why prenatal yoga?
You’ve probably got it in your head that you should do yoga when you’re pregnant - because that’s just what pregnant women do, right?! And yes - you absolutely should! Because there are lots of very well evidenced benefits to prenatal yoga, including:
It may help to reduce anxiety and fear during pregnancy - 20% of pregnant and postpartum women experience anxiety, and just one session of yoga has been shown to reduce anxiety in low risk pregnant mothers
It may help you feel more bonded with your unborn baby
It can help to reduce pelvic and hip pain, and other pregnancy discomforts like fatigue
It may help you sleep better - even during those tricky final few weeks
It may enhance your confidence and self belief, including during your labour
It may help to reduce labour length and increase likelihood of vaginal birth
Yoga classes are also a good opportunity to get comfortable in a variety of poses that are good to use during labour that may progress birth, like squatting and being on all fours. It may also help to get baby into a good position for birth, particularly if you practice certain poses at home.
Yoga is the perfect companion to hypnobirthing, which is why I trained in both! I love teaching yoga - and if you join my group course, you will get a short yoga session at each class, plus access to a video library of yoga sequences to use at home. Most women in prenatal yoga classes have never done yoga before - and my teaching style is completely inclusive and supportive. I don’t use fancy yoga terminology, there’s no pressure and I will talk you through everything (as many times as you need it!)
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