Can anybody give me a general idea of poses that are not a good idea during pregnancy? I'm only about 8 weeks, and I know certain poses don't really become off limits until my belly is bigger or they feel uncomfortable. I do some easy poses at home every few days, and try to get to a 1 hour class once/week. In reality I go about 2-3 times per month. I've only been doing yoga about 1 year.
My town is small in an "everyone-knows-everyone" kind of way, so I'm really not comfortable telling my yoga teacher yet. Especially because my IL's, who also live here, don't know yet.
The advice from my doctor was that I would know if I shouldn't be doing it. She wasn't super worried about falls until I was showing, but obviously that became a factor at some point. Some things also just became super awkward or uncomfortable after a while.
Brit - Yes. My nurse & doctor asked about a lot of activity stuff at my first appointment, and I told them I ran, did yoga, worked on a farm, etc. Basically they said that was all great, and I should keep doing all my activities as long as I felt good. They seem to be very pro-exercise which is nice. If only I wasn't so tried!
I've been googling some this morning, and it kind of seems like inversions are one of the only concerns in first tri. Since I don't really do them anyway I think I'm ok. I will ask more at my next appointment though.
You'll know if it's wrong, but I kept my legs spread a bit in any forward fold. Eventually I couldn't be prostrate, and modified abdominal twists, but it was clear when I needed to do all of that.
My yoga practice was a highlight of my pregnancy with dd2. I hope you also enjoy it!
I take prenatal yoga, and I don't think there have been any hard and fast "don't do this" instruction. The biggest thing is to respect your body's limits, stop when something hurts, and don't stretch too deeply. Your body produces relaxin while pregnant to relax ligaments to make room and adjust for your growing baby, and that hormone works on more than just abdominal ligaments. That makes you more susceptible to injuring yourself if you stretch too far.
Post by venice2007 on Aug 26, 2015 12:55:09 GMT -5
There's a lot of controversy on what you can and can't do. So listen to you body #1
That said really any pose should be ok depending on your body, level of yoga exp and how long you have been doing yoga. With that though, I always tell my yoga students be very careful of twists especially the later you get on with your pregnancy, be careful of backbends as too often we can drop in the lower back and that can cause a lot of problems and pinch nerves, and also be careful and inversions. There is some research out there that shows inversions are OK outside of the first trimester because it can help the baby if the baby needs to be flipped. I'm not sure I agree but I'm a worry wart with my pregnant students. I'd rather not do a pose your shaky on than do it and cause a problem!
I also tell my yoga students you just need to be very careful as your growing belly is getting bigger to be careful of your center of balance. as you get further along in your pregnancy you can still do a lot of the poses just be careful balance poses, poses on one 1 foot or your feet are spread apart-triangles, crescents, etc.
The best poses you can do is--pigeon pose it's great for sciatic, recline pigeon again one of the best poses for sciatic pain, and really any of the sun salutations a or B. Add in a few crescent poses and warrior poses for a nice practice. Slow flow from one to th next to build flexibility and heat in the body to open the tight areas.
Also if you need to work the pelvic floor be carful of being on your back as you progress. You can prop a ball or pillow against the wall. And work those poses-boat, ab work, etc.
use props. Props are a yogis best friend in my opinion! Lol
Just remember you need to start accommodating for the belly that's growing. So in chair pose take your feet hip distance but don't let the knees drop in. If you need to modify drop your knees, take feet hip distance, child pose it out---Drop your knees and down dog and in chatarangas, in a crescent pose you can also really work your quads to help open up your hip area, but drop a knee if you need, malansa is great for hips and pelvic floor strength and openness. If you're shaky, drop hands down, skip or ease off a pose.
Also, try not to be on your right side too long so if you're lying on your side doing poses, either probably pillow spread your legs a little bit or roll to your left side. You want to be careful of how long you lie on the right side because of the vein that runs directly to the baby (I forget all the mechanics and anatomy of it.)
So I always tell my yoga students be very careful with your body, listen to how you're feeling and really that's for any yoga student.
child's pose will to be your best friend towards the end just use a pillow or blanket to help the knees/hips, as are sun salutations or A sun b, do lots of pigeon poses and variations, but be careful of backbends, twist, and inversions. As you grow be careful of balance poses and anything that takes you in a shaky position. Your balance will become an issue.
Forward fold you can take your feet hip distance apart to come to the belly and really help relieve the lower back pain. Even a bend in the knees wil help if you have joint pain.
Ultimately, just listen to your body. there is a lot of research out there that some yoga poses are bad or all yoga poses are good, all yogas bad blah blah blah blah blah. It's just like anything else you just need to be careful
Ok this got long. Tl;dr: I just worry about twist, backbends and inversions for my pregnant students. The rest you can modify as you need. Lol sorry this got so long!
Good luck. Like pp, your body will tell you when you need to ease off.