The best yoga poses for pregnant women to relieve common pregnancy aches and prepare for labor. This 15-Minute Pregnancy Yoga Flow combines strengthening and stretching exercises specifically designed for moms-to-be. A prenatal yoga flow that is safe for all trimesters of pregnancy, and can help move the baby into a more optimal birthing position during the third trimester.
This workout is brought to you in partnership with lululemon.
These exercises are designed to help moms strengthen the muscles they’ll rely on during labor and delivery (the lower body in particular).
Additionally, these exercises will relax the pelvic floor and open up the pelvis, which can encourage the baby to move down into a more optimal birthing position.
Staying active during pregnancy has many health benefits for both mom and baby, but practicing yoga in particular is great for expecting mothers. Benefits of prenatal yoga include: improved sleep quality, reduced stress and anxiety, increased strength and flexibility of muscles (especially those required for labor and childbirth), and decreased lower back pain, nausea and morning sickness, headaches and shortness of breath (Mayo Clinic).
What Yoga Poses Are OK For Pregnancy?
A prenatal yoga class adapts and modifies traditional yoga poses to make them safe and more comfortable for expecting moms. During pregnancy, I recommend gentle yoga poses that strengthen and stretch. That said, you know your body best. Talk to your doctor or health care provider about what forms of exercise are appropriate for you and your pregnancy.
What Yoga Poses Should Be Avoided During Pregnancy?
Pregnant women should avoid any belly-down poses, like cobra pose, as their pregnancies advance. Additionally, you may need to modify core exercises to avoid deep twists or crunching as your belly expands.
Strengthen, lengthen, stretch and tone with this guided third trimester yoga workout. This workout can help naturally boost energy levels, relieve tension and prepare the body for labor.
Flow through this pregnancy yoga routine at your own pace, breathing deeply through each exercise to relax any tight spots in your back, hips and glutes.
Add this gentle flow to your pregnancy workout plan 1-2 times a week to lengthen sore muscles and prepare for labor.
Workout Equipment:
No equipment needed.
Option to add a yoga block, stack of books, or bottom step of a stair to bring the ground closer to you.
Shop My Favorite Maternity Workout Clothes
From stretchy tanks and supportive sports bras to the internet-famous maternity workout leggings, you can find all of it (as well as a size and fit guide) in this post.
Targets: Releases tight muscles in the hips and glutes. It’s a great warm-up pose to prepare the body for more intense flows.
How To Do Table Top Hip Circles
Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees.
Sit your hips back towards your right ankle. Then swing your hips in a clockwise half circle, moving your hips from right ankle to left ankle before coming back to table top.
Then, switch directions, sitting your hips back towards your left ankle and swinging counterclockwise from left ankle to right ankle, before returning to the table top starting position.
Bear Crawl Hold
Targets: Deep transverse abdominal muscles, rectus abdomens (six-pack ab muscles), oblique muscles, shoulders, back, legs, glutes and quads.
The bear crawl exercise is one of the best exercises for maintaining core strength during pregnancy.
How To Do A Bear Crawl Hold
Start in a table top position, quadruped on all fours, shoulders stacked over wrists and hips stacked over knees.
Inhale, letting your belly expand.
Exhale, contracting the core and pulling belly button in towards your spine.
Tuck your toes under and lift your knees one inch off the mat. Hold for a three-count.
Inhale, relaxing your core and returning your knees to the mat.
Star Pose to Goddess Pose
Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, hip abductors, hip adductors, shoulders, arms and lats.
How To Do Star Pose to Goddess Pose
Start standing, arms extended overhead, pointed towards the corners of the room. Find a wide sumo squat position by stepping your feet slightly wider than your hips and turning your toes out at 45 degrees.
Maintain a flat back (think about sliding your back down a wall) as you lower into a low sumo squat, bending your knees to lower your hips and keeping your knees in line with your toes. Tuck your tailbone to keep your hips under your shoulders.
As you lower into your sumo squat, pull your elbows down towards your waist, squeezing your back muscles to bring your shoulder blades together.
Exhale, pulling thighs together and pressing arms overhead as you straighten your legs to stand tall.
Warrior II to Supported Side Angle
Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, hip adductors, hip flexors, arms and core.
How To Do Warrior II to Supported Side Angle
Start standing in a wide stance position, feet wider than shoulders (approximately 3 feet apart). Toes facing forward.
Extend your arms straight out to your sides, arms parallel to shoulders. Relax your shoulders away from your ears, creating length in your neck.
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).
Then bend your right knee into a lunge, tilting your torso towards your knee while keeping the sides of your body long. Right knee stacked over right ankle, right toes pointing straight ahead.
Take the right elbow to the right knee, wrapping the right hand around baby. Reach overhead with the left arm, gaze follows fingertips, creating length through the left side.
Supported Deep Squat/Yogi Squat
Targets: Opens up hips, groin and lower back and relaxes pelvic floor.
Note: you can use a yoga block or the bottom step of a stair to support this pose.
How To Do A Yogi Squat
Stand in front of a yoga block, bosu ball or bottom step of a staircase with your feet hip width apart or slightly wider.
Slowly lower into a deep squat, bringing your glutes to rest on your support surface. You might need to shift your feet wider outside your hips to accommodate your baby bump.
Bring your elbows inside your thighs, gently pressing your thighs apart to deepen the stretch. Keep your chest tall and open.
With each exhale, focus on relaxing all the muscles in your body, letting go of tension and dropping your pelvic floor. A great pose for deep breathing.
Wide Leg Forward Fold
Targets: The entire backside of the body from head to heels. Specifically releasing tight hamstrings and lower back muscles.
How To Do A Wide Leg Forward Fold
Stand with your feet outside of hips (wide stance) toes pointing straight ahead.
As you exhale, soften your knees and slowly fold forward from your hips, pushing your hips back towards the wall behind you and folding over your right foot until you feel a gentle stretch along the back of your legs.
Gently “walk” your finger tips down your right leg before bringing them to the ground if that’s accessible to you.
Then, walk your fingers in a half circle in front of your toes, bringing them to tap your left foot before walking up your right leg, returning to standing.
Repeat, this time starting on your left side, walking your fingers down your left leg and over to your right, before returning to standing.
Shop This Post: lululemon Favorites
lululemon makes quality apparel designed to last – through all seasons of life.
Today’s workout features some of my favorite lululemon staples I’ve worn pre-pregnancy, through pregnancy and postpartum.
Lindsey’s Outfit Details:
Align High-Rise Leggings. Wearing a size 6 for pregnancy (I typically wear a size 4 in the Align Leggings). The Align Leggings are my absolute favorite everyday-wear legging when I’m not pregnant, but they become my favorite workout leggings during pregnancy.
Ebb to Street Tank. Wearing a size 8 for pregnancy (I typically wear a size 6 in lululemon shirts and tanks when I’m not pregnant). This tank has seamless support-to-stretch balance. It has a built-in bra which I love too.
Swiftly Tech Short Sleeve Shirt. Wearing a size 6, my typical lululemon top size. This is one of my MVP lululemon items through all seasons of life. It’s supportive without being restrictive and has really good shape retention – meaning you can wear it multiple times before washing. I like to wear it tied up over the bump during the last few weeks of pregnancy.
Pin This Workout: Pregnancy Yoga Poses For The Third Trimester
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