Prenatal yoga can be an excellent way for women to keep fit during pregnancy, especially when combined with gentle cardiovascular exercise, and it can also help women prepare for labor and delivery. Women can practice prenatal yoga if they've been doing yoga for years, or if they've never done it before, although there are some limitations which are important for beginners to keep in mind. As in all cases with exercise during pregnancy, it is also critical to consult a doctor before starting a prenatal yoga routine to confirm that the practice will be safe, and it may help to ask the doctor to write a note to bring to a yoga instructor so that he or she will feel comfortable taking on a pregnant student.
Some yoga studios and schools specifically offer prenatal yoga classes which are tailored to pregnant women, while others accept pregnant women into their general classes, although the instructor may recommend some modifications to the yoga poses. Prenatal yoga can also be done at home with the assistance of videos or instruction books, and experienced yoga practitioners can simply modify their yoga routines to accommodate the issues associated with pregnancy.
Women interested in prenatal yoga should make sure to drink plenty of water and to eat extra calories to compensate for the exercise. It is also important to wear comfortable, loose-fitting yoga clothing and to avoid overheating, which makes hot yoga classes inadvisable. Women should also listen to their bodies during prenatal yoga sessions. If they feel strained or painful, they should stop or modify a pose, even if they were able to successfully do it before pregnancy.
In prenatal yoga, it is usually not advisable to hold poses for a long time, or to push the body past its limits. Women should not try new or difficult poses during pregnancy, and they should make sure to move slowly and gracefully. The use of props for support is recommended, especially in balance poses, and women should be aware that their joints start to soften during the second trimester, which can increase the risk of injury. The sense of balance also changes, which can make prenatal challenging.
Poses which require women to lie on their backs are also not recommended during prenatal yoga, as are poses which put stress of the abdominal muscles. Women who have practiced inversion poses such as headstands prior to pregnancy may be able to continue doing them, but those who have not should not start doing them in pregnancy. Experienced yoginis also need to be aware that their practice cannot be as rigorous or demanding during pregnancy, and that it is important to slow down and work gently; the goal is not to push the body, but to gently support and strengthen the body during pregnancy.