Be Healthy

For my ‘Be Healthy” pillar project I opted to look into prenatal yoga and how the Modo yoga 60 minute sequence could be adapted for each trimester. I chose this topic as I have personally experienced the benefits of prenatal yoga during both of my pregnancies. In experiencing the changes of pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, I have come to a newfound appreciation for yoga and its benefits throughout the lifecycle. I also have a mini-personal-passion for anything related to pregnancy and postpartum because the female reproductive system is legit a phenomenon.

Before I begin I just want to give a piece of advice- Please NEVER assume that someone is pregnant no matter how obvious it might appear to you. And really reflect before commenting on anyone’s body.

I would like to do my best to be mindful when teaching to include cautions for pregnancy/early postpartum. Oftentimes, people do not like to disclose their pregnancy within the first trimester and yet already that early they may need to be making adjustments. I think cuing towards using stability and muscular strength versus momentum is a great general note that would allow for safety in poses without jeopardizing students’ privacy and without making the assumption that someone is pregnant (which side note is NEVER okay to do).

I would absolutely love to teach prenatal specific yoga classes to really get to honour this monumental period of change in my students’ lives. I had the privilege of guiding a good friend of mine through a 60 minute yoga class almost weekly for the last three months of her pregnancy. There is just something so incredible in being able to support a friend through a new life stage. I loved being able to cue modifications for two separate trimesters and to see how her practice evolved as her little bub grew.

I hope to promote a healthy body and mind to my students by encouraging a consistent prenatal yoga practice alongside aerobic exercise such as swimming or aquafitness which offers the cardiovascular benefits necessary during pregnancy without any additional strain to the joints and skeletal structures.
I think yoga offers a unique opportunity to learn a lot about yourself, to strengthen your body and your mind. To learn distress tolerance and to promote positive self-soothing techniques such as breathing exercises.

According to a 2019 study, the top reasons people start and maintain a yoga practice are relaxation and health promotion. Prenatal people especially need stress reduction and a boost to their health so they report similar reasons for beginning a practice. Most people will begin their prenatal yoga journey during their second trimester when they often feel very good and can do just about anything they feel comfortable doing, with or without props, as long as they can breathe deeply.

A prenatal person may be feeling tired, isolated or lacking community, overwhelmed by the changes in life and body, frequent mood changes, anxious about birth or fearful around how to care for a newborn, might have aches and pains. May have body image issues, forgetfulness or perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

Some benefits of prenatal yoga include:
-improved sleep and reduced fatigue
-reduced stress and anxiety
-increased strength
-flexibility and endurance of muscles needed for childbirth
-decreased lower back pain, nausea, headaches and shortness of breath
– improved mood
-community
-helps the prenatal person bond with their baby
-reduced risk of preterm labour and other complications
(which is really cool so high stress levels have been shown to increase miscarriage and preterm birth rates- women who practice asana, meditation or pranyama for an hour a day lower their risks and in a  2018 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Medicine by Bolanthakodi et al. those who practiced yoga were less likely to be induced, they had a higher vaginal birth rate, reduced c-section rate, shorter first stage of labour and better tolerance of pain, there were also significantly less low birth weight babies.)

Some notable physical changes that occur in the pregnant body include:
–> increased relaxin which is a hormone that softens the connective tissue to loosen muscles and joints- this allows the pelvic joints to become more flexible but can lead to instability in the sacroiliac joints such as pubic symphasys dysfunction, so it’s important not to overstretch during asana practice as you can easily destabilize your joints and ligaments. Really cool thing is that yoga can actually help to stabilize those muscles and reduce or eliminate negative symptoms
–> mild to severe abdominal separation – diastasis recti which can look like coning or loafing
–> edema (swollen hands or feet)
–> wrist pain
–> aching lower and upper back caused by drastic change in posture and centre of gravity
–> 2 extra litres of blood circulating- so pregnancy is a natural low blood sugar state because the volume of blood in the body expands 40-60% , the blood circulates faster, rate of metabolism increases, and resting heart rate rises. You use your body’s sugar faster as important reserves are being used to support the placenta and fetus. A light meal or snack and plenty of water an hour before class is recommended.

The focus of prenatal yoga is awareness of posture, working with the breath, reducing low back pain, building strength and stability, moving with intention, connecting with baby and preparing for childbirth and mothering. Prenatal specific classes typically offer gentler, less strenuous sequences of poses and greater use of props to support the body in poses. Prenatal specific classes are so useful for mental centring and preparing your body, breath and mind for the challenges of labour.

They also really help to promote community- in my experience going to prenatal specific classes we had guests visit at the beginning of every week to share about services they offered in the community, we also had a chance to check in with each other and discuss any issues or excitements that arose in our week specific to our pregnancies.

Prenatal yoga class is time to get to know your body and to build confidence in your ability to give birth In yoga class a woman can learn to tune in and respond to her body’s needs, so that during her labour, when rational thought may be suspended, she’ll be able to identify and ask for what she wants. One of the ways to encourage stress tolerance is to hold warrior 2 for 1 minute (about the length of a standard contraction) or take poses with the toes tucked under and breathe through the pain. Prenatal yoga is a beautiful opportunity to mother the mother.  

So prenatal yoga is obviously super beneficial; that being said, Modo is a heated practice. The statement from Modo is that “heat should be avoided during the first trimester. Thereafter, the student should consult their obstetrician. The student should not begin any new yoga practices during her pregnancy, aside from pre-natal yoga with a certified instructor.” So big takeaway here is that if they’ve never practiced Modo before conception they should NOT be starting it post conception. This is due to elevated temperatures posing risk of issues such as lightheadedness, dehydration and other complications. If they had a strong yoga practice they may be able to continue a fairly vigorous practice with modifications after their first trimester.

If you know you have a pregnant person in your class try to connect with them one on one beforehand to ask how they’re feeling, if they’re experiencing pain anywhere, how far along they are and let them know to stop anytime they experience pain or discomfort. Encourage them to do whatever they need during class. Make sure you talk to them during class and give specific instructions. Pregnant people do not know what is or isn’t safe inherently and are relying on you to be the expert. Please let them know that if they experience any pain or red flags such as vaginal bleeding, decreased fetal movement or contractions to stop and contact their health care provider. When in doubt, teach a gentle class- it will benefit everyone!

Prenatal poses generally target the lower back to strengthen and lengthen the muscles that support the low back as it’s especially vulnerable to pain and injury as the belly grows and centre of gravity shifts the spine out of its natural curvature. You may want to encourage her to be near the wall for extra support in any balancing postures as the biggest danger to pregnant yoginis is falling.

A great reminder is that you have your entire life to practice yoga when you are not pregnant and that this stage is neither the beginning nor the end of your practice. Learning to accept where you are at in this particular point in your life is such a gift. This is also a great time to check back in with that beginners mindset and to really allow yourself to experience your poses as if for the first time. Learn to be present, be grateful for where you are and learn to modify your practice for the ever-changing circumstances and limitations that life will always bring. Also, there are so many other ways to bring your yoga off the mat and maybe your yoga practice looks more like connecting with the Modo pillars versus practicing the asanas.

When it comes to class you want to be careful with the series and modify poses, a general list of acceptable poses follows.

The biggest piece of advice for you and for you to share with pregnant people is when thinking about postures ask this question: “Does this honour baby’s space?”

You want to ensure you avoid poses that compromise baby’s space i.e. straight leg forward fold might need to take the legs out wide to allow space for baby. It is obvious that you’re not going to put a pregnant person on their stomach, but it can be dangerous to put her on her back as well – This is due to the weight of the belly putting pressure on the vena cava artery (a large vein that runs along the side of the spine and curves behind the uterus) which can restrict blood flow to baby and to mamas lower extrememties. You can easily modify by putting a blanket under the right hip to keep her a bit onto her left side. When it comes to savasana a side lying pose is optimal since she will be there for a while and we want to promote relaxation and surrendering. You also want to take care with any twists and poses meant to strengthen the abdominal wall as they can put too much stress on the rectus abdominus muscles which can lead to further separation. Taking the feet wider makes you more stable so is always a nice modification.

Pregnant women should NOT do Kapalabhati. There are two kinds of pranayama that are especially beneficial during pregnancy: Ujjayi- a long strong deep breath that helps you to focus on the present moment and maintain calm and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) which is said to help balance the body’s energy flows. Avoid any breath retention or hyperventilation which could limit baby’s oxygen supply.

The really cool thing about Modo is that it’s a practice that we are constantly learning to modify based on our daily needs. This is especially true in relation to pregnancy. It allows for the greatest benefits and enjoyment of your personal practice and is a great way to let go of your ego of what yoga asanas should be and accept the sacred place you are in, in your life right now.

Like life and yoga, pregnancy is not only a destination but also a journey. We live from the neck up. Birth happens from the neck down.

Just as an aside, it’s really important to recognize that many pregnant women do not meet activity guidelines during pregnancy due to adverse symptoms such as nausea, indigestion, and fatigue so they adopt sedentary lifestyles which actually increase risks of negative outcomes such as hypertension or gestational diabetes. The 2016 study in the International Journal of Yoga by Peters and Schlaff notes that most prenatal yoga intensity levels are considered very low or equivalent to preparing food, washing dishes or walking slowly around the house. Therefore, prenatal yoga does not contribute significantly toward the achievement of aerobic PA recommendations during pregnancy. The study does note that the results should be interpreted with caution because there is not enough research on the topic; however, they do recognize the mental benefits and the reduction in maternal discomfort.

Here is a general list of acceptable poses for prenatal yoga:




Table-top (on all fours)
Cat-Cow pose
Cobbler’s pose
Chair pose
Child’s pose
Clamshell exercises
Crescent lunge
Dancer’s pose
Deep squat (malasana)
Downward facing dog
eagle
Easy pose
Extended side-angle pose
Thread the needle
Forward pose
Glute strengtheners
Goddess pose
Half splits pose
Crescent Moon pose
Happy baby
Sleeping hero
High lunge
Legs-up-the-wall pose
Mountain pose
Neck stretches
One legged bridge pose
Pigeon pose
Modified plank pose
Foreward fold
Savasana (modified in later trimesters)
Seated pelvic floor tilts
Seated side bend/stretch
Side lunge
Seated figure four pose
Sun salutations
Supported bridge pose
Supported child’s pose
Thread the needle pose
Triangle pose
Three-legged dog
Tree pose
Wide-legged forward fold
Warrior poses

*There may be more acceptable poses than what is listed here. If you would like to incorporate a pose not on this list ask yourself: Does this pose honour baby’s space? If it doesn’t, don’t teach it!

As always, when teaching invite your students to make modifications that work for their bodies, or skip poses all together. Remember, we are teaching our students how to listen to their own bodies.

Yoga poses & movements to avoid:
-Moving with momentum –> your students should be engaging their muscles to move with intention & safety. Think strength and stability.
-Any inversions (except downward facing dog)
-Arm balances
-Any extremely advanced yoga poses, or tricky balancing poses

As a general rule: first trimester you can continue your regular (non-heated) practice; second trimester begin to stay a little more upright- possibly bringing toes onto ground for added stability as your stomach is expanding changing your centre of gravity and relaxin is causing your joints to begin to destabilize; third trimester keep feet firmly planted on ground and add props as needed to ensure you’re maintaining space for baby . These are obviously generalizations and some pregnant individuals may be well able to practice without making these modifications. Listen to your students and encourage everyone to practice with strength and stability in mind. During the prenatal period LESS IS MORE!

Tell me about your prenatal yoga experience– what did you love? what didn’t work for you? what do you wish every prenatal yoga instructor could understand?

xoxo,
Yoga Mama