• Balance. Yoga exercises will lead to improved physical coordination, increased confidence in yourself and your body, and a sense of inner balance–your physical sense of balance will change every week so the bigger you get, the more important this becomes.
• Pain management. Learning yoga poses helps ease lower back pain, pelvic pain, and that uncomfortable round ligament pain (the stretching you feel in the lower abdomen). The Cat/Cow pose, or marjar asana/bitil asana, has been my favorite with the ligament pain.
• Pelvis prep. Yoga is safe during all three trimesters, teaches you to develop a deeper sense of concentration, and helps to open the pelvis in preparation for labor and birth. In fact, many active birth classes are based on yoga techniques, and different positions for labor and delivery are taught to both the mother and birth partner.
• Breathing. The tools you learn in yoga will be vital during labor and delivery and the ability to breathe into contractions instead of fighting them will make the birth smoother.
• Contraction relaxation. Yoga classes can teach you to relax when you have the opportunity between contractions, just like when you rest between poses. Learning to hold a position longer than a few seconds (which you will need during the longer contractions) is also valuable.
• Community. Prenatal yoga classes are also a great way to meet other women in all stages of pregnancy. Taking the classes offers a great way to discuss what’s been happening in your pregnancy with women who understand, and who will help you through the months of your pregnancy. There is something very soothing about spending time with ten other pregnant women, and taking time to meditate on the life growing within you. The sense of community that you feel in the classes may be difficult to find in other aspects of your life at this special time (not to mention that you all feel big together!).

So, call around local yoga shops to see if they offer prenatal yoga classes, and keep in mind that it’s best to bring your own mat. If you aren’t having any luck finding a prenatal yoga class in your area, there a lot of CDs available to pregnant mamas that will walk you through the poses. Please remember, there are yoga poses that should be avoided during pregnancy, so check with your practitioner and only practice prenatal yoga poses.

Books and sites to check out

• The Health and Yoga site shows women poses for each trimester with pictures and an explanation of how to hold each pose, along with the benefits of each one.
• Yoga for Pregnancy by Judith Lasater, PhD, is a good beginning book for those of us who are new to yoga. There are simple explanations, and a few easy poses to get you started.
• Preparing for Birth with Yoga by Janet Balaskas is another highly recommended book, and there are explanations of each pose, and meditations to help with labor, and even techniques to use during delivery.
• WellWire.com has a wonderful article on natural pregnancy and I recommend both mother and partner read this as soon as possible!

Amy Chitwood, L.Ac. is a graduate of the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. She is nationally board certified in Chinese herbal medicine and manages the Portland Acupuncture Blog.

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