Should You Do Prenatal Yoga?

If you get the go-ahead from your health care provider, staying active during pregnancy is a smart idea. It can help decrease your risk of certain complications, including preeclampsia, and ease annoyances like back pain and constipation.

Wondering which type of exercise to adopt? One popular option is prenatal yoga. "Prenatal yoga is designed to support the changes that happen in a pregnant body," says Jane Austin, a pre and postnatal yoga teacher based in San Francisco and the founder of prenatal yoga school Mama Tree. It offers safe, healthy ways to stretch and strengthen the pregnant body.

Here's what you need to know about prenatal yoga and how it can make a positive difference in your pregnancy.

What Happens in a Prenatal Yoga Class?

After grabbing a mat, here’s what to expect during a prenatal yoga class:

• Breathing exercises
• Stretching 
• Yoga poses that are safe for pregnancy
• Cool down stretches and relaxation

Benefits of Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal yoga can offer physical and mental health benefits to pregnant people. Here are some important ones to know.

Tones your muscles

Prenatal yoga "tones the physical body, especially the pelvic floor, hip, and abdominal core muscles, in preparation for the birthing process," says Liz Owen, a Massachusetts-based yoga teacher and the co-author of Yoga for a Healthy Lower Back.

A properly toned muscle has the right balance between length and strength; it is neither too lax nor too tight. Building and maintaining muscle tone during pregnancy, with yoga poses like lunges and gentle backbends, can help minimize the aches and pains of those nine months. It's key in bringing your body back to a toned condition after delivery, explains Owen.

Prepares the body for labor and delivery

Prenatal yoga teaches people to trust their bodies and use breathing techniques. Working to connect with yogic methods of deep, mindful breathing can help the body loosen and relax, Austin says. This can facilitate giving birth, and research shows yoga can improve the outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth.

Helps with common pregnancy complaints

By stretching and toning muscles, you can help blood circulate throughout the body in a healthy way. Also, deep breathing can bring much-needed oxygen to your muscles. This all may help ease common pregnancy discomforts, such as lower back pain, nausea, insomnia, headaches, shortness of breath, and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Boosts mental health

Pregnancy can be a stressful time for anyone. Prenatal yoga has been found to help a pregnant person manage stress and anxiety, which can impact the fetus as well.

Even more, a study shows mindfulness yoga, which combines physical poses with meditation practices, can bring relief to the depression that can accompany the emotional journey of pregnancy.

Of course, not all symptoms are guaranteed to disappear through yoga, and it's critical to take care of mental health conditions before, during, and after pregnancy. It's important if you are struggling with mental health to seek professional help.

Promotes a healthier pregnancy

Along with increasing strength, endurance, and flexibility, research has found doing yoga can help reduce blood pressure. That's important as a high blood pressure in pregnancy can harm the kidneys and other organs and may cause preterm birth and low birth weight.

If you're dealing with high blood pressure in pregnancy, it's important to seek medical attention, as treatment can allow for a safe pregnancy.

Can improve sleep

Getting a good night's sleep can feel impossible during pregnancy. Yoga has been found to promote better sleep quality because of the physical and mental exertion the muscles experience.

Creates a much-needed community

One of the greatest benefits of prenatal yoga may be joining a community with other expectant parents. "The class becomes a pregnancy support group of sorts, where women connect with other women who are making the same choices and lifestyles changes," says Karen Prior, an Oklahoma City-based doula, childbirth education, prenatal yoga instructor, and creator of the Mamaste Yoga program.

Having a support system like this can be a great way to help ease anxiety about impending parenthood and have people to lean on.

What Trimester Should You Do Prenatal Yoga?

If you already have an established yoga practice, you don't have to give it up entirely once you get pregnant. Many poses will be safe to continue, while others may need to be modified or omitted. It's a good idea to let your instructor know that you're pregnant.

As a rule, though, starting any new type of exercise while pregnant is probably not a good idea. If you have never practiced yoga before, or you have minimal experience with yoga, sticking to prenatal yoga classes is your best bet. These routines are gentle and designed specifically for expectant mothers.

You can start prenatal yoga in any trimester as long as your health care provider approves. You just may need to make modifications as your belly grows or you experience various pregnancy symptoms

Yoga Poses to Avoid While Pregnant

During pregnancy, avoid any pose that puts pressure on the abdomen, says Aylin Guvenc, an Every Mother prenatal yoga and pilates instructor. "Other poses to be cautious of are twists that put pressure on the organs, and later on in pregnancy lying flat on the back, which can restrict circulation."

Abdominal work in pregnancy

Poses that put pressure on the abdomen create unnecessary compression and restrict blood flow, says Guvenc. "They can exacerbate mechanical strains on the body and contribute to conditions such as diastasis recti, when the abdominal muscles split in pregnancy."

Poses to avoid in this category include:

• Crunches
• Crow pose
• Bicycles
• Planks

Deep twists

You may have heard that twists are a no-no during pregnancy, but that's not strictly true. Open twists towards the third trimester are generally OK (with your doctor's approval) and they will most likely feel great.

During the first trimester, however, it's advisable to avoid twists altogether. Twists can cause uterine contractions. Early on in pregnancy, when your developing baby is the smallest and the risk of miscarriage is the highest, twists are not considered safe.

Later in pregnancy, twisting should be done from the shoulders, as opposed to from the abdomen, though. So, make sure that your entire baby bump stays open and does not fold or bend at all.

"Instead of twisting, think about gently rotating only the upper back and broadening your collar bones," explained Leah Keller, CPT, founder of Every Mother and certified personal trainer.

Are balance poses safe while pregnant?

If balance poses were part of your practice before you became pregnant, it may be safe to continue them if you feel comfortable. However, any poses with a risk of falling that you have not tried previously are best to avoid.

If these poses are a part of your practice and you would like to continue them while you are expecting, be aware that your center of balance will change as your pregnancy progresses. You may want to consider standing close enough to a wall or bar to catch yourself if you slip, or use props like blocks as an extra precaution.

Additional Safety Guidelines for Prenatal Yoga

In addition to avoiding certain poses during a yoga class, there are a few other safety guidelines to keep in mind. Here are a few things to consider before your next yoga class:

• Try not to overdo it. It’s OK if you can’t exercise for at least 30 minutes, fives times a week. Do whatever your body allows and don’t push too hard while in a class.
• Avoid being flat on your back or stomach. Being flat on your stomach or back after 16 to 20 weeks is usually not advised; use a wedge or pillow to tilt uterus off the vena cava. (That's your body's largest vein and the inferior vena cava is between the lumbar spine and the uterus.)
• Drink water. Staying hydrated during pregnancy is important, especially when exercising. Make sure you're drinking consistently to avoid dehydration.
• Skip hot yoga. While hot yoga feels amazing, as a rule, it should be avoided during pregnancy. Pregnant people should take care not to raise their core body temperature above 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Overheating in the first trimester may impact fetal development and could possibly contribute to miscarriage; and later in pregnancy, it can put you at risk for fainting, dehydration, or heat exhaustion.
• Consult with your health care provider. Before starting prenatal yoga, you should get the all-clear from your provider and continue to check in with them if you experience any pain or issues.

Where to Do Prenatal Yoga

You can attend a prenatal yoga class at a fitness center near you or follow videos online. If possible, opt for an in-person class to ensure you are doing the moves safely; an instructor will be able to guide you and answer any questions you may have. But make sure to seek an instructor experienced in prenatal yoga.

Additional reporting by Elisa Cinelli.