Prenatal Yoga for each trimester

You’re pregnant. Your body is changing (or you know it’s going to), you have this huge event coming up you need to prepare for (birth!) and then your life is going to change forever. PHEW! Take a deep breath Mama, you’re going to get through all this and today I’m going to offer you some insight into how you can use yoga to support your journey through each trimester, birth and postnatal recovery.

When it comes to practising yoga during pregnancy it can be hard to know where to start and if you’re new to yoga it can feel almost impossible to know what it is you need week by week or trimester by trimester. If you’re generally feeling good then you can join a program, for example the 6-week pregnancy yoga program which is included in the Bump & Flow Prenatal Yoga Online Studio. This will offer you a balanced practice throughout your pregnancy.

But what if you’re not a huge fan of structure and you want the flexibility to simply dip in and out of yoga classes when you’re up for it? Well then, this guide, which breaks down prenatal yoga adjustments and suggestions for each trimester, is for you!

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PRENATAL YOGA FOR THE FIRST TRIMESTER

When I look back at my first trimester it’s honestly just shocking that I made it to my yoga mat at all! I was exhausted, struggling with insomnia and riding an emotional rollercoaster that made Alton towers look like a walk in the park. When women in their first trimester ask me about yoga I tell them to do what they can, when they can, but to ultimately remember that yoga isn’t going anywhere so it’s okay to take a break!

PRACTISING THE YAMAS IN THE FIRST TRIMESTER

Working up a sweat on a yoga mat is not the answer to everything! Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is take the foot off the pedal, say “No” more, sleep in late and let yourself cry without guilt. In fact this is the perfect time to take your yoga practice off the mat and put some of the Yamas into practice, for example…

SATYA: Truthfulness. Can you turn inward and acknowledge your physical and emotional needs with honesty? It’s just as easy for us to lie to ourselves and appeal to our ego, as it is for us to lie to others.

ASTEYA: Non-stealing. This refers to the physical act of stealing, but there are other ways that we can steal. When we lie to ourselves about our needs we can also, too easily, start to steal from ourselves! Are you stealing time and energy away from your own needs?

If you have a little oomph in the first trimester to show up on your mat you can practice yoga just as you normally would with just a few changes. Say NO to heated yoga rooms, deep twists and aggressive pranayama (breathing) techniques and kriyas such as Ujjayi, Bhastrika, Kapalabhati and Nauli Kriya.

Say YES to restorative yoga practices, meditation and gentle Hatha yoga. And practice Satya to help you honour your limits - child’s pose is your new best friend.

PRENATAL YOGA FOR THE SECOND TRIMESTER

Your second trimester is the ideal time to sign up for specialised prenatal yoga classes. Remember that there are two ways to practice prenatal yoga - normal yoga with adjustments for safety, or Prenatal Yoga, which is specifically designed to support you through your pregnancy and birth. This is a really important distinction because one is a safe form of yoga and the other will actually ready you physically and mentally for the coming months of your pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

I hope that by now you’ll be experiencing a slow but steady surge in your energy levels, and a brief pause in that middle ground where your babe is starting to grow and you’re starting to show but perhaps your belly isn’t quite getting in the way too much just yet. Throughout your pregnancy your energy levels will, very likely, just not be what they were pre-pregnancy, but a little goes a long way so take advantage of the good days! This is the ideal time to work on building strength and stabilising your joints so you can prepare your body for the bigger changes coming your way.

• Upper back strength: Strengthen your upper back to support your thoracic spine. As your breasts become heavier and begin to pull your shoulders forward and round you might experience more pain and tightness in your upper back, so this is a great chance to get ahead of that problem.

• Core strength: this is the ideal time to start understanding your core, how it functions and how you can keep it strong and mobile to protect yourself from back pain, hip pain and weak pelvic floor issues as your pregnancy progresses, as well as preparing you, physically, for a natural birth.

  Important note: strengthening your core during pregnancy looks absolutely NOTHING like strengthening your core pre-pregnancy, so make sure you’re taking dedicated Prenatal Yoga core strengthening classes so that you’re moving safely and effectively.

• Endurance and breathwork: giving birth is often likened to running a marathon, and there’s no way you’d sign up for a marathon without any kind of training, right? Use the second trimester to start to learn how you can use your breath to build the kind of strength & endurance you need that will pull you through to the finish line!

The second trimester also comes with a lot of stress. People around you suddenly develop this incessant need to comment on your body, on how you’re eating and how much exercise you are or are not doing. They mean well, but remember that not only do you know what’s best for your body but you’re a mother now and you also know what is best for your baby! Keep up with your midwife appointments, work closely with your physiotherapist or osteopath and try, as best you can, to block out all the other noise from people who don’t hold qualifications related to pregnancy and child birth.

PRENATAL YOGA IN THE THIRD TRIMESTER

By now you would have heard everyone and their Auntie talking about your pelvic floor and if you hear someone say Kegels one more time you just might loose your mind! It’s important to bear in mind that whilst having a strong pelvic floor is important, healthy muscles (the PF is a muscle) need to be able to contract and relax fully. So pelvic floor health is more about control, than just strength!

Keep up your strength work from the first trimester as best you can, but the third trimester is an ideal time to start to slow down a little and consider how you can use your yoga practice to prepare your body for the big day. Here’s a few things to add to your practice…

• Positive affirmations, meditation and breathwork. Start getting yourself in the right headspace for birth, now - absorb as much information as you can about birth options, and repeat positive birth affirmations to yourself daily, watch lots of positive birth videos and learn how you can use your breath to connect to your body, your baby and keep you calm and focussed.

• Restorative yoga. That human inside you is starting to take up quite a lot of space and it’s tiring!! So, put your feet up and relax with restorative yoga poses every week.

• Hip opening. Help baby get into the right position using hip opening poses and movements - did you know that you can make up to 30% more space in your hips simply by repositioning your body? Some of my favourite hip opening poses are wide-knee child’s pose, wide-legged forward fold, happy baby pose (or goddess pose on a ball in later pregnancy) and low lunge.

STACKING THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOUR

You may not want to hear this, but you can do all the yoga, take the hypnobirthing course and read all the books and things may still not go the way you want them too! That’s because babies are not great listeners and ultimately they’re going to do what they want - consider this your first lesson in being a mother to an unruly toddler :D

But you CAN stack the odds in your favour so that you are in the best place possible to experience a positive pregnancy, birth and post natal recovery.

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