As prenatal yoga practice moves out of the studio and onto online platforms, your prenatal symptoms and conditions may not be getting addressed as bespokely as they would be in a face-to-face class.

Not all classes will give modifications per trimester or symptom, so it’s up to you now, to modify as needed. This can be slightly intimidating, as sometimes you just aren’t sure what to do or know if anything needs to change. I’ve put together a list of common conditions and symptoms that often come up in class, with basic modifications to help you.

As always check with your health care provider and don’t let any of the below information override what they say. These are merely suggestions from my training and personal experience.

GENERAL:

If you feel faint or dizzy stop your practice immediately and lie down.

Remember that relaxin increases your flexibility but it is not the time to explore how far to push your limits, this can lead to injury and future problems. Be wise with your body. This is not the time to learn how to do the splits.

An inversion practice is ok for some but it is not the time to start one, if you have not tried going upside down before. Exceptions are the Forward Leaning Inversion from Spinning Babies and shoulder stand (when supervised ).

Sit up on blankets or a bolster in seated poses to allow the hips to be higher than the knees.

When coming up from a reclining position, roll to the left side and use your arms to press yourself up. Do not jackknife up!

After 36 weeks take a side lying position in Savasana.

ACID REFLUX AND HEART BURN: This one is pretty easy to self diagnose and very common in pregnancy due to the increase in progesterone, which is relaxing the smooth muscle tissue. Some have said papaya enzymes, which you can buy in capsule form, are very helpful. I staved this off by eating almonds and dried papaya.

MODIFICATIONS: Keep your head above your heart – move Downdog or any standing forward folds to the wall or stay on all fours.

BREECH PRESENTATION: Babies can move positions up until the last moment, however, if your baby’s head is presenting up ( bum or feet down) after 36/37 weeks you will want to limit pelvic opening, to avoid baby descending further into the pelvic inlet. I also suggest acupuncture as the first port of call for this, at home you can visit the Spinning Babies website and practice their routine daily.

MODIFICATIONS: Shorten and widen standing poses, avoid deep squats and Baddha konasana – anything that opens the pelvis. Try a shorter diamond shape, Tarasana, or crossed legs.

CALF CRAMPS: Often occurring at night, these cramps can be caused by dehydration or mineral imbalance. Many people report an increase in magnesium and calcium being very helpful. You can either take a supplement or get this from foods such as dark leafy greens and nuts.

MODIFICATIONS: Avoid pointing your toes. Before practice begins release the calf muscles with a variety of stretches – I have a full post with various poses on my Instagram page.

CARPEL TUNNEL: Usually a result of swelling and increased blood volume. I suffered from this in both pregnancies and can’t recommend acupuncture enough. Sleeping with a brace and wearing one during the day (M BRACE RCA Carpal Tunnel Wrist Pain Relief) has also been very helpful.

MODIFICATIONS: Avoid too much pressure on the wrists, use your forearms or fists on blocks instead when you are on all fours or downward dog or bring your poses to the wall. Placing a wedge or rolling your mat under your wrists may give a bit of relief.

HEADACHES: Usually related to hormones, dehydration or low blood sugar. Acupuncture can be very helpful, at home get your partner to massage your neck and shoulders, release your jaw, and drink plenty of water.

MODIFICATIONS: Stick to a restorative practice

HEMORRHOIDS: Very common in pregnancy due to the increase in relaxin and progesterone.

MODIFICATIONS: Use two blankets, one under each sit bone, instead of one, leaving a little space in between, or create a donut shape to sit in. Avoid squats or any pose that puts additional pressure on the pelvic floor.

INTERCOSTAL PAIN (RIB PAIN): Everything is pushing up and out so some discomfort here is common. A Chiropractor or physical therapist can help release your diaphragm and show you how to do this yourself. Book in a virtual appointment. You can also try hot or cold compresses. If you have scoliosis de-rotation can be very helpful.

MODIFICATIONS: Keep the spine in a neutral position in practice and lengthen when possible. Avoid hunching forward and rounding the back.

PELVIC GIRDLE PAIN ( SYMPHASIS PUBIS DIASTASIS): This comes as pain in the pubic bone, when the two sides begin to separate. I highly recommend reading Relieving Pelvic Pain – By Cecil Rost, and downloading her app Rost Move Mamas. There are varying takes on how to approach this conditions but generally seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist can help.

MODIFICATIONS: If the pain is acute in class, avoid separating the legs and pulling the pubic bone apart in poses such as Baddha konasana, squats, and wide leg forward fold. At home these poses may be helpful as part of a structure program with your pelvic floor PT. Take a wider diamond shape, Tarasana, instead of Baddha konasana and support the knees with blocks. Make standing poses wider and shorter.

PLACENTA PREVIA: This is when the placenta is fully or partially covering the cervix.

MODIFICATIONS: Avoid poses that put pressure on the pelvic floor, abdominal exercises, unsupported squats. Make standing poses shorter and wider.

SI ( SACROILIAC) DISCOMFRORT/PAIN: If you are experiencing ‘low back’ pain only on one side, commonly this will be SI joint discomfort caused by one side the sacrum falling forward or back. A chiropractor or pelvic floor physical therapist can usually help with this, at home hip strengtheners and an SI belt ( SEROLA® Sacroiliac Belt, Medium ) can help ease symptoms.

MODIFICATIONS: In standing poses shorten and widen the poses, we are aiming to keep the back of the sacrum neutral. Place a block between the thighs in down dog to stabilise the pelvis. Widen butterfly pose into more of a Tarasana, diamond shape with heels further away from the pelvis. Do not do pigeon pose, or any pose that pulls the sacrum out of a neutral position, such as a deep anjaneyasana.

SCIATICA: This is from compression of the nerve in the lumbar spine, however, in pregnancy this is usually caused by a tight piriformis muscle that is compressing the sciatic nerve (Piriformis Syndrome). A massage therapist and pelvic floor PT can release this, at home you can use a tennis ball to relieve this area, and by practicing hip openers such a fire log or pigeon pose, wide leg forward find with hips (toes) rotating inward.

MODIFICATIONS: Bend the knees when practicing forward folds to relieve the buttox.

TAIL BONE PAIN: Often what feels like low back pain and hip pain is actually tail bone pain. Relaxin and stretching of the pelvic floor can cause the tailbone to lose its natural curve and straighten down.

MODIFICATIONS: Sit on a blanket, or see alternative for hemorrhoids for seated poses. Avoid poses that widen the pelvic floor, such as Baddha konasana, or that put pressure on the tail bone.

VARICOSE VEINS: Enlarged, swollen veins often appearing blue and located in the legs. Compression stocking can help, as can swimming, and nettle tea. You can also experience Vulvar Varicosis, which is varicose veins in the vulva. You can get a support garmet for this as well. Elevating your legs can help in both cases.

MODIFICATIONS: For the legs, do not partake in calf stretches that compress the legs. For both cases, change positions often and do not hold standing poses for too long.

When you’re pregnant and dedicating so much time to birth preparation it can be difficult to imagine what postpartum will look like. Many of us don’t think about it at all or think we will deal with the challenges when they arise, however, it has been shown that parents who prepare for postpartum prenatally navigate the challenges and emotions of postpartum much better. Here are four things you can do to start to prepare for your postpartum journey:

POSTPARTUM ALLIES – Who are the friends and family you can call on to support you in this time of transition? Make a list of the good listeners, the people who are willing to come clean your house, look after baby while you shower, or simply be a friendly voice. I met a mama-to-be in yoga class when I was pregnant. We exchanged numbers and although we lived a 20 min walk away from each other and only met up physically about 3x when the babies where born, she became my LIFELINE. We must have texted 50x a day about everything from baby poop to how we were feeling. 

FOOD || You will not have the time or energy to make nutritious meals for those first few weeks. I laugh at myself thinking about how I brushed off the idea of making pre-papared frozen smoothie bags, thinking I could at least make a smoothie! Nope! Cook larges batches of food  and freeze them, set up a postpartum meal train, or hire a postpartum chef to come in and help you!

TOUCHSTONES || In the first year as parents you are wrapping yourself up in this new human 24/7, it can be incredibly easy to forget about yourself, or even pry yourself away for a 15 minute walk. Make a list of all the thing you enjoy doing, or remind you of yourself. Put it on the fridge and encourage your partner to do the same. Then help support each other to do one of these things during the first year of pregnancy. It can be as simple as: the sound of rain, 4 leaf clovers, yoga, sunflowers, writing in my journal…all things that can easily slip away in the haze of postpartum.

RELATIONSHIPS || You’re relationships will change postpartum  – with your partner, your family your friends. Sit down with your partner and make a list of the top 5 concerns of the challenges you might face as a couple and brainstorm 3 solutions or each. When you are deeply sleep deprived, your routines have changed, and the domestic workload has more than doubled it can be easy to lose site of the team work you may have had before baby arrived. Use this list as a easy problem solver for some of the issues that may arise. 

Throughout my pregnancy, Yoga was my go-to exercise. I took regular alignment classes up until 36 weeks, with modifications, and practised pre-natal vinyasa and pre-natal alignment all the way up to the day before I gave birth. 

My labour ended up being hard and fast and in the back on a NYC taxi (see Birth Story Blog) and it wasn’t until I looked back on my 9 hours hours of hard work (‘cause that’s what it is!), that I realized the positions I was drawn to were all asanas I had been practising religiously throughout my pregnancy. 

My body seemed to enter these poses naturally and I strongly believe that my yoga practice helped me find the ‘comfort’ and the body strength I needed to endure my labour and delivery. So without further adieu, here are the Five Yoga Poses I used during labour and delivery.

1.Supta Baddha Konasana/Butterfly Pose

When my contractions started and began to build, the first position I took was Supta Baddha Konasana or Butterfly pose, on the bed, with pillows to support my back and to keep me upright, holding my husband’s hand (and squeezing tight). This pose helps release the pelvic floor, and to be honest I became sick of doing it during my pregnancy but it clearly worked!

You can practise this pose seated or reclined during pregnancy. For the reclined version it is useful to have a bolster or pillows to support your back and blocks or blankets to support your knees. Sit with your sacrum near the bolster, bring the soles of your feet together and separate your knees. Place a blanket around your ankles (or blocks under your knees) and gently lower yourself down onto your support. Make sure your spine is placed evenly with the bolster and your torso is straight. Extend your arms overhead then release them down by your sides, palms facing the ceiling. 

2. Wall Uttanasana or Chair Adho Mukha Svanasana/Downward Facing Dog

Once the contractions picked up I started to feel pain in my back. I was nervous this might be an indication that baby had his back to my back, so I moved into a position where my belly was facing down, to help get the baby to move into an optimal birthing position, his back to my belly. I used the bed to support my arms and eventually my husband’s thighs. I used a birth ball to sit on during my rest and recovery time. 

To enter the pose, stand near a wall and place your hands on the wall just above hip height. Walk back, pressing into the wall, until your arms are straight but not over extended. Feet should be hip distance or more apart. Align your legs so they are under your hips, bend your knees slightly and lift your sit bones towards the ceiling, keeping your feet parallel. Spread your palms and extend your fingers. Extend your thighs back and lengthen your spine, keeping your head in line with your arms. 

3. Adho Mukha Virasana/Child’s pose

There was an extra pose I was thrown into when I entered the bath and had my first contraction in water which was excruciating – Purvottanasana –  but that was just by sheer force. After exiting the bath very quickly, as it was not working for me, my husband and I resumed a similar position to before but this time on the floor. Child’s pose was my much needed rest and recovery position here. The force of the contractions were lurching me forward and up, pressing all of my body weight into my husband’s shoulder but during those few moments of rest, this was my go-to pose. 

To enter the pose come onto all fours. Place your big toes together and separate your knees. Sit back, reaching your buttocks towards your feet and extending your arms forward. Rest your head on the floor or a block depending on the stage of your pregnancy. I used my husband’s thighs.

4. Utkata Konasana/Goddess Pose

I had no idea how my husband and doula managed to get me out of the apartment but once I was on the move and gravity was playing a role, my contractions became stronger. In fact I had a wonderful, powerful contraction in the elevator surrounded by seven people but I was too zoned in to care! All of my standing contractions felt more comfortable in goddess pose. This allowed my pelvic floor to open further and unlike before where the sensations shot me upright, it felt more comfortable to move down into a squat with the pressure. It also helped me to visualize ‘breathing the baby down’.

Stand with legs 3-3/12 feet apart. Externally rotate your legs one at a time so toes point outward. Raise your arms above your head, palms facing each other. Exhale and squat down any amount, bring arms to shoulder height. Inhale, push into the heels of your feet and internally rotate your inner thighs to lift up as you raise your arms. Stay in the pose for 30 sec-1min or repeat the squats. 

5. Side lunge

This isn’t technically a yoga pose but it was practised often in pre-natal yoga class as it does open the pelvic floor. It is also a good position to go into to ‘change things up’ if you feel the contractions are not progressing. The first few will be very intense.

Once we got into the cab I could not sit down, so I put one foot on the floor and my knee on the seat and entered the side lunge position. My husband was facing me and I used him to stabilise my body weight until I could feel a little more than just the contractions!

To enter this pose stand on your knees, hips’ distance apart. If you need help with balance use a block to rest one hand on while you bring one knee forward, or place hands on your hips. Plant your foot firmly on the ground. Heel/toe the knee out to the side so your inner thigh is facing forward. Square your hips and raise your arms above your head. You can stay in a stable position or lunge out to the side and back a few times before switching legs. 

All of these poses are usually practiced in a pre-natal yoga class and are one’s that you can practise easily at home during those final weeks when it seems too hard to leave the house. In preparing for labour and delivery you are preparing for the greatest physical feat of your life so there is no better time to practice, practice, practice!