Yoga during pregnancy: which poses are safe and which to avoid?
Hi, my name is Anna!
I teach yoga, strength and movement for Mama’s. I have created this space to help you to recharge, nourish your body and mind and to reconnect with yourself on this crazy journey of motherhood.
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Yoga during pregnancy: which poses are safe and which to avoid?
Yoga is an amazing practice for pregnancy incorporating physical exercise, relaxation and mindfulness, but are there postures and styles of yoga that should be avoided during pregnancy?
Styles of yoga
If you have ever been to a power yoga class and a yin class you will know that “yoga” encompasses a huge range of styles varying hugely in intensity, length, and postures.
Pregnancy is a time to maintain and deload your training, not to push for that handstand goal or leg behind the head. This can help guide you when deciding if a yoga class is right for you. During the first trimester, if you are feeling energised enough and not plagued with nausea, you can usually keep going to your vinyasa or power yoga class. If you’re into your hot yoga, then it’s probably best to put these on hold for the duration of your pregnancy due to the risk of overheating (prolonged core temperatures greater than 39°C (102°F) can cause birth defects). Whilst Yin yoga seems like a great choice for pregnancy, it’s a good idea to incorporate active/strength work into your program outside of Yin, as engaging in too much passive stretching can actually exacerbate issues like pelvic girdle pain, low back pain and pubic symphysis pain.
If you have been practicing yoga for some time and feel comfortable to continue attending your regular class, then you can modify the postures for yourself, and I will discuss some guidelines for this below. You should also let your teacher know that you are pregnant so that they can provide some modifications (if they are trained to do so).
The Poses
Supine Positions
Poses that require you to lie on your back (eg. corpse, fish pose) can be problematic, especially in the third trimester. The weight of your baby puts pressure on your inferior vena cava, which is a large vein running down your right side that returns blood from your extremities to your heart. After around 2-3 minutes (although has been shown to vary from 30sec to 30min) you might experience a significant drop in blood pressure, dizziness, nausea and sweating. Symptoms are usually seen in women >38 weeks gestation. This position doesn’t necessarily have to be avoided throughout your whole pregnancy, and it will be up to you to see if you feel comfortable here. Raising the upper body into an inclined position with a bolster or cushion will prevent this pressure in the supine position and usually feels much more comfortable in late pregnancy.
Twists
Deep twists like many of the revolved poses – side angle, triangle, chair are not recommended in pregnancy due to extra pressure they can place on the linea alba (abdominal connective tissue), the pressure they place on the baby, and they are often just uncomfortable for your growing belly.
Twists have beautiful benefits for the spine and back muscles, so it would be a shame to ditch them all together. It is commonly recommended to avoid twists in the first trimester whilst the embryo is implanting in the uterine wall and the placenta is forming, whilst there is a lack of evidence on this, my gut feel is that this a good idea to be on the safe side.
In general, twists that don’t add compression to the abdomen are still fine during pregnancy. So think open twists like simple cross leg twists or where the body twists away from the bent leg, like Marichyasana III and Ardha Matseyandrasana.
Backbends
Backbends like wheel, camel and upwards facing dog can be strong abdominal stretching postures, and place added stress on the lumbar spine. During pregnancy the increasing weight of bub can pull the pelvic forward into an anterior tilt position (back arched and bum sticking out which can cause low back pain. In general, we want to avoid postures that exacerbate this anterior tilt. Back bends like low bridge, supported bridge and puppy pose are more suitable options as they allow for more control of the lumbar spine positioning and less stretch of the abdominal wall.
Prone Position
Lying directly on your belly can be pretty uncomfortable, especially during the second and third trimester. Most women will steer clear of prone poses quite naturally for this reason, however during the first trimester prone postures may still feel good and are quite safe.
Inversions
Headstands, handstands, shoulder stands are all considered inversions, and some practitioners also consider any pose with the head below the hips (like down dog) to be an inversion too. Inversions like headstands are often advised against due to the risk of falling which could cause injury to you or your baby. If you are an experienced practitioner and feel very comfortable in these postures then you may feel safe to continue them throughout your pregnancy. Some inversions like handstands, involve strong core activation, so if you are continuing to practice them it is important to learn how to breathe diaphragmatically and engage the core properly with the breath to protect the abdominal muscles.
If you experience low blood pressure, move slowly out of poses like standing forward folds and down dog to allow your body to adjust to the changes in positioning.
Strong Core Work
During pregnancy, the growing baby puts outward pressure on your abdominal muscles (especially the linea alba connective tissue running down your midline). Being mindful of strong core work is important so that you don’t place extra strain here which can contribute to diastasis rectus (DR) or abdominal separation. However, you do not have to eliminate all core work from your practice, and learning how to engage your core effectively and work with the breath is vital in being able to continue to do many core exercises without causing damage.
Poses such as boat, plank and chaturanga may need to be modified by coming to the knees, reducing the holds, or taking a beginner option so that you can maintain gentle awareness of the core without coning or doming. This is where there is a visible bulging out of tissue along the midline, and many women also get an urge to hold on to their belly when a movement is too strong for the core to handle.
It is important to keep in mind that we are all so different, and everyone has varied levels of experience, ability and physical fitness. Some of the poses discussed here will be completely fine for some women to continue throughout their pregnancy, whilst for others they will need to take a more cautious approach. If you are unsure or are new to yoga, attending a specific pregnancy yoga class with a certified prenatal yoga teacher is the way to go.
REFERENCES
Polis, Rachael L. DO; Gussman, Debra MD, MBA; Kuo, Yen-Hong PhD. Yoga in Pregnancy: An Examination of Maternal and Fetal Responses to 26 Yoga Postures. Obstetrics & Gynecology 126(6):p 1237-1241, December 2015. | DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000001137
Bauer, Ilena, et al. “Spotlight on the fetus: how physical activity during pregnancy influences fetal health: a narrative review.” BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 6.1 (2020): e000658.
De-Giorgio F, Grassi VM, Vetrugno G, d’Aloja E, Pascali VL, Arena V. Supine hypotensive syndrome as the probable cause of both maternal and fetal death. J Forensic Sci. 2012 Nov;57(6):1646-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02165.x. Epub 2012 Apr 26. PMID: 22537582.
