What is Prenatal Yoga?
We often get questions from expecting clients early in their pregnancies such as “What is prenatal yoga?” “What can I expect from a prenatal class?” “Do I need to take prenatal classes or can I stick with my regular classes?” “How do I need to modify my yoga practice now that I’m pregnant?”
These are all wonderful questions and we love answering them! This post will help give some high level information in regards to prenatal yoga, what it is and why it’s wonderful to support women through all stages of pregnancy as well as postpartum.
Prenatal yoga is often regarded as a modified yoga practice done during pregnancy. It’s typically thought of as a gentler form of yoga, although this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, especially if you’ve been practicing more vigorous forms of yoga or other fitness disciplines leading up to your pregnancy.
A more comprehensive definition is: “Prenatal yoga is a practice uniquely designed for pregnancy that can help support expecting mothers emotionally and physically. With an emphasis on breathing, stamina, pelvic floor work, restorative poses, and core strength, prenatal yoga can help you become more resilient during and after pregnancy.”
While every prenatal class offers something different, at GoYoga, we strongly believe in tailoring these classes to support the common needs and concerns of pregnant women as they move through the various stages of pregnancy and prepare for labor, delivery and the fourth trimester (after the baby is born). What you can expect in our prenatal yoga sessions:
-Sequences and poses designed to support the changing body and relieve aches and pains commonly experienced during pregnancy
-Poses to help build strength and stamina in areas that tend to need an increased threshold of pain in later stages of pregnancy, labor and delivery
-The sharing of yoga tools such as breathwork, mindfulness and meditation to strengthen coping skills, reduce stress and improve your ability to relax in tense moments
While any yoga class can provide the above-mentioned benefits, prenatal yoga classes cater to the individual needs of our clients and the poses are curated for each trimester with focus on things such as:
-Aligning the baby into optimal fetal position
-Pelvic floor breathwork that helps during childbirth
-Poses that help maintain the pelvic outlet to its maximum size further to aid during childbirth
-Poses on our mats that can later be used during labor and childbirth
While prenatal yoga classes are for women in any trimester, those in the second and third trimester will find even greater benefits. There are many pose variations offered so you feel empowered regardless of the stage of pregnancy. We provide our classes in a judgment-free environment and encourage plenty of rest and hydration throughout the class.
All in all, great prenatal yoga classes equip you with all the tools you need to have a successful pregnancy, labor, delivery and post partum experience!
Mandeep Bahia, CYT500, is passionate about providing pregnant women with practical yoga tools that she didn’t have during her pregnancy. She strongly believes in yoga as a way to make a woman’s pregnancy and birthing experience more enjoyable and aims to make pregnant women aware of all the choices they have so they feel more in control. Above all, she wants them to find the mental strength to go through this rollercoaster journey of being pregnant, delivering a baby and transitioning into motherhood. You can find the schedule of her weekly prenatal classes and pre- and post-natal workshops here through our Dublin, OH yoga studio location page. View a sample of one of her classes online here.
