Pregnancy presents women with very special physical and mental challenges. Yoga can be incredibly rewarding during the time of motherhood and can help pregnant women stay fit and flexible through to birth. But there are a few things to consider in order not to harm your baby and your own body.
As a certified yoga teacher (500 hours), I stuck to my yoga practice during my two pregnancies as a trained prenatal yoga teacher up to the day of the birth and taught yoga for pregnant women several times a month.
What is the difference between yoga for pregnant women and normal yoga?
1. SAFETY FOR THE BABY
Pregnancy Yoga should always put the safety of the baby in the womb first. There are some yoga postures/asanas that you should absolutely avoid during pregnancy. These include intense backbends and twists that squeeze the abdomen. It’s also important not to overexert yourself and get out of breath.
Pregnant women should also be careful with breathing exercises (Pranayama): Do not practice any breathing techniques in which breathing pauses are instructed. You should also refrain from breathing fire (kapalabhati).
You should refrain from asanas in the prone position at the latest from the second trimester so as not to put pressure on the uterus and the embryo.
2. THE BEST PREPARATION FOR CHILDBIRTH
A good yoga course for pregnant women teaches aspects that are helpful for your birth preparation. These include, for example, deep abdominal breathing, mindful body awareness and the conscious tensing and relaxing of your muscles.
If you practice yoga regularly during your pregnancy, you will learn to direct your breath . This makes it easier for you to use this deep, calm breathing intuitively during childbirth.
The ability to consciously let go under tension is also a clear advantage for the birth!
Another element of good yoga practice for pregnant women: you get to know different birth positions and remain flexible until the birth through frequent repetition.
3. RELAXATION FOR MOM & BABY
During pregnancy, your body is under a lot of pressure due to the increasing weight, the hormonal chaos, and your higher blood volume. Your physical stress is therefore significantly higher than before pregnancy.
Therefore, the intensity of yoga for pregnant women should be significantly lower than that of yoga practice for non-pregnant women. Especially in the third trimester, it is advisable to slow down your yoga practice and focus more on relaxation and conscious letting go. The nice thing about pregnancy yoga is that your baby feels your own relaxation and becomes demonstrably calmer in the womb.
4. PREVENT BACK PAIN
Are you pregnant and struggling with back pain from time to time? Unfortunately, this is the case for almost all women on this journey! Unfortunately, back pain and tension during pregnancy are caused by the natural change in the curvature of the spine. This also shifts your body’s center of gravity more forward.
Pregnancy hormones soften your muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This makes your pelvic floor more permeable for your baby. But overall, your spine and pelvis are now less stable. This can also lead to back pain. The right yoga exercises will help you to mobilize your spine until the birth and to strengthen your back muscles and pelvic floor.
Safe pregnancy yoga: My 6 tips for you
1. THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS TO EXERCISE DURING PREGNANCY.
Your doctor will definitely tell you if you should at some point stop exercising your body. Unfortunately, there are a number of reasons that speak against sport during pregnancy. This includes placenta previa or a prematurely shortened cervix.
If you are still in your first trimester and feel lacking in energy or suffer from nausea and vomiting, it makes sense to avoid yoga for the time being.
Back pain or a loosening of the symphysis, on the other hand, are not an exclusion criterion for yoga. If you have symphysis pain in the pubic symphysis area, however, you should not do any postures that spread your pelvis further or stretch your adductors.
2. ONLY PRACTICE SPECIAL YOGA FOR PREGNANT WOMEN.
This tip is particularly important if you practice yoga online alone: Please only practice yoga that was also designed for pregnant women. Some asanas may still feel good to you, especially in the first and second trimester, but that feeling can be deceptive. In order not to endanger your baby with postures that are too intense, always practice special pregnancy yoga to protect your unborn baby.
3. LISTEN TO THE SIGNALS OF YOUR BODY – AND RESPECT THEM.
During your pregnancy you should take your body’s signals very seriously. If you are practicing yoga and suddenly you do not feel well, your breathing is difficult or you are in pain, please come out of the yoga position directly. Either take a break until the discomfort goes away, or pause until the next day.
4. GIVE YOUR BELLY SPACE IN EVERY POSE.
When doing yoga, your baby bump should always have enough space to avoid putting pressure on the uterus and the embryo. This means that you should avoid lying on your stomach (at the latest by the 4th month) and never squeeze your stomach in yoga poses. For example, you can adjust a forward bend by opening your feet until your growing stomach has enough space. Intense leveraged twists that pinch your tummy are taboo during pregnancy!
5. LET THE BREATH FLOW CALMLY.
The greatest advantage of yoga during pregnancy is the conscious, deep breathing. That’s why it’s so important and useful in pregnancy yoga to focus on even, deep abdominal breathing during the practice. Because the strength and basic trust that your calm breathing gives you can carry you through your birth.
You can also challenge yourself physically as a pregnant woman and get your circulation going. If your heart rate increases under stress, you train your breathing in yoga. This will make it easier for you to remain calm and oxygenate the baby during labor.
It is crucial that you feel in the yoga practice when your breathing begins to catch or become restless. This is the moment when you should take a break or reduce the intensity of the pose.
6. ENJOY EVERY YOGA SESSION.
Pregnancy is not a time for self-improvement. Moderate and daily exercise is beneficial for the course of your pregnancy. But the right measure is crucial (see point 3).
The pursuit of physical performance, fitness or weight control should play absolutely no role in your pregnancy. Instead, use your yoga sessions to become more mindful.
Enjoy every yoga practice and the conscious time for yourself!
When to start pregnancy yoga?
If you already have yoga experience, you can basically continue to practice yoga in the first trimester of your pregnancy.
For pregnant women who have not practiced yoga before, it is advisable to wait until the first trimester and start after the 12th week of pregnancy. The reason for this is that the first 12 weeks are the most vulnerable period of pregnancy and the expectant mother’s body is under a lot of strain. The body needs almost all of the energy reserves in order to adapt the body to the “new conditions”. So never force yourself to do a yoga session, but give your body the rest it needs when you are tired and lacking energy.
Pranayama / breathing exercises during pregnancy
Breathing is a very central element in yoga. A calm, flowing breath is the key to finding stillness and centering the mind in any yoga practice. There are a wide variety of breathing techniques / pranayama, some of which are no longer suitable during pregnancy. The breath must never be held (breath hold / kumbhaka) in order to supply the baby with oxygen uninterruptedly.
Breathing exercises that are useful and beneficial during pregnancy:
- The deep abdominal breathing
- Alternating breathing (Nadi Shodana)
- lengthening of exhalation
- Bee Buzz (Brahmari)
Affirmations for Pregnancy
A regular yoga practice during pregnancy supports you holistically on the way to your baby. But the power of affirmations can also help you experience a positive pregnancy. Affirmations can also give you strength and confidence for a natural and self-determined birth.
I have made a free meditation with 10 powerful affirmations for pregnancy available for you on YouTube .
Online yoga during pregnancy: useful or not?
In recent months, most of the on-site yoga courses have been canceled due to the corona pandemic. If you are currently pregnant yourself, you may have already looked around for online yoga courses – live or as a streaming program. Basically, I think online yoga during pregnancy makes sense as an alternative or in addition to an in-patient course, provided a few requirements are met:
- Training of the yoga teacher : The course provider should have a sound training in pregnancy yoga and sufficient teaching experience. I recommend making sure she has a 500 hour yoga teacher training. Prenatal yoga teacher training is also required.
- Body awareness : With online pregnancy yoga, it is particularly important that you pay attention to your body and its signals in order to protect you and your baby.
- Gut feeling : If you feel uncomfortable with the online program, listen to your gut feeling