Yoga Poses for Prenatal Relief

You might have seen me tweet before on how much I love my prenatal yoga class. I go once a week to an hour class, although I wish it were offered more than one night a week!

Before I got pregnant, I had been practicing yoga pretty regularly and seriously for about a year (after only dabbling in it before). I started going to a yoga studio where they focus a lot on alignment points, breathing, the physiological benefits, and personal practice. It's much different than doing it at home or at the gym. MUCH different. You get a lot of one-on-one attention to alignment and instruction this way and you can really feel the benefits in a short time. You really could be doing the poses incorrectly and when you practice at home or elsewhere, you might not reap the full benefits yoga has to offer. Once you know alignment points and breathing, it's good to practice on your own.

Since becoming pregnant, I have continued my yoga practice in a modified way. During the summer, I was still doing yoga in full force without having to modify much, but now that the baby bump is bigger, I am having to modify things. But let me tell you, yoga is great for pregnancy. I am still very balanced. In fact, at rehearsal the other day, I led my students in some yoga poses to warm up and I was far more balanced than half of them! I am also still pretty flexible and strong and I don't feel swollen (yet). I feel it is really helping me carry this baby in a healthy way.

Me doing (iPhone holding) tree pose at 30 weeks pregnant

I just wanted to talk about a few poses that we do in the prenatal class that are just heavenly. I know there has to be some pregnant women who read my blog, but these poses are great in general. Even if you have never done yoga before, these poses are great to try at home when you're feeling particularly frumpy or swollen (and that applies to any woman, not just a pregnant one)! I would take pictures of myself doing these poses but that requires a photographer that's not me.

Legs Up the Wall

Prenatal Modification: Elevate the head and chest a bit with some pillows/blankets. Also have hips a little further away from the wall, so the body looks more like a "V".  

Benefits: Relieves swollen legs and pressure on the lower back. It is also said that this pose is an "anti-aging" pose!

Child's Pose

Prenatal Modification: Widen legs to a wide "V" to make room for the baby bump. You can also stack one hand on top of the other and rest your head on your hands as a little pillow.

Benefits: Child's pose is a restorative pose. So this relieves pressure on the back, legs, and upper body. This is a good pose to do after doing other poses. In fact, do this pose in between other poses.

Happy Baby

Prenatal Modification: Keep legs wide to make room for the baby bump. Rock from side to side to give the lower back a little massage.

Benefits: Stretches out the hips and thighs, gently massages the lower back.

Triangle Pose

Prenatal Modification: Use a block or put a hand on the coffee table if you cannot reach the floor.

Benefits: Strengthens upper body, lengthens the torso without pressure on the baby

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I highly recommend trying these poses out, even if you are not pregnant! It would also help menstrual cramps or stress relief. If you ever get a chance to try yoga at a studio, I would definitely recommend it.

What kinds of things do you do for relief (prenatal or otherwise)?
Anything helps as I reach the end of this pregnancy!