Advice from a Prenatal Yoga Trainer

Whether you want to try doing yoga during pregnancy as a first timer in order to make your pregnancy smoother or if you are an regular yoga practitioner who is trying to adapt your yoga routine for the months of pregnancy, the prenatal yoga trainers at Fit WELL can help guide you and help you nurture you not only during pregnancy but also in the months following the delivery of your child. All our prenatal yoga trainers are selected after a rigorous background check where we not only verify their identifications and experience but also confirm that they are certified from reputable yoga and child care institutes. Our prenatal yoga trainers will help you with information on what to expect both physically and mentally during each pregnancy trimester as also the time onwards when your child is born. Every pregnancy yoga instructor must know how to adapt a woman’s practice to suit every trimester. The maternity yoga instructor must also be aware of the basic dietary and nutrition requirements at every stage during pregnancy and also must know what props are safe to use for a pregnant mother.

Yoga is a powerful practice for women in general and most women can continue to practice yoga after childbirth in order to help get their figure back into shape. Yoga can also help a new mother to cope with the sensitive upheavals that accompany motherhood. We also know many second or third time mothers who introduce their children to yoga!

Every pregnancy can be separated into three distinct trimesters. Each trimester lasts for three months approximately during which time the mother’s body adapts to support the growing foetus and internally adjusts and primes for the birth. Every woman who wants to go for prenatal yoga must understand all the three stages because each stage includes unique factors for both mother and baby. These development factors must be taken into account when a woman practice prenatal yoga. The labour itself and the postnatal period also have their own separate requirements. Let us review each trimester.

The First Trimester begins during the time of conception and continues with the development of the embryo which becomes a foetus in the second month. Normally by the end of the first trimester, the foetus starts to show teeth, can swallow, has fully developed hands and the gender is also established. A healthy baby weighs measures approx 3–4 inches in length and weighs about 28 gms by the end of the first trimester.

The physical symptoms that an expectant mother can hope to experience during this period range from tender breasts, nausea and vomiting, abdomen tightness and strong energy imbalances as a lot of internal energy is being spent to create a new life. Emotionally speaking, the first trimester can be a volatile period because of the intensity of the transition and an increase in hormone levels.

This period can also be one where the risk of miscarriage is highest as the placenta is not yet fully formed to support the baby and the hormones are unstable. So gentle movements, conservation of energy and the highest level of safety should be the keywords for a pregnant woman in this period. The yoga postures that a pregnant woman can do in the first trimester are:

The Second Trimester starts from the beginning of the 4th to the start of the 7th month of pregnancy. The placenta by this time is fully functional and hormone levels of a woman begins to stabilize. The size of the uterus raises as the foetus grows and the baby bump opens to show. Because of this, there could be pressure on the belly due to the expanding muscles and ligaments of the pelvis. Blood supply increases to accommodate for the growing baby and hormones like ‘relaxin’ which helps in loosening the ligaments are in greater supply. Mothers can expect to experience swollen gums, changes in blood circulation and body heat as well as lack of stability in the joints. Mothers may also notice that their skin complexion is changing along with changes in their hair quality due to hormonal shifts apart from experiencing heartburn, constipation and nasal blockage. The most important advice is: These symptoms are only temporary!

As the baby grows, it needs more energy and so you will need to eat for two as your appetite increases. It is very essential to pay a lot of focus on your diet and nutrition. Throughout the second trimester, the baby’s finger and toe prints will form and the eyes will open. By the fifth month, you will also be able to hear your baby’s voice. So this is a good time to talk, sing and play music to your bump in order to increase the sense of bonding and connection. By the 6th month, your baby will be moving around a lot more and may even be sucking it’s thumb, yawning and stretching! By this time, the baby will also be able to distinguish between light and darkness and teeth and bones will be denser and stronger. By the end of the second trimester, your energy levels will have returned. The following Yoga Poses can be done now:

Remember if you are beginner then it is totally imperative that you do yoga privately with a trained prenatal yoga trainer. Anyhow it pays to heed the following points when doing yoga in the second trimester. Keep a gentle flow going in and out of every asana. Try not to jolt, jump or jerk your body or stress it in any way. Be alert of how you feel and stop if you feel any uncomfort. Twisting poses if any should only concentrate on your upper back so that the abdomen area is not compressed.

By the time the third trimester arrives, the baby’s core systems are fully functional and stable — nails are longer, the hair thicker and it’s body weight and fat deposits are growing so that the baby closely upon arrival into the world can provide it’s own energy. Because of this, there is less area inside the mother for the baby to move which in turn tends to put a lot of strain in the pelvis and back. By full term, the baby will average about 20 inches in length and about 3.4 kgs in weight. A mother will most commonly experience an increase in tiredness, backache, heartburn and breathlessness. The hormone ‘relaxin’ is at it’s highest level at this time and so added pressure and strain will be felt in the joints. So it is now an ideal period to remain calm and peaceful and to not overdo it.

Avoid strong ab poses such as sit-ups or crunches because your baby has increased in size. Gentle ab conditioning and strengthening asanas such as Cat pose and Gentle Planks can be performed in order to strengthen your belly and help it to return to it’s pre-pregnancy strength. Downward Dog which is a gentle inversion is perfectly fine but avoid full inversions such as Shoulder Stand and the Headstand from this point onwards.

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