Lini (not her real name) is a big fan of pregnancy yoga. She says it prepares the mind and body for labour, and helps relieve aches and pains during all stages of pregnancy. It is also a great way to make friends and meet other pregnant women.
When she was expecting her first child, she joined a class where everyone else was at least 25 weeks pregnant. At only six weeks, she felt a little out of place, but the teachers were great and showed her how to adjust her poses as she got bigger.
She learnt to slow down, breathe deeply, and prepare her body for birth, in addition to receiving terrific advice on how to get through labour. She had lots of time to practise self-care by taking long, relaxing baths with a few drops of lavender oil. In short, she simply enjoyed her pregnancy.
Being pregnant while living in the city can be a nightmare if one has to use the crowded public transport system. But for Lini, it was also a blessing as there was a wide range of classes and birth-preparation workshops available.
For instance, she tried pregnancy pilates as it was close to her workplace and she could go during lunchtime, though she didn’t feel she got as much out of it as she did with pregnancy yoga. She even dragged her husband along to two birth-prep yoga courses, which he found really useful.
Lini’s second pregnancy, however, was completely different. She was back at work four days a week and had a toddler to look after, so she didn’t have much time for yoga at all. She felt perpetually exhausted.
She couldn’t go to any of the evening classes as her husband worked late. On weekends, she was completely wiped out from the week and just wanted to lie on the couch and eat chocolate.
During this time, she only went to three pregnancy yoga classes, though she did practise whatever she had learnt before and could still recall.
There were easy poses she enjoyed, such as the Triangle Pose to lengthen the side of her ribcage which could get compressed when the baby grows; sitting in the Hero Pose; and doing some gentle shoulder stretches, and forward bends and twists while sitting in the Janu Sirsasana pose.
She felt confident as she knew what to expect during pregnancy and what she had to do to feel better. Both labours were relatively quick – the first about five hours and the second, two hours – and she was quite calm thanks to what she had learnt in the classes and workshops.
While the births were obviously painful, Lini got through it by trusting her own body, breathing properly, and knowing what positions could be useful.
From her husband’s point of view, the knowledge gained through the yoga workshops was very practical. This included what men should expect during labour, and how they can help by giving massages and providing emotional support.
Lini says he was actually “pretty amazing” during her childbirths, especially the second one. He likely benefited from pregnancy yoga as much as she did, as he’d felt prepared and confident knowing she was ready, too.
The only thing yoga classes didn’t teach him was how to dress a baby, which left him quite flummoxed the first time he tried to put diapers on his new baby girl!
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