy isn’t a time for breath retention because your breath is vital to carrying nutrients to your baby. Avoid heaty pranayama like Kapalabhati (Skull-Shining Breath) and Bhastrika (Bellows Breath) while you are pregnant, as they create significant body heat and adnominal pressure.

Create Space

One of the greatest benefits of prenatal yoga is making space for your baby. Practicing helps increase space not only physically but also mentally.

Easy seated twist pose

In order to create space physically, avoid poses that compress your abdomen. These include closed twists and prone and completely supine poses. You can and are encouraged to practice gentle open twists like Parivrtta Sukhasana (Easy Seated Twist Pose), where you sit in a cross-legged position and cross one hand to the opposite knee (or the inside of the knee on the same side) and rest your other hand behind you.

You can continue prone poses like Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) until your reach your second trimester. As your baby moves from the safety of deep in your pelvis you don’t want to compress the area by lying on your stomach. Similarly, after about week 16, you don’t want to lie completely on your back in supine positions (at least for a long period of time). This is because the weight of your baby can compress and limit blood flow. Many postures where you would lay on your back can be done propped up, with your back on a bolster; Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Bound Angle or Butterfly Pose) is a common favorite.

Though you don’t need to avoid forward folds while pregnant, you do need to modify them in order to “create space.” You will need to open your legs to hip distance or wider to make sure that when you fold forward (when seated or standing) there is enough room for your baby.

Mentally, you create space by living in the present moment and connecting with your baby. Spending time with your new self and baby can help prepare you for the coming changes.  

Maintain Balance

Tree Pose with foot lower than inner thigh

Finding balance in all areas of your life is an important practice while pregnant. Work to find balance in your diet, rest, and activities. This is particularly true regarding your yoga practice.

As your body changes from hormones, relaxin, and the distribution of weight in your front, your center of gravity and balance will change. Take balancing poses slowly and welcome a sturdy piece of furniture or a wall when you need it.

Widen your stance in standing poses like Virabhadrasana (Warrior) and distribute your weight more evenly in poses like Vrksasana (Tree Pose) by keeping your toes on the ground with your heel on the inside of your foot or ankle, instead of placing your raised foot on the inside of your standing thigh. 

Reconsider Inversions

Many suggest that you limit inversions while pregnant. I suggest reconsidering them and figuring out where you are each day.

During the first trimester it’s best to limit inversions, as the risk of miscarriage is the greatest and nausea, fatigue, and hormone changes can make successful inversions difficult. However, in reconsidering your inversions you can focus on doing inversions where your head is below your hips and heart but not below your feet, which includes poses like Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog). This mild inversion is generally safe during pregnancy.

After your first trimester, don’t start an inversion practice if you didn’t already have one. However, you can continue your previous practice if you feel comfortable. The key is to be able to maintain your balance, so be mindful of where your body is during your asana practice and if you feel like you are balanced and strong enough to come up. You can also bring your inversion practice to the wall, so you always have support, or have a spotter help you. As your body weight continues to shift as you get further along in your pregnancy you may find that you don’t want to continue with certain poses. That is okay. Accept where your body is.

Don’t Overheat

Though there are those that say you can continue hot yoga during pregnancy if you were practicing it before, you should be aware of your body temperature. Your body is incubating your baby and your body temperature is vital to his or her development.

In any activity make sure to take breaks when you get tired and when you start to develop too much heat. Many yoga poses are warming and specifically designed to create heat in the body. Monitor those changes within yourself to make sure you aren’t getting too warm.

Staying hydrated is also very important: Water helps regulate your body temperature. Have a bottle of water handy and take sips as needed throughout the practice to help your blood carry nutrients to your baby.

Take time for yourself and listen to your body’s needs. Some days will be better than others. My doctor recently told me that I should expect to take two steps forward and one step back. So, find pleasure and calm where you can. Be amazed by your body and your baby, and don’t forget to breathe.

Now it’s time for the best savasana…
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Other posts in the Yoga for Scoliosis, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Series:
First Trimester Prenatal Yoga for Scoliosis
Yoga Poses for Scoliosis and Pregnancy
Review: Yoga for Pregnancy: Safe and Gentle Stretches by Sandra Jordan
Top 5 Prenatal Yoga Poses
Can You Get an Epidural if You Have Scoliosis
Torticollis and Scoliosis
Torticollis, Scoliosis, and Sensory Disorders
Review: 5 Days to Mindful Mothering by Susie Fishleder