Safety Tips for Prenatal Yoga and Prenatal Exercise

1)   Practice in comfortable temperatures

Overheated rooms can lead to potentially harmful increases in body temperature.

2)   Maintain smooth, steady breath.

Try not to hold your breath, which can place strain on the body.

3)   Avoid full back bends

Full back bends create too much lumbar spine pressure. 

Try the gentler modifications shown in this video.

4)   Avoid jumping

Jumping may be too jarring on the placenta.

5)   Practice half forward folds instead of full forward folds

This helps prevent dizziness and prevents compression of the abdominal area

6)   Avoid prolonged twisting in your low back (lumbar region)

Low twisting places too much pressure on the placenta.

Opt for the gentle side stretches in this video  

7)   Avoid lying face down on belly

Lying on belly places too much pressure on baby

8)   Avoid full inversions (hips held above head level)

Certain inversions can lead to light headedness. Inversions may also place the placenta in a position where it is more likely to dislodge, umbilical cord is more likely to twist.

9)   Avoid lying flat on your back (2^nd and 3^rd trimesters) 

Uterus becomes heavy enough to compress the vena cava and block off blood flow back to the heart.

10) Be careful of overstretching

The hormone relaxin produced during pregnancy can make joints and muscles more loose and prone to overstretching.  Be gentle when stretching.

11) Listen to your body.  Do what feels right and have fun.

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