Prenatal yoga poses: what changes in each trimester

Check with your OB or midwife before you start. What follows is general guidance that is widely shared for uncomplicated pregnancies, and your OB or midwife may advise differently for yours.

Pregnancy is not one thing for nine months, so the poses are not either. The same shape can feel easy in week ten and awkward in week thirty. Think of the lists below as a starting point that you adjust with your OB or midwife, and with how you feel on the day. In yoga through your pregnancy with me, these lists are where we start, and we adjust from there.

Across every trimester

A few things hold true the whole way through:

• Give the belly room. Widen the feet and knees in standing poses, kneeling poses and folds.
• Stretch to a mild point. Ligaments loosen in pregnancy, so it is easy to go further than is good for you.
• Keep the breath easy. You should be able to talk. No breath holding and no forceful breathing.
• Keep it cool. Hot rooms and hot yoga are generally advised against.
• Keep support close. A wall or chair for balance, blocks under the hands, a bolster to rest on.

First trimester

Many people feel tired and queasy in these weeks, so the practice is usually short and slow. Poses that are commonly offered:

• Cat-Cow on hands and knees, with a gentle Cow and more time in the rounding.
• A wide-kneed Child’s Pose with the head resting on a block.
• A cross-legged seat on a cushion, such as Easy Pose, for breathing.
• Standing tall in Mountain Pose with the feet wider apart.

What is commonly avoided from early on: lying on your belly, deep backbends, deep or closed twists that squeeze across the abdomen, strong core work, breath retention and hot rooms. If you are new to yoga, inversions such as Headstand are not something to learn now.

Second trimester

Energy often returns, and many people enjoy a little more standing work here. Commonly adapted choices:

• Standing poses such as Warrior poses and Triangle Pose with a shorter or wider stance, a block or chair under the hand, and a wall behind you.
• Tree Pose next to a wall, with the foot low on the calf.
• A supported Butterfly Pose with blocks under the knees and the spine upright.
• A supported squat in Garland Pose, sitting on a block or two.

From around now, lying flat on your back for long is usually avoided. Recline on a bolster propped on blocks, or rest on your left side. Twists stay gentle and open, turning from the upper back and away from the front leg, never into it.

Third trimester

The belly is bigger, balance shifts and rest matters more. The practice tends to become wider, lower and more supported:

• Cat-Cow and a wide-kneed Child’s Pose, with extra height under the head.
• A supported Butterfly or Reclined Butterfly on a high incline.
• Seated breathing on a cushion or with your back against a wall.
• Final rest on your left side, as in the pregnancy version of the final rest, savasana, with a pillow between the knees.

Some people are advised to avoid deep squats later in pregnancy, so ask before you keep Garland Pose in. Standing poses get shorter holds, or move to a chair.

Stop and call your OB or midwife if

Stop straight away and contact your OB or midwife if you notice any of these:

• Bleeding from the vagina
• Fluid leaking from the vagina
• Dizziness or feeling faint
• Chest pain
• Pain or swelling in one calf
• Regular, painful contractions
• Your baby moving less than usual

If something feels severe or you cannot reach them, call emergency services or go to the nearest hospital. You never need a better reason to stop than “this does not feel right”.

How this looks in a private lesson

I am certified in prenatal and postnatal (postpartum) yoga through Doula School International. I am not a medical professional, so we start with what your OB or midwife has said and work inside it. In a private prenatal yoga lesson, the poses are chosen for your trimester and for how you feel that day, and anything that does not suit you is changed or left out.