30-Minute Prenatal Yoga At Home

How To Do Extended Goddess Pose

1. Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. 
2. Kick your left leg out to the side so it forms a 90-degree angle with your torso.
3. Sit your hips back and extend your left arm straight out in front of you, fingertips reaching long.
4. Then, drive through your right knee to drive your hips up as you open to the left, shooting the left arm straight overhead. Gaze follows fingertips.

How To Do A Chair Pose Squat And Alternating Shoulder Sweep

1. Start in mountain pose, standing tall with your feet hip-distance apart or wider as needed to make room for baby.
2. Lower down into a squat position, lowering your hips down parallel with your knees. Drive your knees out toward your outer three toes. As you lower down, slide your hands down the front of your thighs until they reach your knees.
3. Drive through your heels to stand tall, squeezing your glutes. As you stand tall, perform a shoulder sweep by sweeping the right arm in a circular motion behind you, palm faces out.
4. Repeat the squat and shoulder sweep, alternating the arm that sweeps back.

How To Do Warrior II To Reverse Warrior Pose

1. Start standing in a wide stance position, feet wider than shoulders (approximately 3 feet apart). Toes facing forward.
2. Extend your arms straight out to your sides, arms parallel to shoulders. Relax your shoulders away from your ears, creating length in your neck.
3. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees, toes face the front of your mat and are in line with your right arm extended long. Heel to arch alignment (right heel in line with arch of left foot).
4. Then bend your right knee into a lunge. Right knee stacked over right ankle, right toes pointing straight ahead.
5. Take the right elbow to the right knee, wrapping the right hand around baby. Reach overhead with the left arm, gaze follows fingertips.
6. Drive through the front right heel to stand tall and reverse the movement. Lean back into the back left foot, sliding the left arm down the left leg. Send the right arm overhead, gaze follows fingertips. Maintain a soft bend in the front right leg.

How To Do A Low Lunge And Hamstring Stretch

1. Start in a table top position (quadruped) on all fours; shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees. Option to place your hands on a yoga block in front of you for additional support.
2. Then step your left foot outside your left hand. Exhale as you drop your right hip towards the ground for a hip stretch.
3. Hold this position or start to slowly shift your hips forward to increase the hip flexor stretch.
4. Then slowly shift your hips back, straightening through your front left leg; stretching the hamstring of the front left leg.

How To Do A Supported Wide Squat Hold

1. Start standing in a wide stance position, feet wider than shoulders, toes facing forward. Place a yoga block directly under your butt.
2. Sit down onto the yoga block as you find a supported wide leg squat, resting your sit bones on the yoga block. Elbows fall between your inner thighs.
3. Roll the shoulders down and back as you hold this position, relaxing the pelvic floor as you inhale and exhale.
4. Option to send the hands behind your back and perform a seated chest expansion to intensify the stretch.

How To Do A Supported Figure-4 Stretch

1. Start in a seated position on your yoga block, feet planted under knees, spine tall and straight.
2. Pick up your right leg and cross your right ankle over your left knee (think of performing a seated figure-4 stretch).
3. Breathe, rolling your shoulders back and keeping your posture open.

Note: Normally when doing this type of stretch, we would fold forward over the bent knee (pigeon pose). This type of compression can actually make sciatic pain worse. Think “extension, not compression” when doing this stretch.