Pregnant students do not always want to leave their regular yoga class.
They may love their teacher, value their existing community, or simply have no specialist pregnancy yoga class available locally. For yoga teachers, this raises an important question: how can we safely support pregnant students within an open class without becoming a pregnancy yoga specialist?
In this workshop with pregnancy yoga teacher trainer, doula and pelvic health specialist Nadia Raafat, we explored the practical foundations every yoga teacher should understand.
Start With a Pregnancy Specific Health Form
Even if you have taught a student for years, pregnancy changes what you need to know.
A pregnancy health form can include previous injuries, medication, previous pregnancy loss, current symptoms and relevant medical history.
Old injuries are particularly important. During pregnancy, hormonal changes increase the pliability of connective tissue and can reduce structural stability. An injury that appeared fully resolved years ago may become relevant again.
This information should also be revisited as the pregnancy progresses. What was appropriate during the first trimester may change considerably by the second or third.
Discuss Your Yoga Sequence Before Class
One of the simplest ways to support a pregnant student is to briefly talk through your lesson plan before class.
If you are teaching sun salutations, strong backbends, twists or other movements requiring modification, explain the alternatives beforehand.
This allows the student to move through class more confidently without constantly stopping for separate instructions.
It also creates a natural opportunity to check how they are feeling that day.
Pregnancy changes week by week. A modification that felt comfortable last Tuesday may not feel appropriate today.
Encourage Students to Slow Down
Pregnancy is not the time to chase the edges of a yoga posture.
Even experienced practitioners may need reminders to slow transitions, take breaks and allow their practice to change.
During pregnancy, hormones including oestrogen, progesterone and relaxin contribute to increased tissue pliability. Students who are naturally hypermobile may feel able to stretch further than ever.
That does not necessarily mean they should.
The focus can begin to shift from flexibility towards stability, control and support.
Slow transitions are particularly useful. Moving carefully from standing to the floor, or from one posture into another, reduces unnecessary strain on an already changing structure.
Keep Pregnant Students Where You Can See Them
Where possible, invite pregnant students to practise near the front of the class.
This allows you to maintain visual communication without constantly interrupting the wider group.
This can be particularly helpful during early pregnancy when a student may not yet want other people in class to know they are pregnant.
A glance or gesture can quietly remind them to take the alternative you discussed before class.
Understand Dizziness During Pregnancy
Dizziness and low blood pressure are common during pregnancy.
Hormonal changes can affect the muscular walls of blood vessels and alter circulation. Fast transitions between different planes can therefore become uncomfortable.
Yoga classes often contain exactly these movements.
Forward fold. Rise to standing. Move to the floor. Return to standing.
Rather than asking a pregnant student to keep pace with the rest of the group, build in resting points.
A halfway position with the head above the heart can give the circulatory system more time to adjust before completing the transition.
Students may also need permission to stop rigidly synchronising every movement with the breath.
The aim is smooth, comfortable breathing rather than struggling to maintain a particular breathing pattern.
Be Alert to Pelvic Girdle Pain
Pelvic girdle pain, commonly shortened to PGP, can occur anywhere around the pelvic region and is associated with structural instability.
Pain may appear around the pubic symphysis, groin, sacroiliac joints or surrounding areas.
A student might notice discomfort during weight bearing movements, lunges, warrior poses, changing position or even rolling over.
Importantly, symptoms may not appear during the yoga class itself.
Sometimes the student feels wonderful immediately afterwards and experiences significant pain the following day.
This is one reason post class follow up matters.
PGP should be taken seriously. A student experiencing symptoms may require assessment by a physiotherapist and may no longer be suited to a general group class without significant adaptation.
Check In After Class
A short conversation after class can tell you a great deal.
Ask how the practice felt. Ask whether anything felt uncomfortable or unusual.
Better still, check in again the following day.
Pregnancy related discomfort can sometimes emerge several hours later, particularly where structural instability is involved.
That information helps you decide what should change next time.
Know When a General Yoga Class Is No Longer Appropriate
Supporting pregnant students does not mean trying to accommodate every situation.
Sometimes the appropriate response is referral.
If a student develops significant pelvic girdle pain, medical complications or other concerns outside your knowledge and scope, specialist pregnancy yoga, physiotherapy or individual support may become more appropriate.
The aim is not to prove that every pregnant student can remain in every class.
The aim is to have enough knowledge to make thoughtful decisions.
Pregnancy Yoga and General Yoga Serve Different Purposes
A specialist pregnancy yoga class offers something a regular class cannot completely replicate.
Alongside movement, pregnancy yoga may include preparation for birth, specific breathing practices, education, emotional support and connection with other pregnant women.
But this does not mean pregnant students must immediately leave the teacher and community they already value.
With appropriate knowledge, communication and modifications, many students can continue safely in their regular yoga class while pregnancy progresses.
Supporting them well begins with understanding that pregnancy is not simply a matter of changing a few poses.
It is about seeing the whole student, understanding the physiological changes taking place and adapting the practice accordingly.
Find out more about Nadia’s work and her pregnancy and prenatal teacher trainings: https://nadiaraafat.com/
RELATED: Pre and Postnatal Yoga Explained: Teaching Tips, Common Questions, and Yoga for Pregnancy
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