I am on my second child now and long story short, it is very different this time! Lots of sickness and total lack of stability in my hips. I stopped doing on the belly stuff pretty quickly, but not sure if you need to. I was told by a doctor that you don’t want to lie on your back, but that on your belly was fine as long as you were comfortable (and that is pretty variable for all of us!). I do wish there was more ‘research’ in this though… my western data driven mind wants to know the ‘right’ answer for these questions!

wendy

I’m 2 months pregnant and doing Ashtanga. In my first pregnancy I gave up all exercise and felt very ill throughout. Constant nausea and sickness right to the end combined with lack of activity meant I gained half my body weight again. I also had a relative murdered in this time and I think i wasn’t totally with t mentally. My labour was relatively ok as I have practised martial arts for years and i found pushing baby out very easy. The labour was very painful though. I felt exhausted afterwards and so annoyed at being so incapacitated by my weight. I used to be such a fit person. Anyway, I misscarried last year (I wasn’t doing yoga at the time) and decided afterwards that I need to be as healthy as possible. So I have practised Ashtanga regularly since then (I have done it on and off for 5 years, also with Hatha for the previous 5). I lost most of the excess weight from pregnancy 1 and am relatively fit right now. The nausea has started a bit but I feel great after yoga. For the first month I didn’t know I was pregnant anyway and I find I am so much more balanced after practise. I haven’t discussed it with the teacher yet - I will do, but I feel that I want to stay fitter this time as a newborn and a toddler will require a fit mum. I think baby likes me practising and I am listening to my body all the time. Thanks for you inspiration. Could you tell me when (if ever) you stopped lying on your belly in any pose?
I find backbends so wonderful for my breathing, like I’m releasing all this pent up anger and frustration. The first time my nausea was so bad i would have done anything to relieve it. if Ashtanga does that then I’m gonna keep going

Sorry I just saw your comment! Yes, you are correct, I was a little younger when having August - 31 years old. I am sure it does matter. I definitely practiced navasana and would say of all postures, that probably (for me) was one of the better when preparing for childbirth. I did practice mula and uddiyana bandha as much as I possibly could (that is the Ashtanga style uddiyana, not Iyengar style!), that in my humble opinion when one needs to train when preparing for the marathon of child delivery! Why I say navasana is so important is that for me it is one of those postures where the banhas really have to be engaged. I also found shoulderstand a posture that really kept my bandhas honest! I hope this helps!

wendy

so how is it going? how are you feeling now? what did you choose to practice and not? i would love to hear your story if you are willing to share it with us!

I am so glad you are getting value out of the article. I appreciate your also sharing your own experiences with the practice - as we all know, it is different for everyone! Share this with whomever you choose. If you have any questions just let me know. Thank you all for your comments!

Namaste!
wendy