Conscious Choice: Expectant Moms Turn to Yoga

August 2002 | Body & Mind Health

Expectant Moms Turn to Yoga

by Darlene Paris

Jessica Newman first learned about hatha yoga eleven years ago from an art teacher who encouraged her students to do the sun salutation — a series of yoga postures — before giving birth to works of art on canvas.

Years later, Newman decided to use that same system of exercise in preparing for the births of her two children.

A yoga instructor at Yoga View, a newly opened yoga studio located in Chicago, Newman maintained a consistent yoga practice while pregnant to increase her flexibility and relieve stress in preparation for labor.

But she also derived peace of mind from yoga philosophy, which reminds us to live life in the present moment and accept ourselves exactly as we are.

"When you’re pregnant, you have to be present with all the changes that are happening to your body," Newman says. "Your shape is changing. Your hormones are changing. Your appetite is changing. You really have to honor where you’re at."

Like Newman, thousands of expectant mothers around the nation practice yoga to help them with these myriad changes. These women find that "yoga eases the transition," says Jennifer Barron Fishman, a yoga teacher, massage therapist, and doula who owns Sweet Pea Yoga Studio in Chicago, a place that offers prenatal, postpartum, and other yoga classes designed for the entire family.

According to Fishman, the asanas, or yoga postures, "help women feel a sense of balance in their bodies as well as strength and relaxation." The goal of the prenatal yoga instructor is to introduce students to poses that will assist them with the physical challenges of pregnancy, provide support during labor, and help them get their bodies back in balance once they’ve had the baby.

"My intent as a prenatal yoga instructor is to empower women so they’ll have positive birthing experiences," says Rhonda Kantor, a registered nurse and owner of Global Yoga studio in Chicago, a place that also offers instruction for expecting mothers, such as childbirth and mother/baby wellness classes. "I want to help women feel good in their pregnancies every day."

Prenatal yoga instructors teach the same kind of postures that are taught in regular yoga classes except these poses are often executed with props: Blankets, bolsters, belts, chairs, and sometimes even the wall. "With the use of props, women are able to get into the poses and feel comfortable," Kantor says.

Most teachers prohibit their students from lying on their stomachs, standing on their heads, or doing deep forward and backward bending, so several of the poses must be modified.

"We do a modified Sun Salutation without the inversions," says Kantor. For example, "we wouldn’t do a full downward facing dog, we’d do half downward facing dog instead."

"The poses that we teach are really organic," says prenatal yoga instructor Corinne Peterson, who teaches at several studios in the Chicago area, including Sweet Pea Yoga Studio and Lakeside Yoga in Evanston. Standing poses and pelvic floor exercises are common forms of movement in these classes. So is squatting.

"We’ll also do exercises like hip circles, where you imagine yourself standing in a big jar and you move your hips around as if you’re scraping the inside of it," says Peterson, who is also a massage therapist and doula.

This exercise helps keep the hip joints loose and flexible. And for pregnant women, "it just plain feels good," says Peterson. "During labor that kind of motion will be really helpful to assist the baby when she moves down. It also relieves some of the pain of contractions."

Then there are the breathing exercises. In Corinne Peterson’s class, for example, students use the breath as they move with the poses. "What happens is that women get used to their own breath and how it feels for them to really breathe — so when labor comes, they’re used to breathing. It’s a natural thing for them."

Before enrolling in a prenatal yoga class, it’s wise to consult your healthcare provider. For the most part, yoga is a safe form of exercise, but there are some contraindications. For example, "women who have a history of miscarriages or who are following fertility protocols definitely need to seek clearance from their doctor before they begin doing yoga," Kantor warns.

"When you’re pregnant all the changes are bound to make you feel a little off center," says Newman. "That off-center feeling, that feeling of mild anxiety, can be addressed through practicing yoga."

Darlene E. Paris is a freelance writer, teacher, Reiki Master, and the author of Healthy and Natural Living in Chicago: The Best Alternative Resources in the City and Suburbs (Chicago Review Press, 1998).

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