Five Tips for Teaching Pregnant Yoga Students

Five Tips for Teaching Pregnant Yoga Students

tips for teaching pregnant Yoga studentsBy Sangeetha Saran

Where can instructors find tips for teaching pregnant Yoga students find tips for a safe practice? Pregnant students require a specialist who has completed a prenatal Yoga teacher training course. Prenatal teachers keep a keen eye not only on the student herself but also on the child she is carrying. While most students require variations or adjustments to typical poses, pregnancy carries with it a unique challenge. Then, for teachers, their priority is ensuring the health and safety of both mother and child.

 

Understanding Limitations

As with any other Yoga student, comfort, flexibility, past injuries or limitations help instructors find variations for students during pregnancy. The added concerns with pregnant students include relieving any physical discomfort or emotional strain that a regular Yoga practice provides.

Guidelines

Here are some pointers for guiding pregnant students in your classes. For one thing, it’s important that a student have medical permission before participating in prenatal Yoga. This is not a light matter since the physician knows the exact circumstances of the case. To that end, nothing should be taken for granted. As a result, the following tips are useful for teachers and pregnant students.

 

Pressure

Stay away from poses that place pressure on the abdomen. Don’t allow a pregnant student to try a pose that twists the abdomen. It’s safe to twist shoulders and the upper back, but ask them to refrain from twisting anything at the core. This ensures the safety of both mother and child.

Limitations

This can be an example of Yoga’s ability to accept the body as it is without judgment and the idea of impermanence. A woman who is carrying a child is in a temporary state where there is a limitation on her physical body that will later bring the miracle of life. Accepting temporary limitations and the uniqueness of a student’s body is a challenge for the student and one that can be used as a learning experience.

 

Leg Health

Sometimes, the legs are fatigued by weight. As teachers, we aid students in developing their legs. In the first few months of pregnancy, practicing poses that develop leg muscles will help. Later on as the child grows larger and pressure increases, bicycle movements help with leg circulation.

Mental and Emotional Health

Emphasize the mind. Prenatal classes are one of the best times to stress the mental and emotional aspects of Yoga. As the mother struggles through hormonal changes, meditation practice helps relieve the emotional fatigue that accompanies pregnancy. Yoga’s ability to lower blood pressure, heart rates, and breathing rates help. Mothers who are at risk for complications due to elevated blood pressure need calming techniques.

 

About Relaxation

Teach muscle relaxation. Along with letting go with pranayama exercises, a Yoga class is a wonderful time to teach pregnant students the importance of letting go of tight, clenched, or knotted muscles. Muscle relaxation techniques will also be helpful to the student during delivery.

Comfort

Even students who have never practiced Yoga before will find the focus on breathing to be a great comfort. To experienced Yoga practitioners, breathing (pranayama) both during pregnancy and during delivery is familiar. Indeed many Lamaze practitioners are delighted to learn that the unusual breathing patterns are familiar in many Yoga classes.

 

Comfort

Prenatal yoga training brings additional considerations for instructors to ensure the comfort and safety of both mother and child. Additionally, regular practice is also a place for pregnant students to integrate a relaxing and spiritual practice. As a matter of fact, this gives mothers-to-be methods that help with delivery and relief of pregnancy symptoms.

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3 thoughts on “Five Tips for Teaching Pregnant Yoga Students”

  1. Prenatal yoga training brings additional considerations for instructors to ensure the comfort and safety of both mother and child. Thanks for sharing this informative article!

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