The powerful effects of Prenatal Yoga

This is part two of our series on 'Preparing for birth'

Is yoga your thing?

I have never been a regular 'Yogi', but I recently decided to do a birth / prenatal yoga course through my local birth movement centre.

The verdict is that it was great!

It helped me to learn some awesome positions for labour. as well as some easy stretches to help relieve some pregnancy aches and pains I have been experiencing. After completing this course I feel much more prepared both mentally and physically.

So to help expecting mama's out there or just people generally interested I've put together a list of helpful resources around birth Yoga.

• Yoga poses for labour! You might just remember a few of these during labour and be thankful you knew them! 
• Simple Prenatal Yoga sequence split into: first, second and third trimester sequences.
• Top 10 Prenatal Stretching Positions - This is one example of the many awesome pregnancy stretching videos on YouTube you can utilise daily. Sometimes you don’t realise how tight you are until you give them a go! Make sure to get your partner, kids or friends to do it with you. Interestingly we are often much more flexible during pregnancy due to the effects of the 'Relaxin' hormone which is released during pregnancy.
• Online Pre Natal Yoga classes are also an awesome option that you can do from the comfort of your home. Unfortunately I haven't been able to do this as I have a very active 16 month old who will not allow me to do this. So youtube videos at my own pace has been my savour.

It would be great to hear from other mamas and their experiences with Birth Yoga especially if it worked (or not). So please drop a comment below if you have anything to add!

Lucia