Starting A Prenatal Yoga Practice

By Ariel Pavic • February 28th, 2008 • 11095 Views

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT YOGA AND PREGNANCY BUT DIDN'T HAVE ANYONE TO ASK

Pregnancy can be a most awesome and amazing time to practice yoga. It is true union at it's best, two hearts within one body, two human beings co-existing within each other. With pregnancy, comes very special physiological issues which need to be addressed in order to make yoga safe, beneficial and enjoyable for both momma and baby !!!

There is a common misconception that, as long as a woman is not yet "showing" she is safe to practice a regular hatha yoga class like every other non-pregnant body. This is not true, in fact, it is in the first trimester that some of the more drastic changes occur, and that the fetus is at it's most delicate. During this time your little pea of a baby is developing nervous system, brain, circulatory system, organs, arm and leg buds, everything it will need to be a human being. A complex process of cell division will differentiate baby, placenta, membranes and amniotic fluid. You will have actually GROW a new organ: the placenta. Whew, no wonder you are tired!

I recommend women joining a pre-natal class instead of a regular class, as soon as they find out they are expecting. You should not exercise strenuously if you have a history of miscarriages, or cervical insufficiency. Many women experience fatigue, nausea and dizziness during the first trimester, so it's a great idea to let these conditions subside before getting into a practice of yoga.

Try walking or swimming (if you are up to it) during this time instead. Try simply sitting and breathing, meditating on the huge life change you are on the precipice of. If you are one of those lucky women who feel amazing and energized during new pregnancy, enjoy this, join up a pre-natal yoga class,follow your intuition and some simple guidelines and rejoice in a nausea free first trimester!

Once ready to start into a pre-natal yoga practice, you probably have many questions, and at the top of the list will be: what shouldn't I do? Not surprising, you are learning your first lesson as a new mother already starting to worry about how to give the best to your baby.

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Location:  Vancouver, CA

Ariel Clara Pavic is the founder of My Dream Yoga. Her dream was bringing the joys of yoga to everyone and so the name evolved. Ariel is a creative and approachable teacher, inspired to offer the...