Prenatal yoga at home, adapted to each trimester

Check with your OB or midwife before you start. Prenatal yoga is only for pregnancies that have been cleared for exercise, and your OB or midwife knows your pregnancy in a way I never will.

I am certified in prenatal and postnatal (postpartum) yoga through Doula School International, and 200-hour trained at House of Om, Bali.

What a prenatal lesson includes

A private lesson is 90 minutes, at your home or condo. We begin with how you are feeling this week: sleep, energy, anything new your OB or midwife has mentioned. That decides the lesson. Then we work through breathing, gentle movement, supported postures and rest, with bolsters, blankets and blocks to take weight wherever you need it.

Every private lesson ends with savasana, a mini massage for the neck and shoulders, and sound healing to close. In pregnancy, savasana is taken on your side, propped with pillows.

Lessons change with each trimester

Pregnancy is not one thing for nine months, so the lesson is not either.

• First trimester. Lessons stay gentle and short on effort: breath, easy movement and plenty of rest.
• Second trimester. Many people have more energy here. We may do a little more standing work, always with a wall or chair close by, and we avoid lying flat on your back for long.
• Third trimester. More room for the belly, more props, more rest. We keep shapes wide and supported and change anything that feels heavy or awkward.

Throughout, we leave out deep closed twists, strong work on the abdomen and anything that makes you hold your breath. If a shape is not right for you that day, we change it or skip it.

Who it suits

Prenatal lessons suit pregnant women who want to keep moving in a calm, private setting. They sit well beside walking or swimming, as the guide to safe exercise during pregnancy explains.

I make no promises about labour, birth or recovery. What a lesson offers is time set aside for your body, with a teacher paying attention only to you.

How booking works

Message me on Viber with how many weeks along you are, where you are in Metro Manila, and what your OB or midwife has said. We agree a time. After the birth, and once you are cleared again, postpartum lessons at home pick up where these lessons leave off.

I come to you in every area I teach in, so you never have to travel to a class while pregnant. That might be a condo in McKinley Hill or a home near Ortigas Center: the pages on private yoga in McKinley Hill and private yoga in Ortigas Center say more about each. Before you message, see what a private lesson costs and what the 90 minutes include.