photo: courtesy of lululemon

To experience yoga you need to be fully engaged with your practice. The attention of the mind and the awareness of the breath are added to the movements of the body, having a unifying and integrating effect.

Performing yoga poses with awareness creates a state of calmness and focus. When a pregnant woman feels this inner clarity, her confidence grows. When she feels peaceful, the anxiety concerning the birth process decreases. The mind becomes used to being involved in the body movements and develops greater body-awareness. This focus allows the pregnant woman to tune out any distracting forces and sounds around her during labour, and to respond appropriately to the contractions.

The development of increased bodily awareness and sensitivity, coupled with the ability to maintain concentration are very useful abilities for the pregnant woman to develop. Both come with the practice of prenatal yoga.

This ability to focus takes practice. Yoga provides a way to refine the movements of the body. When first performing the poses, you may feel slightly awkward and stiff, continuing to do the same poses, and performing them at the pace you choose, will over time stretch the body, which will adapt and gradually move into alignment. As you get to know your body through practicing yoga poses you will be confronted with the physical strengths and weaknesses. This is invaluable training, because labour is a very physical process. Knowing where you are tight or weak and working on those areas, will help you prepare your body for the birth.

Before you begin any pregnancy exercise program, it is necessary to obtain your caregivers consent. It is inappropriate to do strenuous exercise if you have a history of miscarriages, or cervical insufficiency. It would also be unsafe to exercise with a previous back injury such as a herniated disc.

Another important point to note is that it is important to prevent straining the abdominal muscles during pregnancy. They are already being overstretched by the growing uterus. So avoid any postures that might be overworking these muscles and when sitting up roll onto one side, and use your hands to push yourself up to a sitting position.

Ideally the earlier you start prenatal yoga the better. Obviously some women are already practicing yoga before they conceive and this is a great advantage. Early pregnancy is a very good time to start, from as early as 12 weeks provided your midwife or doctor agrees. If you have had any problems with conception, bleeding or miscarriage, then it may be wise to give the pregnancy time to settle and to begin at around 16 weeks.

If however you are already well into your pregnancy when you are reading this, it is never too late to start! The last few months and weeks of very important and your body will respond rapidly to the postures as a result of the higher levels of pregnancy hormones that you are producing.

It is best to set aside 30 to 60 minutes a day for a regular yoga practice when you can concentrate and relax with the breathing, the postures, and your body. Ideally other distractions will be minimal or none at this time. The time of day really depends on your own convenience, one guide to follow is to not do yoga immediately after eating. The most important thing is to develop a habit of practicing regularly. You will be surprised how much improvement you will experience in the rest of your life when you can make this time for yourself to become more centered, grounded and relaxed.

Under ideal circumstances you can set aside a space within your home which you can use for your yoga practice every day. For many people this will not be possible, wherever there is space for you to set down your yoga mat, preferably where there is also a blank wall to use for support in certain postures, will do fine. In addition to your yoga mat it will be very helpful to have a yoga belt, a couple of yoga blocks, a blanket and some cushions or bolsters of different sizes. Obviously you want to wear unrestricting and comfortable clothing.

The amount of time you want to spend on each posture is something that you will discover with practice and will change naturally over time. Sometimes it is enjoyable to choose just a few postures and practice them very slowly while on other occasions you may prefer to do a more vigorous series at a quicker pace. This can vary from day to day and obviously as your pregnancy develops and your belly gets larger.

Practicing yoga is part of a way of life which teaches you to love and respect your body. By gently working on relieving stress and relaxing, by invigorating every cell in your body with healthy breathing, you are constantly encouraging your body to heal and maintain itself. The additional work your body has to do to support your baby during pregnancy can result in discomfort and strain. Muscular stiffness, restricted mobility of the joints or mild postural distortion is likely to become more apparent now, when aches and pains can arise due to the impact of pregnancy on your body.

Regaining suppleness and flexibility and correcting postural imbalances is normally slow work requiring years of dedication. However, the softening effects of the pregnancy hormones greatly enhances this process, and progress can be faster than usual which is very encouraging.

At the end of your yoga practice you need to lie down and relax for at least 10 minutes. Normally this position is done lying flat on the back. However, during pregnancy it is best to lie on your side particularly at the later stages. Use plenty of cushions so that your body is well supported and your whole spine including your neck, is in a straight line. Relaxation involves allowing your body and mind to become still and peaceful. A good way to do this is to focus on your breathing rhythm and also on the way that gravity totally supports your body so that you can let go of your muscles.

Then as you deeper into this relaxation you might like to bring your awareness to the presence of your baby. Spent the last few minutes resting and relaxing with your baby and then take your time to open your eyes coming up slowly fully supporting yourself with your arms.