Prenatal Yoga can help lower a mother’s anxiety, increase oxygen, improve circulation and create a bonding experience with baby prior to birth.
Beginning Prenatal Yoga
Although hatha yoga has many health benefits and is not considered a high risk activity, pregnant women should first discuss starting any exercise program with their primary care provider. Many healthcare advocates and yoga teachers advise not starting a yoga program until a pregnancy has reached week 12. Pregnant women attending a general yoga class should alert the teacher of their pregnancy so that modifications and safety precautions can be outlined prior to and during class.
A Prenatal Yoga Class Overview
Most yoga classes start out with a phase known as grounding and centering, and prenatal yoga is no different. Pregnant women may bring the intent of connecting to their unborn child with them to this centering time and in doing so may want to employ Yoni Mudra, a hand gesture that symbolizes the power of the womb.
Grounding/Centering & Yoni Mudra:
- Start in Suhkasana (Easy Seated Pose) or any other comfortable seated posture
- Interlace the hands in front of the belly
- Extend the first fingers down towards the pubic bone with finger tips touching
- Extend the thumbs up towards the navel with finger tips touching.
Chanting and Prenatal Yoga
Sound is powerful and yoga has a complete system of Bija sounds that relate to different chakras. If you are uncomfortable with chanting in Sanskrit, or chanting Aum, consider more contemporary and familiar sounds such as vowels, Amen, or short meaningful words to you. Studies have shown that babies learn to recognize and respond to voices in the womb, and many pregnancy experts advise talking to your baby daily to increase early bonding for both mother and child.
Medical Benefits of Prenatal Yoga
Based on research by S Narendran, et al published in the April 2005 issue of Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine entitled “Efficacy of yoga on pregnancy outcome” the conclusion was made that “yoga during pregnancy is safe. It improves birth weight, decreases preterm labor, and decreases IUGR (isolated intrauterine growth retardation) either in isolation or associated with PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension), with no increased complications”.
Prenatal Yoga Postures
The postures completed during a prenatal yoga sequence are not different from those in an open yoga class. Many postures do require modifications to suit growing bodies, hormonal changes and provide safety for mother and baby. Postures in a prenatal yoga class will not be held as long as they would in an advanced yoga class. A good duration for standing and strengthening postures such as Virabhadrasana I & II (Warrior Poses) is one minute, the average length of a contraction during active labor. This helps mothers ready for the endurance trial that is labor and gives them the knowledge that their bodies are capable of coping.
Contraindications in Prenatal Yoga
Certain techniques and postures should be avoided during pregnancy. Pranayama techniques such as Breath of Fire, and Bandhas like Uddiyana should not be employed by pregnant students. Inverted postures which reverse the pull of gravity that is desired during birth, backbends that over stretch already taxed abdominal muscles and ligaments, twisting and deep forward folding that compress the baby and displace the mother’s organs and both stomach and back lying postures should only be used with modifications and under supervision of a trained prenatal yoga teacher.
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