Yoga During Pregnancy: The Best Exercises For Each Trimester

It doesn’t matter whether you already have previous experience with yoga or are new to it – the Indian teaching is an ideal accompanying program for pregnancy. The body and breathing exercises can help to find peace and to be in harmony with the pregnant body. Many poses in pregnancy yoga can also relieve discomfort such as nausea and back pain, and help women prepare for childbirth, especially in the third trimester.

Katarina Rainer-Trawöger, yoga teacher from Vienna, has been teaching pregnancy yoga since 2009 and has already accompanied numerous women during the nine months – some of them up to the 42nd week of pregnancy. In principle, women can practice until the end of their pregnancy. “But it is important to me that doctors and midwives still give the okay and that the women continue to feel fit,” she emphasizes in an interview with the star.

Yoga during pregnancy is gentle and gentle

The majority of her courses are newcomers to yoga. But even for women who already practice a lot, pregnancy yoga is often a new experience, “because we do many of the asanas much more gently than you are used to”. With careful practice, you can start right at the beginning of pregnancy. “Everything that goes too much in the direction of competitive sports, such as Ashtanga yoga, should have a break during pregnancy,” advises the expert.

The first trimester is characterized by hormonal, physical and psychological changes. In the first three months, pregnant women should therefore concentrate on calmer movements. “Exercises while sitting, which can also be done in a chair, and gentle stretches” are ideal for the early phase of pregnancy. Also, “anything that helps you breathe more deeply”: yoga poses that expand your chest, calm breathing exercises, meditation. “All of these are ideal for the first trimester to allow the egg to implant and the pregnancy to remain intact.”

Refrain from prone asanas

In the second trimester, often referred to as the “feel good phase”, many women feel fitter again. “You can do a lot more in the second trimester, also to stimulate the cardiovascular system,” says Katarina Rainer-Trawöger. Classic sequences such as the sun salutation are possible again – in a slightly modified form. There are also asanas for the thoracic spine and the shoulder and neck area, which is often tense during pregnancy. Likewise, back-strengthening exercises and the first prenatal poses, such as squatting. “The baby bump isn’t that big yet, so there are many things you can try to make the third trimester easier,” explains the yoga teacher.

On the other hand, you have to be careful with bending forward for too long, because the body produces more blood and women can therefore get dizzy more quickly. Prone postures or movements that put too much pressure on the stomach are taboo throughout pregnancy. Popular asanas that are usually performed in a prone position, such as the cobra or the upward-facing dog, should definitely be avoided. In general, you should avoid all poses that put too much strain on the abdominal muscles. This has to expand so that the baby bump can grow. Jumps should also be avoided, as well as exercises that affect the lumbar region.

Postures that prepare for childbirth

The rule of thumb is: “Everything that goes too far to the extreme – too far forward, too far back – I leave out and change it more gently.” Backbends, for example, should be performed “in such a way that you don’t work on the abdominal muscles, but on a stable pelvis”. For example, you can make a gentler version of the camel by not bending backwards too much, but by resting your hands on your lower back, tensing your buttocks and lifting the tip of your nose slightly. With standing inversions, such as the forward bend, you have to make sure you leave enough room for your stomach by placing your feet hip-width apart and bending your knees.

In the third trimester, the main focus is on prenatal exercises. These include poses such as the squat, all-fours, wavy cat-cow movement, and forearm stand (all-fours with arms down). The exercises that have been practiced over the past three months are very similar to the birthing positions that midwives learn. This could help women to look forward to childbirth with more self-confidence “because they already know what to expect”. Dealing with the pregnancy and the baby in the womb can also improve body awareness and boost self-confidence. “Because I know what my body needs and what my body can do. That way I can work better during the delivery”.

In the third trimester, Katarina Rainer-Trawöger also includes the side position, which does not exist in classical yoga, in the lessons. The program also includes supine postures: the butterfly or gentle rocking to massage the back. Also important are poses that strengthen the pelvic floor, such as the bridge—a gentle raising and lowering of the pelvis. “It’s about the women learning to feel and stabilize the pelvic floor,” explains the expert. This can prevent severe back pain. The individual positions are held longer and combined with deep breathing. In contrast to classic yoga, where you only breathe through your nose, in pregnancy yoga you should breathe out through your mouth.

Faster breathing exercises that involve the abdominal muscles and those that involve holding your breath are not suitable for pregnancy. Instead, pregnancy yoga focuses on regulating and calming the breath, and practicing long, deep breaths. For example, through Anuloma Viloma: A breathing exercise in which you breathe in through one nostril and breathe out through the other nostril twice as long. “This allows me to calm my thoughts and my breathing,” explains the yoga teacher. The so-called bee breathing, in which you make a buzzing noise, also has a calming effect. Sometimes, however, it is simply a matter of consciously feeling and perceiving one’s breathing.

More relaxation, less discomfort

The physical and mental relaxation works – Katarina Rainer-Trawöger can confirm this from her many years of experience as a teacher. Her course participants regularly tell her that headaches and neck pain are decreasing. Likewise, back pain and sciatica, which can occur particularly in the third trimester. “Some also say that they sleep better because the meditations are good for them.” All of this could also affect the baby. “If a woman is very stressed during pregnancy, the babies feel it because the stress hormones penetrate the placental barrier,” explains the expert. However, if the mother-to-be can relax and is mentally more balanced, this can have a positive effect on the baby and its development.

After giving birth, women should wait at least six to eight weeks before attending a yoga class again – and get the doctor’s or midwife’s consent beforehand. The first pelvic floor exercises that can be done in bed, as well as light breathing exercises and meditations are already possible. “That helps especially when the time with the baby is very stressful and you can’t get to sleep.” The exercises in postnatal yoga are similar to the exercises in pregnancy yoga at the beginning. Depending on the physical condition of the woman, the individual exercises can be adapted. For example, if there was a jump in the straight abdominal muscles during pregnancy, you should rather work on the lateral abdominal muscles. The main difference between the two courses is that “the babies are there.”