Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga have a natural sense of community

In the second post of our Children & Yoga series Taylor, a Doula and Yoga District teacher, shares insights about the benefits of teaching and practicing prenatal & postnatal yoga. 

Feel free to attend a Yoga District prenatal or postal class!

Sign up for a class here.

A main goal of yoga is to tune in to and learn more about our body. Through a regular asana practice we start to become more aware of our body’s needs and limits. This awareness in our yoga practice can extend to everything we do throughout the rest of our day.

Apply this same goal to Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga. Try to tune in and learn more about our body: prepare for pregnancy, the childbirth process, the postpartum period, and early parenthood.

Yoga Practice Designed for the Prenatal Body

Prenatal Yoga class builds strength to stabilize parts of your body. During pregnancy your body may become hypermobile in parts due to some of your hormones.

Lean how to use yoga techniques like asana and pranayama in childbirth specifically. Practice shapes that are conducive to labor. Poses you might want to do while giving birth are great to practice throughout your pregnancy. This will enable you to get used to it as your body is changing.

Pranayama (breathing techniques) bring a certain kind of balancing and calming energy, which is essential for labor and once the baby arrives. Calming breath (equal inhales and exhales) and Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) are used frequently in class.

This type of yoga is great for anyone who has questions about pregnancy and birth. As well as how to use a yoga practice to facilitate connection to yourself, your partner, and your baby during that time.

Yoga Practice Designed for the Postnatal Body

Postnatal Yoga class emphasizes letting the body heal from labor and pregnancy. Providing a nurturing time to get to know your body now that it needs to care for and possibly nourish a child (if breast/chestfeeding).  Also gentle strengthening, stretching, and breath-work that is found in prenatal yoga.

Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga Community

There is a natural sense of community with prenatal and postnatal yoga. You are sharing your practice time and space with other people who are in the same very powerful stage of life. You are preparing to welcome a new life into your family.

Sense of community is one of the reasons I love teaching prenatal and postnatal yoga. The saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child”. As a yoga teacher and a Doula, I know it also takes a village (yoga community) to raise up a parent. It can feel incredibly isolating, welcoming that new life, without support of other people we know and care for around us.

Teaching prenatal and postnatal yoga classes, more than anything else have made me much closer with the Yoga District community. Seeing people go through their pregnancy from beginning to end then meeting the baby afterwards is so special. I continually feel honored that people trust me to facilitate their practice at such an important part of life.