Postnatal Yoga and

Mom&Baby Yoga

Yoga and motherhood is a union of body, spirit and mind.  It provides you an opportunity to deepen your sense of being.  Even if you have not discovered yoga during your pregnancy, the postnatal period is a wonderful time to start practicing yoga as you adjust to the many physical and emotional changes going on in your life.  After giving birth, yoga can be used as a way to nurture and energize you at this time when you are giving so much of yourself to your new baby.

After the body has opened through birthing, postnatal yoga works on encouraging the body to close and come together while building core strength and maintaining flexibility.  In Postnatal or Mom and Baby classes, we will learn how yoga can help us ease achy and sore muscles by working deeply to open, align and lengthen critical areas like the spine, chest and shoulders. This becomes increasingly important as nursing starts, the baby grows, after hours of holding a baby and as we lift and carry our babies.  Postnatal yoga also focus on various pelvic floor exercises to help our bodies return to a healthy, strong and supple state.

The Poses or Asanas taught in class help relieve tension in various body areas, gradually strengthen core abdominal muscles which have been stressed from pregnancy without overstraining our lower back and  minimize the fatigue so common in caring for a new baby.

We explore how breath awareness and meditation can enhance this magical first year of our baby’s life. Babies are very attuned to their mother’s breathing patterns and practicing deep breathing, meditation and relaxation can be calming and healing for both of you. Helping your baby learn how to be calm through the use of the breath is a great gift. Your baby will benefit from this gift throughout their lives.

Yoga is a wonderful way to rediscover your body while bonding with your baby.   Many of the postnatal yoga poses can be done while holding your baby, even using the baby as a weight, or to help ground the mother. Sometimes your baby simply lies on your abdomen or by your side on a blanket.  Most post natal classes also teach new mothers how to facilitate positive infant development through movement and massage.  Postnatal yoga classes have an added benefit of allowing babies to see one another on a regular basis thus increasing their socialization in a calm setting.

Postnatal or Mom and Baby Yoga classes are for babies up to one year of age. It is a good idea to wait until after you have had your first postnatal check-up before joining a postnatal yoga class.  If you have had a caesarean delivery it is best to wait 8 – 10 weeks. Throughout class, mothers may stop to feed or tend to their babies when needed.  The structure of a postnatal yoga class often varies from week to week to meet the needs of the mothers and babies, but class usually ends with a relaxation time for mother and baby together.

Besides the benefits of yoga, the class creates a  sense of community and a support  for new mothers through sharing ideas, experiences and resources. 

Yoga is a gift for you and will help you become more connected to your inner self. Yoga teaches you acceptance, How to let go of expectations and how to be calm and present with your baby.  Finally, yoga will nourish you, the mother, who nourishes so many others.