Hi everyone! It is Andrea Trank. I am a yoga teacher at FYZICAL, and today I am going to talk to you about doing yoga safely during pregnancy.
I have had three children, and I didn’t know how to do yoga until my second child. I wish I had learned during my first pregnancy! It would have made things a lot easier.
However, there are a lot of safety considerations you need to be aware of.
First of all, you need to be in good health before you start an exercise program, which means you need to talk to your doctor. Second, if you already are doing a lot of yoga, you can continue doing the same level of exercise at least through your first trimester.
If you plan on starting a prenatal exercise program, you need to start slowly. What is so cool about yoga is that it is all about being mindful, so yoga is perfect exercise for pregnant women – you have to listen to your body!
What I am going to do today is demonstrate what you should and should not do during your three trimesters. These are generalized rules, and you should always be cognizant of your health, age, and what your doctor says.
So let’s get going!
First Trimester
- You can pretty much do all of the poses safely
- Do – lay on your stomach
- Do – Childs pose (1)
- Do – Downward Dog
- You can always use props (2)
Second Trimester
- Start to adjust your practice due to your tissues and ligaments softening to make room for the baby
- No lying on your tummy or extreme backbends – try a gentle cow
- Instead of Down Dog, do Wall Dog! (1)
- Do not do a forward fold with your legs together, spread your legs wider apart (2)
- Do not go too deep into Warrior 2 as you could overstretch your ligaments. Instead, focus more on strength rather than stretching. (3)
Third Trimester
- It will be pretty obvious now that you do not want to lay on your tummy, but you also should not lay flat on your back! It simply puts too much weight on your lower back. However, if you do want to be on your back for a pose, you will need to use props like putting a bolster, block and blanket under your lower back. (1)
- Do not do Child Pose, as that is too much pressure on your belly.
- You can incorporate knee planks, and Cat Cow to move your pelvis up and down (2 and 3)
