Pregnancy Yoga

Pregnancy is a pretty extraordinary physical transformation. Your centre of gravity changes. Your joints and ligaments adapt. Your breathing changes. Your muscles are doing things they weren't doing six months ago. And somehow you're expected to carry on with everyday life while all of this is happening.

 

Pregnancy yoga can be a lovely way to move with those changes rather than fighting against them. It isn't about achieving the perfect yoga pose, touching your toes or becoming bendier. It's about finding movement that feels good in your changing body, building strength and mobility where you need it, and creating a little space to breathe, connect with yourself and prepare for birth.

​

​

What is Pregnancy Yoga?

 

Pregnancy yoga, or antenatal yoga, is yoga that has been adapted specifically for pregnancy. It can include:

• Gentle strengthening

• Mobility and movement

• Yoga postures adapted for pregnancy

• Breathing practices

• Relaxation

• Pelvic and hip mobility

• Balance and body awareness

• Positions that may feel comfortable during labour

• Time to slow down and connect with your body

 

A good pregnancy yoga practice isn't simply your usual yoga class with a bump added. Pregnancy changes the way your body moves and responds to exercise, so your practice needs to change with you.

​

​

Is Yoga Safe During Pregnancy?

 

For most people with an uncomplicated pregnancy, staying active during pregnancy is both safe and beneficial. The NHS recommends keeping up your normal physical activity for as long as you feel comfortable and includes prenatal yoga among the types of exercise that can be done during pregnancy. That doesn't mean that every yoga pose or every yoga class is appropriate throughout pregnancy. Your practice may need to change as your pregnancy progresses. And if you have a medical or pregnancy-related condition, or you've been advised to restrict your activity, check with your midwife, GP or maternity team before starting or continuing exercise.

​

​

What are the Benefits of Pregnancy Yoga?

 

There are several reasons you might choose to practise yoga during pregnancy.

​

1. It keeps you moving

Movement matters during pregnancy. Regular physical activity can help you maintain strength and fitness as your body changes, and can support your ability to cope with the physical demands of pregnancy and labour. The NHS recommends aiming for around 150 minutes of moderate activity across the week, although this can include lots of different types of movement and any amount is better than none.

Yoga can be one piece of that movement puzzle. It doesn't have to be your only exercise. Walking, swimming, strength training, dancing, pelvic floor exercises and simply moving your body throughout the day all count too.

​

2. It can help with aches and pains

Pregnancy can come with a long list of physical niggles. Backache, pelvic discomfort, tight hips, stiff shoulders and general "my body feels like it belongs to someone else" moments are all common. Research suggests that prenatal yoga may help reduce pregnancy-related pain, although the evidence isn't strong enough to say that yoga will prevent or treat every pregnancy-related pain condition. The important thing is that yoga should be adapted to your body. If something hurts, that isn't a sign that you need to stretch harder. It is information.

​

3. It can support mental wellbeing

Pregnancy can be exciting, overwhelming, joyful, uncomfortable and occasionally all of those things before breakfast. Yoga combines movement with breathing and relaxation, which may make it particularly useful for supporting emotional wellbeing. Research has found associations between prenatal yoga and reductions in anxiety, stress and depressive symptoms, although the quality of the evidence varies and yoga shouldn't be presented as a treatment for a mental health condition. Sometimes the most valuable part of a pregnancy yoga practice is simply having 30 or 60 minutes where nobody needs anything from you. Your baby included.

​

4. It helps you develop body awareness

One of the things I love about pregnancy yoga is that it gives you an opportunity to notice how your body actually feels. Where are you holding tension? What feels comfortable today? Which movements feel easy? Which ones don't? Can you breathe comfortably here? Can you soften somewhere? That awareness can be useful throughout pregnancy and birth. Rather than trying to make your body behave in a particular way, you're learning to listen to it.

​

5. It gives you opportunities to practise breathing

Breathing is one of the simplest tools you'll have available to you during pregnancy, birth and beyond. Pregnancy yoga gives you the opportunity to practise different ways of breathing while you're moving, resting and holding different positions. That matters because breathing techniques are much easier to access during labour when you've already practised them. You don't need to memorise a complicated breathing technique. The aim is to become familiar with using your breath to support relaxation, movement and focus.

Explore next: Breathing

​

6. It can help you explore positions for birth

Birth is movement. Even if you ultimately choose an epidural, have a caesarean birth or need additional support during labour, understanding different positions and becoming comfortable moving your body can still be useful. Pregnancy yoga gives you an opportunity to explore things like:

• Standing positions

• Squatting

• Lunging

• Kneeling

• Hands and knees

• Side-lying positions

• Asymmetrical positions

• Hip mobility

• Pelvic movement

 

You aren't trying to memorise a sequence of "perfect birth positions". You're building a movement vocabulary. Then, when you're in labour, you have more options available to you. Explore next: Positions

​

​

Yoga isn't About Getting More Flexible

 

This is worth saying because yoga has a bit of a reputation for being all about flexibility. Pregnancy is not the time to chase your deepest stretch. Pregnancy hormones naturally change the connective tissues around your joints, and your body is already adapting to a huge amount of physical change. More flexibility isn't automatically better. In pregnancy yoga, we're often much more interested in: strength + mobility + stability + body awareness rather than simply trying to increase your range of movement. And if a pose looks beautiful but your body hates it? It's probably not the pose for you today.

​

​

What about the Pelvic Floor?

 

Your pelvic floor has an important job during pregnancy, birth and recovery. It supports the pelvic organs, contributes to continence and plays a role in sexual function. Like any other muscle group, it needs both strength and the ability to relax. Pregnancy yoga can help you become more aware of your pelvic floor and how it responds to your breath and movement. But yoga shouldn't replace specific pelvic floor exercises where these are recommended. The NHS recommends that all pregnant women do pelvic floor exercises. And remember:

A pelvic floor that can contract is useful. A pelvic floor that can relax is useful too. Both matter. Explore next: Pelvic Floor

​

​

Does Pregnancy yoga prepare me for Birth?

 

It can certainly be part of your physical preparation for birth. But let's be careful with the language here. There is no yoga sequence that guarantees a straightforward labour, a particular birth outcome or an "easier" birth. What pregnancy yoga can do is help you develop some of the physical and mental skills that may be useful during labour:

• Strength

• Mobility

• Comfortable movement

• Body awareness

• Breathing

• Relaxation

• Familiarity with different positions

• Confidence moving your pregnant body

 

Research into prenatal yoga has found promising associations with outcomes such as reduced stress and anxiety, pain and some labour outcomes, but the evidence is variable and some reviews rate its quality as low or very low. So I'd think of pregnancy yoga as one useful tool in your birth-preparation toolkit, rather than a magic formula. 

​

​

When should I start Pregnancy Yoga?

 

You can practise yoga during pregnancy at different stages, but what is appropriate will change as your pregnancy progresses. The general guidance is to wait until 12 weeks before joining a yoga class. If you've already been practising yoga, you may be able to continue with appropriate adaptations. If you're completely new to yoga, pregnancy is still a perfectly reasonable time to start gentle movement, provided you have no medical reason to avoid it. You don't need to be flexible. You don't need to know anything about yoga.

And you definitely don't need to be able to stand on your head. A pregnancy yoga class should meet you where you are.

​

​

How Should Pregnancy Yoga Feel?

.

Pregnancy yoga should generally feel like movement that is comfortable, purposeful and adaptable. You may feel your muscles working.

You may feel a gentle stretch. You may feel your body opening or moving in a way that feels good. But you shouldn't feel that you have to push through pain or discomfort to make the practice "work".

 

As a general guide, you should be able to breathe comfortably and, during moderate exercise, still hold a conversation. The NHS also advises stopping if you feel uncomfortable and seeking advice if you have concerns. Your body isn't a puzzle you need to force into the right shape. Listen to it.

​

​

A few things to Keep in Mind

 

Pregnancy yoga needs to be adapted as your body changes. Depending on how far through pregnancy you are, you may want to:

• Use props for support

• Take a wider stance

• Reduce the depth of certain movements

• Avoid overstretching

• Modify balance poses

• Change positions more slowly

• Avoid lying flat on your back for prolonged periods, particularly after 16 weeks

• Stay hydrated

• Avoid overheating

• Rest when you need to

 

The NHS advises avoiding exercise that involves lying flat on your back for prolonged periods, particularly after 16 weeks, because the weight of the uterus can affect blood flow and make you feel faint. And remember that there isn't one perfect pregnancy modification.

The best version of a pose is the one that works for your body, your pregnancy and how you feel that day.

​

​

When should I check with my maternity team?

 

Most people with uncomplicated pregnancies can remain active, but there are circumstances where you may need individual advice before exercising. Speak to your midwife, GP or maternity team if you have a pregnancy or medical condition that you're unsure about, you've been advised to restrict activity, or you're experiencing symptoms that concern you. Stop exercising and seek medical advice if you feel unwell, become dizzy, have significant pain, experience vaginal bleeding, have fluid leaking from your vagina, develop regular contractions or notice a change in your baby's movements. If you're ever unsure, ask.

​

Your Pregnancy Yoga Practice

 

I've created a collection of pregnancy yoga practices that you can use at home. You don't need to do every video. You don't need to practise every day. Choose what you need. Some days you might want movement. Some days you might want mobility. Some days you might want a little strength.

​​