is yoga REALLY that great in pregnancy?

[mad4mybaby]

I was doing pilates for a while before i got pg and had to stop doing it due to sickness. Struggling to find pregnancy yoga/pilates in my area esp as i have to do something with my 2 yr old. Is it really that great? I think id be bored doing it?

You can do pregnancy pilates - maybe worth checking out the dvds on Amazon or borrowing one from your local library to see if you like it? I did both pregnancy yoga and pregnancy pilates when pregnant with DS and found the yoga great for relaxation and stretching out my body/making space for me to breathe as I got huge and the pilates really good for ironing out back problems.

i loved it
it was sociable
it taught me to relax
dealt with lots of specific preggo and birth things
but had v good teacher

it's not everyone's bag, it depends on what you want. Lots of pregn yoga classes are brilliant for relaxation, visualisation etc but are naff all use if you want to stay fit. If you want something that's more exercise orientated you might want to try something else? Agree really good for socialising/learning about breathing techniques for labour.

I loved it because it forced me to do nothing for 2h a week rather than whizz round doing work / laundry etc (or more likely sit about knackeredly worrying about the work / laundry I wasn't doing)

made me feel more positive about the whole shebang and the teacher was a mine of information and didn't mind answering daft questions. Also good to know you're not the only pg one in the world.

I did have an easy birth but am not sure how much of that was due to the yoga and how much to luck.

I must say I loved it, as MrsBadger said, it made me 'stop' for 2 hours a week. Not very strenuous (sp?) But helped me relax and showed me some good 'postures' for the pitfalls that come hand in hand with pregnancy! (Like indegestion, bad back, SPD, pelvis floor excercise)

I also used all the breathing practises in labour itself!

Try it, you might like it!

Yes - forced me to relax and unwind from a very stressful job. I got a DVD by Shiva something or otehr and forced myself to do it on weekend.

If you have a LO to look after and can't find classes in your area, you could try DVD.

so does it do nothing at all in terms of fitness? im currently swimming but find it too tiring but at same time i want/need to stay fit

My legs got much stronger as a result.
Apart from that, not sure.

If I could swim, I'd have tried to go swimming too.

I loved it first time round as it gave me confidence in my body
With DS2 it gave me chance for 2 hours a week to focus on being pregnant.
birthlight have yoga classes across the country

thanks but the nearest class is 84 miles from me!

Really not sure wether to stick with the swimming coz it has a creche or what...

My midwife said a large part of it was taking time out for relaxation.

I used to go to Iyengar yoga classes, which I loved as they really felt like a challenge, but my teacher couldn't accept me once I got pregnant. I've found another standard yoga class in my area and they will teach pregnant ladies (I live in a rural area, so no chance of pregnancy yoga classes) and I do find it a bit boring compared to my previous classes. However both my old and new yoga teachers have said this type is better for me and like the others said it's 2 hours out of my week for pure 'me' time, and I think that is as good as anything. And if the breathing and relaxation can help during labour, so much the better.

Try it at least once, you won't know otherwise if if does suit you or not

Z

Mad4mybaby - if you really enjoyed pilates, may be worth speaking to your teacher to see if you can continue it in a modified way in your pregnancy. Am continuing my pilates classes with my teacher - just not doing any hard core abs work and focusing on strengthening back, legs etc.

I wouldn't go to them for fitness but they are great for posture / flexibility / strength . However, I can't recommend them enough for preparing you for labour and for me&baby time. Both my labours were very, very long, but I had good births because of what I had learnt during the yoga classes.

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