Prenatal Yoga: Benefits & Tips

Whether you’re a self-proclaimed yogini (with certifications to prove it) or a newcomer still mastering breathing techniques and basic asanas (a.k.a. yoga poses), one thing is for sure: Although yoga may be low-impact, it definitely packs a punch!

With over 80 distinct asanas, yoga is a practice that challenges your mind and body connection. And while adding a pregnancy into the equation has the potential to throw you off balance, it certainly doesn’t have to. In fact, prenatal yoga can be extremely beneficial, so learning some helpful strategies can help you maintain your flexibility and circulatory health while embracing the new life you’re bringing into the world.

Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal yoga gives you the chance to participate in a low-impact exercise that’s ideal for pregnant women. You can stretch your muscles, focus on your breathing, and feel a sense of mind-body alignment when you’re done.

But the benefits don’t end there. Some other advantages include:

• Providing relief from common pregnancy symptoms – Have you been suffering from any pesky pregnancy symptoms, like nausea or back pain? Although they can be frustrating, yoga stretches may provide relief by letting you focus on your mind-body connection. While stretching, you can concentrate on the blood circulating through your body and how your deep breathing supplies oxygen to your baby and achy muscles.
• Introducing you to other like-minded mamas-to-be – If you attend a prenatal yoga class, you’re sure to meet other equally excited expecting mothers. This is a fantastic opportunity to introduce yourself and bond over your love of yoga. You may even find yourself a new friend group for future playdates!
• Breathing exercises – Prenatal yoga can help you learn techniques for deep relaxation and mindfulness, including breathing exercises. These can be useful to take with you into the delivery room.
• Improved posture – Yoga can greatly improve your posture and relieve pressure on your body by learning balance and being aware of your body.

Ready to get started? Roll out your yoga mat and prepare for a relaxing pregnancy-approved savasana as we discuss five prenatal yoga tips that’ll allow you to safely practice yoga through every trimester of your pregnancy.

#1 Talk to Your Doctor

Generally speaking, it’s safe to take part in exercise programs for pregnancy. In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends approximately 150 minutes of exercise each week during pregnancy. You can break apart and modify the 150 minutes to complement your current fitness level. For instance:

• Five exercises at 30 minutes each
• Seven exercises at 20 minutes each
• 15 exercises at 10 minutes each

And while you can usually continue your pre- pregnancy workouts (even with your new little workout buddy in tow), consider contacting your obstetrician to make sure they give you the all-clear before hopping into any exercise routine—including a prenatal yoga routine and other pregnancy workouts.

Similar to traditional yoga, prenatal yoga focuses heavily on connecting your mind and body through specific breathing patterns and a variety of stretches. If you’re attending a yoga class specifically for mamas-to-be, the instructors may adjust some of the positions so that they’re more comfortable for a growing belly. They may also focus on asanas that will strengthen your body for labor.

If you don’t have any pregnancy complications, your doctor will likely permit you to continue your yoga practive as usual. However, if you have any of the following conditions, your doctor may recommend limited amounts of exercise:

• Placenta previa
• A ruptured membrane
• Preeclampsia
• Severe anemia
• A pregnancy involving twins or triplets
• Any factors that could contribute to preterm labor

#2 Inform Your Yoga Instructor

Perhaps you’re still in the early stages of your pregnancy, when your tummy resembles the tummy of someone who’s just consumed an entire burrito bowl (with a heaping spoonful of extra queso, because cravings).

Or, in perfect natural lighting, while wearing a tight tank top and turning to a precise angle that highlights your burgeoning midsection, you might be at the stage where you kind of (maybe?) look like you have a baby bump. It’s a good idea to take a prenatal yoga class because there are poses and types of yoga that an expecting mother should avoid, and you will want to be specific about the type of yoga you do. A prenatal yoga teacher knows that the way you stretch is different when you’re pregnant.

Either way, if you’re attending a traditional yoga class with your bestie, it’s best not to leave your yoga teacher out of the loop

For the safety of you and your little yogi, it can be helpful to let your yoga instructor know that you’re pregnant (and relay any limitations you may have during the prenatal yoga class). This will allow your yoga teacher to:

• Answer any questions you have
• Ask you questions about any posing or breathing restrictions you have
• Alter certain asanas so that you’re only performing yoga poses that are safe for you and your baby

#2 Adjust Your Balance

While you may not notice any extreme changes in balance during your first trimester, we can’t say the same for your second—and definitely not for your third. From getting up from the couch to rolling (glamorously) out of bed, it’s often the little things that can set you completely off-kilter.

Even if you’ve been performing yoga for years, it’s helpful to learn a few strategies that will allow you to adjust your balance as needed when you’re in the middle of prenatal yoga poses. You can give the following tips a try to help you maintain your sense of balance:

• Avoid any close-twist poses or vertical inversions (aka headstands)
• Take your time when completing each pose, and use props or rests when needed
• Complete more challenging poses near a wall so you can rest your arm on the wall for balance if needed

#3 Focus on Stability

While the pre-pregnancy version of you may have lived and breathed for the flexibility that yoga practice afforded you, the pregnant version will benefit more from focusing on stability. That’s because as your pregnancy progresses, your body produces more relaxin, a hormone that loosens the muscles around your pelvis in preparation for childbirth.

Due to excess relaxin, you may feel slightly more flexible than usual. While you might want to embrace it and test your limits, it’s important to concentrate your efforts on remaining within your pre-pregnancy range of motion.

So although you, as a pregnant person may feel like you can do a complete twist for the half lord of the fishes pose, it’s probably safest to skip that one for now and commit to something more simple, yet still effective, like the chair pose.

#4 Modify Your Poses

Speaking of yoga postures, as your shape starts to change and your belly begins to extend, your center of gravity might not be what it once was—and that’s okay. You might feel more confident with some of your usual asanas by modifying them to suit your new level of comfort.

You can do so by asking to borrow some of the following props from your yoga instructor (or bringing your own):

• Blocks – If you think you’ll feel wobbly in a certain pose, feel free to whip out a block for more support and stability. From the wide-leg forward fold to the triangle pose, a block can help you modify and complete the asana within your limitations.
• Blankets – It can be challenging enough when you’re not pregnant to place your knees in a comfortable position when holding certain poses. Add a growing baby to the mix, and it becomes even more difficult. However, if you still feel comfortable doing prenatal yoga poses that put pressure on your knees, you can place a blanket under your knees to absorb the brunt of the weight and add a little extra padding between yourself and the floor.

Yoga poses to avoid during pregnancy can include:

• Inversions: Yoga poses that take you upside down, such as head or shoulder stands, forearm balances, scorpion, etc., should be avoided unless they are already a part of your practice. If you don’t feel comfortable going upside down or feel you can’t get up and down safely, these poses should not be incorporated into your practice. However, laying on the ground with your legs on the wall is a great way to get your circulation going, reduces swelling, and is technically considered to be an inversion.
• Twists and Other Movements Targeting the Abs: These movements can decrease circulation and can pull your abdominal muscles.
• Poses That Require You to Lie on Your Stomach: This just won’t feel too comfortable for you or your baby.
• Flat on Your Back: During the second semester of your pregnancy, lying flat on your back for too long can increase the weight on your uterus and disrupt the blood flow and nutrition to your baby.

#5 Steer Clear of Lying on Your Back

We’ve got some somber news for back sleepers (and individuals who enjoy a long, relaxing savasana at the end of their yoga class).

During the second and third trimesters, many doctors recommend that women sleep on their sides. Why? After you’re approximately 20 weeks into your pregnancy, your growing uterus lies on top of a large blood vessel, the inferior vena cava.

When you lie on your back, there’s a possibility that the pressure of your uterus can disrupt the flow of blood flowing back to yourself and the baby. For this reason, you might benefit from learning to sleep on your side (and enjoying savasanas from a side-lying angle).

Lean into Your Pregnancy with SneakPeek

Whether you’re in your first trimester or your third, prenatal yoga is a wonderful opportunity to feel comfortable in your body while embracing all of its changes. After all, it is responsible for creating a tiny human from scratch.

And because your body undergoes such an expansive transformation throughout your pregnancy, it can put your mind at ease to keep track of important aspects of your health.

And if you can’t take your mind off whether the baby practicing their yoga poses in your belly is a little yogi or yogini, you can find out once and for all with the SneakPeek Gender Blood Test. It’s the #1 OBGYN-recommended at-home gender blood test, clinically-proven to deliver results with over 99% accuracy1 as early as six weeks into your pregnancy.

Join the over 1 million moms who’ve trusted  SneakPeek with some of life’s biggest moments, and check out our collection of products today.

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At SneakPeek, our commitment is to provide accurate, up-to-date, and reliable information to empower our readers. Our content is thoroughly researched, reviewed by medical experts, and fact-checked to ensure its credibility. We prioritize the well-being and education of our readers, and our editorial policy adheres to the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in all our articles.

This post has been reviewed for accuracy by:

Sarah Cacia

Sarah Cacia, currently leading as the Director of Business Development at Gateway Genomics, parent company of SneakPeek, brings an impressive blend of bioengineering expertise and clinical business acumen. Her extensive experience, marked by roles at renowned institutions like Genentech and UC San Diego's Cardiac Mechanics Research Group, underpins her deep understanding of biotechnology and clinical research. A UC San Diego alumna with a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering: BioSystems, Sarah's rich professional background empowers her to provide authoritative insights into the cutting-edge developments in the field.

Sources:

1. What to Expect. Prenatal Yoga: The Perfect Pregnancy Exercise. https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/prenatal-yoga/#definition
2. Sad Guru. Asanas Guide – Align with the Divine. https://isha.sadhguru.org/yoga/yoga-articles-hatha-yoga-asanas/asanas-guide/#201
3. American Osteopathic Association. Benefits of Yoga. https://osteopathic.org/what-is-osteopathic-medicine/benefits-of-yoga/
4. ACOG. Exercise During Pregnancy. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/exercise-during-pregnancy
5. ACOG. Can I Sleep on My Back While Pregnant? https://www.acog.org/womens-health/experts-and-stories/ask-acog/can-i-sleep-on-my-back-when-im-pregnant