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I haven't done yoga, but my SIL did prenatal yoga 2 years ago before she had her baby. I would probably just stick to the prenatal yoga.
@skibobrown: I do know people at my studio who continued with modified versions of their pre-pregnancy practices. For example, I think upward facing dog is a no-no and some inversions were avoided. If I were you, I'd enroll in the prenatal class and talk to the instructor about how to modify other classes. I would probably skip the heated classes, though. Oh, and be sure your prenatal instructor is well trained. Some yoga organizations will only provide a few hours of prenatal training for instructors, which, in my opinion, is not nearly adequate.
I've been practicing for 12 years now and can only recall one preganant woman in my studio classes. And and the instructor was monitoring her the entire time. In addition to no abs and no inversions, I don't think you're supposed to be on your back after a certain point and I would think that something like Wheel pose is out of the question.
Definitely do a prenatal class with a trained instructor. Your balance changes completely, your ligaments grow and change during pregnancy and you could easily pull something if you aren't careful.
I did prenatal yoga and LOVED it. It is definitely modified for pregnant woman. I would highly recommend checking it out.
I kept going to regular vinyasa yoga classes when I was in my first trimester. There were a fair number of modifications that my teachers wanted me to do - no deep twists, pranayama, or shoulder stand. Also no baby cobra, but I could do full cobra where only my hips were on the ground. At that point, I could still comfortably lie on my stomach so I wasn't worried about it. But when lying on my stomach became uncomfortable, I stopped doing locust pose and poses like it. Also, I had to be careful of poses that made me dizzy.
After a while, I personally got a little tired of not being able to follow the class, so I mostly did home practice. I switched to prenatal yoga in my second trimester, and I love it so much. It really helps with stiffness. Can't recommend it enough!
i've been practicing yoga for 7 years, and i'm a certified instructor. i know several women who practiced yoga throughout their pregnancies, and in fact my first yoga instructor was pregnant and continued teaching (and practicing) yoga until the week she gave birth. there are some things to consider, such as level and frequency of your practice (1x a week may not be frequent enough to continue at that level during pregnancy). however, you should definitely notify any yoga instructor whose class you are taking that you are pregnant. prenatal classes are also great for learning what modifications you should be making and what postures to avoid, you can then take this knowledge into other yoga classes. there are also several books, as well as on line resources, regarding practicing yoga while pregnant.
@ms. fondue: Thanks! That's very useful. I'm also a runner, but my plan is to scale back my running during pregnancy and start doing more yoga. I'll probably try to go 3x per week in place of some of my usual runs. I will certainly notify my instructor. I've been looking for prenatal yoga classes in my area, and of course it looks like most of them meet smack in the middle of the day while I'm at work. I agree that it's probably a good idea for me to go to an actual prenatal class to familiarize myself with some of the modifications. Right now I feel like I'll just have to sit out a lot of the poses b/c I don't know the appropriate modifications.
most of your standing poses, especially early in the pregnancy, will not need to be modified (warrior poses, lunge poses, chair pose will all stay the same, as you progress, you may need to modify with blocks for extended side angle, just because your center of gravity will shift). as other posters have noted, deep twists (where you cross the body) and ab work (boat pose) should not be done at any time during your pregnancy. you should also avoid jumping back (during the surya A & B sequences), and be careful with inversions -- some teachers will advise you not to do any inversions, but i think if you are comfortable and know that you can do crow or headstand without risk of falling, you are fine. also, most instructors are trained in prenatal yoga, so they should be able to help you so that you are not spending most of the class sitting out. you could also look for regular classes that are taught by instructors with prenatal teaching experience.
i was also really into hot yoga before getting pregnant, and started doing prenatal yoga in my 2nd trimester. i loved it! it made me feel so relaxed, improved my posture, eased my aches and pains, and helped me sleep better. all of the poses were geared towards stretching and relaxation and positioning the baby. i highly recommend finding a good prenatal yoga class in your area!
I don't have anything constructive to add other than that I'm going to take prenatal yoga!
I am an instructor as well and while I am not teaching while pregnant (totally unrelated) I am still taking my normal yoga classes at 32 weeks pregnant. I would advise you not to take hot yoga or be in any heated room first and foremost. I always snag a spot by the window which they let me keep open to get some air. You really, really don't want to overheat when you are prego, not good for you or baby. Take breaks and drink lots of water during your practice too. Most of the do-nots have been covered: inversions, deep twists, ab work, jumping back into chatarunga, deep backbends (though some are ok and feel great!) and pretty much anything on your stomach but here are some ideas for what to do when everyone else is doing those things:
1) During ab work I stand up and do squats to strengthen my legs.
2) During inversions, use a bolster/blankets and blocks under your spine (so you aren't flat on your back) and put your legs up the wall. You want your body to look like a V. You get the benefits of going upside down without flipping over.
3) With twists, you can often open yourself up the opposite direction to keep the twist more open and focused on your spine rather than your pelvis (like in twisting triangle, if everyone is opening to the right, you do a baby twist to the left instead).
4) Instead of upward dog and cobra I just lower in a push up/chatarunga until just before the belly touches (knees on the floor at this point) and come back up and then back to downward dog. Works the arms and abs safely. If you really need the backbend that you can get in cobra, come up to your knees and gently do the same motion you would if you were on the floor being really careful not to bend too far back. Kinda like a mime, just pretend the floor is in front of you and act accordingly.
Also, really listen to your body, you will know what still feels good and appropriate for you and what is too much. Any good instructor will know quick modifications that you can make to still have a great class and reap all the benefits. Also, you have to be able to not worry about what anyone else might be thinking (ie - why is that chick doing squats when I am doing all this ab work) and just make your practice yours. That's part of yoga and I'm not going to lie, it can be the biggest challenge when you feel all big and pregnant and you can't do all the things you used to do so easily. Gotta love the human ego.
And I feel you on prenatal all being during the day, in my area the only class that I can fit in is Saturdays at noon (not so easy with summer weddings, etc) so it was really important to me to be able to maintain my regular practice as much as possible.
Feel free to PM me if you have questions about specific poses and other ways to modify your practice!
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Before I got pregnant I did heated vinyasa power yoga at least once a week. (It's a heated class, but not as hot as Bikram, and I've definitely seen pregnant who still practice regularly at the studio.) I haven't been to a class since my positive pregnancy test, but I'd like to return. However, I've read that there are yoga poses that you shouldn't do during pregnancy like deep twists and ab work. I'm worried that a lot of the poses we do in class seem to fall into those categories. Does anyone have some good guidelines on which poses not to do during pregnancy? ...or should I just switch to a yoga class that is a designated prenatal class to ease my worries?