My beautiful sister pregnant with her 2nd daughter demonstrating side-lying relaxation
Prenatal yoga is a practice that aims at helping women experience a healthy pregnancy as well as preparing them for labor, delivery and early motherhood. As a general rule for healthy women, any physical activity she is accustomed to practicing on a regular basis is okay to practice through conception and beyond as long as she feels good doing it. However many pregnant women will tell you that many of the yoga postures they practiced before becoming pregnant are no longer comfortable or even possible during this time. A full term pregnancy lasts 38-42 weeks. Many changes happen during this time- for our purposes it’s important to know that the hormones progesterone and relaxin are being produced and these two specifically relax smooth muscles to prevent expulsive contractions before term, but also relax the joints, connective tissue and ligaments, and make the body lose muscle mass. As the baby grows the abdominal muscles weaken and stretch, and the mothers center of gravity shifts. To compensate the spine begins to bend, predominately in the lumbar area, exacerbating a hyper-lordosis (sway-back/exaggerated curve). Another common change in posture is neck extension and shoulder rounding, which also exacerbate the natural curves in the spine. These changes give many women pain in the low back, mid back, and shoulder area- not to mention the tightness they may be feeling in the hips. Be sure to check with your doctor before you begin any practice. Yoga seems like a great "cure" for these ailments, but it is important to find a teacher or class that specializes in prenatal yoga or you may leave class feeling worse! If you aren't able to find such a class, here are my recommendations when practicing in a "normal" class!
STANCE: Keep feet “baby-width” apart for any poses that normally have feet together or hip-distance. This widens your base and makes you more stable, also allows for you to fold forward without the belly getting in the way!
TWISTS: Deep twists will be impossible as pregnancy continues and could compress the uterus… Open twists will help keep the spine flexible and leave room for baby! If you can’t do the open twist because baby has grown too big… skip the twist!
CORE: Avoid any kind of belly-up core: crunches, sit-ups, bicycles are big no-no’s. They make abdominal separation (diastasis recti) worse…instead focus on transverse abdominals (belly IN) and pelvic floor strength & flexibility (kegels).
BACKBENDS: Small backbends can be quite beneficial but very deep backbends are not recommended since they put more strain on and weaken the abdominal muscles. There is a slight chance of pulling on the uterus and causing an abruption (when the placenta detaches from the uterus)…
VINYASA: This is a controversial subject. Many agree that (plank) is safe for Momma and helps increase core strength, but chaturanga is discouraged for a couple of reasons; if a woman loses her balance or her arms simply fail to hold the weight of her body as she lowers, she will fall on her belly; another concern is that it may strain the abdominal muscles, causing low back pain and may cause or aggravate diastasis recti. Urdhva Muka Svanasana is also to be avoided for these same reasons.
HIP OPENERS: Very asymmetrical shapes like Eka Pada Rajakapotasana should be avoided or modified (on the back or at the wall, or standing ankle to knee at the wall) because it is difficult to find optimal alignment and can easily destabilize the pelvis and overstretch abdominal muscles. If you do them, it is a good idea to strengthen the abductors first! If a woman has PSD, torn hamstrings or S.I. Joint pain she should avoid upavista konasana and use a block between the feet for baddha konasana
INVERSIONS: This is controversial. Advanced inversions are not recommend because of the risk of falling. A supported sirsasana or handstand prep can help relieve the pelvic floor from excessive weight as well as reduce edema in the lower extremities. Some women have a hard time in inversions as simple as downward dog, or a forward fold because of nausea or heart burn and in this case we can modify (at the wall or seated respectively).
LYING ON THE BACK: As long as a woman is comfortable this is ok! The fear of whats known as vena cava syndrome is the reason most literature suggests lying on the left side. A woman will feel discomfort long before this is a real threat to her or her baby, but if a studio has bolsters using one to prop her up can be a comfortable solution.
LYING ON THE BELLY: This is generally not recommended after 12 weeks of gestation, but could be uncomfortable as early as 8 weeks.
PROPS: Use blocks under your hands as much as possible to bring the ground to you and avoid over stretching and use them to stabilize! Squeeze them between your thighs in chair pose to activate and strengthen the lower body. Bolsters are great for restorative poses and a blanket under your seat in any forward folds is going to keep your low back feeling spacious!
Remember to listen to your body!! These are my recommendations, but I AM NOT A DOCTOR! No one knows your body better than you do, and this is a time to really listen to your intuition. If something feels wrong, don't do it. If something causes you PAIN- STOP! If you feel like doing a handstand or a deep backbend it isn't impossible but I encourage you to err on the side of safety and remember that your practice won't always be like this. The practice of yoga is a wonderful companion to your pregnancy. Allow this to be a space to cultivate patience, compassion, strength and self-love- you got this Mama!!!