Thank you everyone for participating in our Yoga Expert Corner on Yoga for Fertility and Pregnancy. Our experts were thrilled with all the questions we received. Over the next month, Jane Austin and Mercedes Ngoh will be answering questions on fertility and pregnancy. Jane Austin, our yoga pregnancy expert, begins with our first question.
I’m just entering my second trimester. Can’t I just go to my regular classes? When should I start going to prenatal yoga classes?
Good question, I get it all the time! You can certainly go to “regular” classes if you have a teacher who is knowledgeable about the changes that happen in a pregnant mama’s body and can give helpful instructions to modify postures. Some women have long standing relationships with their yoga teachers and may wish to continue to go to regular class as long as possible. I usually recommend that when you need to modify more instruction than you take, this might be a good time to switch to prenatal classes. I do think it is helpful to check out a prenatal class earlier in pregnancy, so you can incorporate some of the prenatal postures into your regular practice. Some women do both.
A healthy mama can start prenatal yoga at any time in her pregnancy. My classes are specifically designed to support women at all stages of pregnancy. Many women find that the prenatal classes are a great way to meet other pregnant women. In this time of great change, having a community of mamas can be very helpful.
Jane Austin specializes in teaching prenatal and postnatal yoga. For two decades she has worked with mamas, not only as a yoga teacher but also as a midwife, doula and childbirth educator. She has developed a Prenatal/Postnatal Teacher Training for yoga teachers as well as birth professionals in order to make yoga accessible to women in many different settings. For Jane’s workshop schedule click here.
