Prenatal Yoga Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The following FAQs were answered by Jeanna Lurie.

1. What is the recommend time to take the class, 1st 2nd or 3rd trimester?

2. Should someone who is not pregnant yet consider attending?

3. Can I skip the lecture part and just attend the yoga?

4. Will there be a follow on "yoga only" class in the future?

1. What is the recommend time to take the class, 1st 2nd or 3rd trimester?

It is recommended to start pre-natal yoga as soon as possible. For some, this will be right when they find out. For others, they may need to wait until they are past morning sickness, especially if they are feeling it severly and all the time. It really depends on how the individual feels.

2. Should someone who is not pregnant yet consider attending?

I would welcome a woman trying to conceive into the class.

3. Can I skip the lecture part and just attend the yoga?

Let me clarify that it is discussion, not lecture. The sharing is just as important, if not moreso than the yoga itself. It allows time for clearing the mind to prepare for the yoga. It gives the mother a chance to be pregnant and nothing else. It fosters relationships with other mothers-to-be, which is a crucial part of "survival" in the first year of motherhood. The discussion ties into the yoga that we do in the second part of class, so mothers may feel like they are "missing something" if they skip the discussion. Mothers who have taken this kind of yoga report that this was the most enjoyable/beneficial element of the class. I let the moms lead the discussion and if they are more interested in getting to the yoga more quickly, then that is what we do. Likewise, if they are needing to get things off their chest, we may have a little bit longer discussion. Moms always have the option of passing if they'd rather not comment on the topic. All of that said, if a mom really does not find the discussion helpful, I have no control over whether she chooses to come to class later just for the yoga.

4. Will there be a follow on "yoga only" class in the future?

Are you asking if we will offer a class w/o discussion in the future? Anything is a possibility, but because I see this style of yoga as a unit, I would prefer not to. I myself took pre-natal yoga that was just yoga poses for pregnant women. It did not prepare me for labor or motherhood the way Whole Birth yoga does. I have been able to apply the class as a whole to my life as a mother now and I know it will benefit me greatly when I decide to have another baby.

These is also the Mom & Baby Yoga class to help you keep your yoga practice going.

To the recommended Birthing and Parenting books page.

To the Prenatal Yoga page.

To the Mom and Baby Yoga FAQs page.

To the Hatha Yoga FAQs page.

To the Shanti Yoga Center home page.