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Pregnancy is a voyage of discovery, not only for your body but your emotions, mind and spirit too. Yoga can help you maintain optimum health and vitality throughout your pregnancy; as well as help prepare you physically and mentally for the birth of your child. Meditation can be very important during pregnancy to help you remain calm and centred.
Pregnancy Yoga classes are offered to form a complete course. This gives everyone the opportunity to start together, learn together and develop the practice week by week. Please note- that when we are offering more than one class a week it will be possible that should you be unable to make your chosen class in a particular week to go to another class that week, we don't want you to miss out. And by the way P1 or P2 on the timetable just means pregnancy yoga on first day, second day etc of the week - it does not denote level of experience needed to attend class
Women in full time employment are entitled to paid time off work to attend yoga classes, which are covered by the category 'antenatal appointments and relaxation and parent craft classes'. We encourage students to exercise their right to this time off work. For further details of the legal obligation of employers to pregnant workers, please see:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/workandfamilies/maternity-leave-pay/guidance/page21116.html
Some comments from previous students
About Labour
"I'm so glad I came to your classes as I found the breathing was really easy - thanks"
About exercise
"The final thank you must go for your encouragement for each individual to continue doing whatever seems right to them. Your classes have been so helpful in discovering the comfortable limits of each individual and for showing that one should not simply vegetate for nine months, as suggested in many books. Thanks for all your hard work and studies that now enable you to teach us pregnant ladies a really healthy and enjoyable way forward."
About feeling good and sleeping!
"Just to say I absolutely love the classes and always feel fantastic afterwards and have such a great night sleep."
"Thank you for an extremely enjoyable yoga lesson, which once again turned the week around for me. For someone who never previously enjoyed yoga for its lack of physical activity, I sure am beginning to look forward to the weekly classes and the all over feel-good factor afterwards (not to mention the improved sleep every Monday night!)"
"Had the best night's sleep in ages last night, so evidence I should be doing sun salutations more often!"
Frequently asked Questions
When can I start Yoga?
Generally speaking it is safe to start pregnancy Yoga from as early as 6/8 weeks however, I recommend that ladies start after their first consultation and/or scan (as appropriate) at about 13/14 weeks. Please refer to your doctor or midwife first before embarking on your Yoga course if you have any queries about your particular circumstances.
And when should I stop?
This will depend entirely on your fitness level and the baby's health; suffice to say I have had ladies continue attending Yoga classes up until 41 weeks!
I haven't done Yoga before does it matter?
The short answer is ‘no’.
Yoga during pregnancy is different to ‘normal’ Hatha Yoga practice (the physical exercises of Yoga) in that all the postures have been altered so that they do not place any strain on the lower abdomen. Therefore in most cases, the postures still resemble those from non-pregnant practice but the emphasis is very different, in that, in non-pregnancy Yoga we place a lot of emphasis on building up our ‘core strength‘ that is, strengthening and stretching the abdominal muscles, which of course is not suitable for pregnant women.
Is it safe to practice at home?
All the postures we teach are safe to practice at home but only when you have been shown how to do the posture correctly and practised it yourself with the teacher. You can purchase a complete personal guide to practice at home, which provides step-by-step instruction to performing the exercises.
Pregnancy Yoga Course objectives
The aim of the course is to help you: -
 Develop flexibility and strength in your body and deal with the many changes taking place both physically and emotionally,
Maintain good posture and correct alignment of your spine, in order to avoid any lasting back problems
Learn deep and rhythmical breathing to help you remain calm during your pregnancy and assist you with labour.
Gain an overall sense of well-being,
Relax and sleep well,
Increase your levels of energy and help to develop optimum health
Deal with such things as varicose veins and other conditions that may only affect you during pregnancy.
Enjoy some exercise and have some time for yourself!
Course Format
The course will run at regular intervals, please refer to the schedule. Classes will focus on introducing and developing your practice in these three key areas: -
Proper relaxation
The Yoga asana posture exercises, modified specifically for pregnancy;
Breathing exercises to relax and refresh.
We will aim to conclude each class with
A short meditation at the end of each class
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