Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment
I know this is a wonderful moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Many women decide to start Yoga when they are pregnant. In general it is not recommended to start a new exercise regime during pregnancy, since being pregnant is already a form of light aerobics, your heart having to work extra to pump the increased amount of blood through the body and to physically carry your growing baby. Yoga for pregnancy is an exception. It is important here to differentiate between the more vigorous forms of Yoga and a programme specifically designed to help you in your pregnancy. The former would not be suitable; it is the latter I am referring to.

In Yoga for pregnancy classes

We practice body awareness. With gentle stretching you build on your existing strength. You are able to decide for yourself how far to stretch and which positions are comfortable for you, which are not. This already is preparation for labour, where your body will tell you what to do. The more you learn to listen to your body now, the more you can be in tune with yourself during birth. This does not mean that there is one right way of having your baby. Every birth is different! However your approach and your attitude have an important part to play in making this birth into a fulfilling and empowering experience.

We practice breathing. This is often taken for granted in our culture, but it takes quite a bit of listening to first identify and then try influence your breathing. Focus on the breath during labour is for many women the best way to cope. Breathing is linked to feeling, the calmer the breathing the calmer your mind and this helps you to surrender to the birth process.

We practice relaxation. This is a skill everybody needs in stressful times and having a baby is wonderful but like all big life events it can be a bit stressful. The good thing is that like body awareness and breathing, relaxation can be learned.

We talk and the group enables pooling of information and mutual support. We talk about pain relief, about worries and about hopes.

Many women who have practiced Yoga during pregnancy have found that it enables them to approach birth with calmness and to experience it as a most profound, life-changing event, in tune with themselves and with the wheel of life.