PRENATAL ADVICE
Please see the following advice from our founder on attending classes when pregnant:
Congratulations on your forthcoming little one(s)! How exciting!
During this journey it is important to be mindful of your energy levels and changing body. Please bear in mind this is GENERIC advice and if you have any concerns or discomfort/ pain/ unusual sensations when practicing or any preexisting conditions, please discuss with your midwife or GP before coming to class or before continuing.
If you are practicing, we encourage you through this whole journey to listen to your body, if something doesn't feel right, be intuitive and change, modify movements or stop practicing.
Please be aware if attending non-prenatal classes that your teacher may not be trained or able to offer variations that are appropriate for you on this journey. While you are more than welcome to attend any of our classes, we do advise being even more mindful and taking things more gentle. If attending non-prenatal classes, it is your responsibility to adapt their sequencing as needed. This is especially relevant for strong yoga classes or Pilates classes (where there is more likely to be a lot of abdominal work included).
FIRST TRIMESTER:
At this stage of your journey, physically you may or may not have changed much but it is unlikely that bump is very large at this point and so most yoga and Pilates poses are still accessible. If your practice isn’t new for your body and feels good, you may want to continue in your regular classes. However, remember there's a lot of work going on energetically and hormonally (increased hormone production, creating a placenta and all baby’s building blocks) so don't push yourself too hard, perhaps choose more gentle classes than usual - especially if you feel a lack of energy or are nauseous. Everyone develops a bump at different rates, but once bump arrives it will begin to change you physically – change to your pelvic tilt, abdominals, lower back etc. So be mindful that once bump starts to establish itself we advise to avoid:
Postures that involve lying on your tummy or back
Backbends that overstretch the tummy
Strong abdominal work that shortens the tummy – place knees down for plank, avoid ab curls and Pilates exercises that shorten the abdominal muscles and obliques (as these will be already under increased strain)
Closed twists that compress bump - modify by twisting the other way to keep the twist open, or skip twists
Inversions
This list is not exhaustive - always listen to your own body and check with your health professional if you have any concerns.
SECOND TRIMESTER:
You may have more energy at this stage but physically it’s also likely that you’ll be seeing some changes. At 13 weeks we welcome you to join our prenatal classes. However, if practice isn’t new for your body and it feels good you may also want to continue in your regular classes. If you choose to do this, please be mindful that the teachers often will not be able to give you modifications in a non-prenatal class, so it is important to listen to your body.
As stated above, we advice to avoid:
Postures that involve lying on your tummy or back
Backbends that overstretch the tummy
Strong abdominal work that shortens the tummy – place knees down for plank, avoid ab curls and Pilates exercises that work the abdominal muscles and obliques (as these will be already under increased strain)
Closed twists that compress bump - modify by twisting the other way to keep the twist open, or skip twists
Inversions
This list is not exhaustive - always listen to your own body and check with your health professional if you have any concerns
THIRD TRIMESTER:
Bump is likely to be significantly established by this point, you may be feeling heavier and getting breathless more easily. We encourage you to join our prenatal classes to ensure all poses are tailored to your adapting body and baby.
If you have any additional needs/ health conditions or are in any way concerned about continuing your practice at any stage we encourage you to check in with your health professional before joining. Always listen to your body and if something doesn’t feel right, stop or move away from that sensation/ pose.
We hope that this is helpful and wish you a wonderful journey on the ride that is motherhood! If you have any additional questions please get in touch!
Chloe & REVIVE