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Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ? Moderators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]	View previous thread :: View next thread
Yoga -> Yoga Teachers	Message format

Lanabean

Posted 2010-05-15 5:45 PM (#122901)
Subject: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Hello all! I am RYT 500, been teaching almost 2 years. I had a m/c in the winter, of course had nothing to do with yoga. So this time, I am 7 weeks and everything looks great. I'm still nervous, however! Ok, so to the question. I know what to tell my students to do and not to do as far as prenatal yoga. But my students do not yet know I'M pregnant, and even though I don't rely on demoing to teach my classes, there are certain poses I like to show them (such as arm balances, certain binds that don't involve cross-body twisting). But now, I'm worried that I'm doing too much. I'm strong, I feel great, I drink water during class, and my body is just used to it. But I suppose since I m/carried before, I'm worried. How much is too much for an experienced yogini? I'm not inverting, I'm not in extreme heat. I'm still doing my As and Bs and some crane, side crane. Not holding things for very long, but people close to me (not yogis) have me scared I could be doing damage. Any advice??? Maybe once I tell them I'm pregnant I won't feel the "pressure" to show certain things. I'm also taking it easy in my personal practice, so lately the classes I teach are the only times I'm actually doing more intense things

Edited by Lanabean 2010-05-15 5:48 PM

Posted 2010-05-15 8:46 PM (#122911 - in reply to #122901)
Subject: Re: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Hello Lana,

This post of yours is a very full, potent, powerful question. While I do not advise students I do share with them a yoga perspective and I'll try to do that here with your inquiries.

"How much is too much" has almost nothing to do with the experience or lack thereof of the practitioner. The fact that you may be very capable of balancing on your nostrils is totally irrelevant.

The nature or essence of pregnancy is yin not yang. It is a calming, nurturing time for the mother to attend to and nourish the energies of creation growing within her. The energetics are more efficacious when the life the mother leads is aligned with those principles. That includes rest, nutrition, thoughts, and feelings.

This comes to bear on your inquiry in two way; maintaining a calm mind devoid of concern, worry, or dwelling AND amending your living so that it fits in with what is best for the child rather than what feels good to you. In Yoga we cannot merely go by or rely upon what feels good as a determinant for what IS good (some things taste good but are not at all good for us). These can be very difficult shifts to manage for people of certain constitutions.

In addition I sense a deeper question here about what a teacher tells students and what they themselves do. And that is a matter of integrity in teaching which leads to an inner harmony and well being. When we, as teachers, guide students, it must be in a way that we too are living. When we are doing something externally that does not align with ourselves internally we create disharmony and conflict through all five layers of our existence.

If, as you say, you know what to tell students to DO and what to AVOID when pregnant - no closed twists, no jumping, no fiery practice, no open-pelvis poses in the first two trimesters, no weight on the abdomen, no rolling to the right, etcetera - then I believe it is imperative for you to be following along.

There are some teachers and students alike that do not follow these things and some of those people have perfectly fine pregnancies. I bring this up because without a doubt someone will weigh in that she did a rigorous ashtanga practice throughout her pregnancy (despite Sri Pattabhi Jois' advising against it) and everything was fine.

However there is a methodology to erring on the side of caution, to setting aside what may be Mommy's preference or taste in light of what is safest/best for a developing fetus. It is not about having no life as some activity in certain ways at certain times is very beneficial. It is about living for two, not one.

This is a most amazing time in your life and it should be a joyful time, a time of reflection and self-study, a time of union between you and your child.

Edited by purnayoga 2010-05-15 8:52 PM

vibes

Posted 2010-05-16 6:58 AM (#122912 - in reply to #122911)
Subject: Re: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Extreme Veteran

Posts: 574
500

Firstly congratulations!

Secondly dont worry yourself. The best yoga teachers I have been to (been to so many from different schools, over the last 20 years), never demonstrated. They just used their language skillfully to guide through postures,sequences,pranayama,savana. Teaching and doing for yourself are different. Often people who are considered good teachers are just ex-dancers who have good flexibility required for certain postures and look good in them.But they dont know how to help a student learn how to learn for themselves. Such teachers often push students to try harder complicating rather than simplyfying postures (whether considered basic or advanced). In this way you will learn yourself as a teacher while being more observant of your students, while having more peace of mind regarding your special baby. Try and encourage your students to think while listening (to you and their own inner dilogue), while listening and thinking-something you dont develop through just copying a teacher.This will set them up on a good path too!

thirdly you can use your students as examples to anyone who still doesnt understand listening to you and show different examples and make it more interesting.

fourthly just relax and have fun with them. It is proven that we learn faster when having fun.

tourist

Posted 2010-05-16 10:34 AM (#122919 - in reply to #122912)
Subject: Re: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Expert Yogi

Posts: 8442
5000

Congratulations.

You have had some good answers here but I will add a couple of things. One is that inversions are actually recommended during pregnancy if you can do them without strain and if you have good, solid guidance from a teacher who knows and follows you closely.

However, if you had a recent miscarriage, you really should be doing almost nothing at 7 weeks, Crow? Absolutely not. Fully supported supta baddhakonasana, probably. As you said, you know what to advise your students - you should be your own best student and take your own best teacher's advice to heart.

Learn how to use your students to demo. No need to go into details and spill your life over into class. The most you might need to say is something to the effect of "I have some issues with my body right now - could Martha demo this for me?" Or guide the whole class into the pose and have a couple of students stay in the pose and teach from what you see. Iyengar teachers do this all the time. You can prearrange which students demo for you if you like.

There is a great big Iyengar book out about pregnancy and yoga. I just brought a copy home yesterday, but it is still in my car. I will try to have a look at it and let you know what it is like asap.

Lanabean

Posted 2010-05-16 7:52 PM (#122923 - in reply to #122901)
Subject: RE: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

First off, thank you all so much for your feedback. You raise good points--I know what I tell them to do; I should do the same. I suppose though, since I do know myself and in some cases when a new studenst (pregnant, say) comes to my class and I don't know her or her practice, I know what to tell her to do to be safe. It's a good idea to use my students to demo; that is something I will definitely start doing even if I choose to wait several more weeks before telling them I'm pregnant. And yes, I will stop doing crane in class.

I probably did it twice this week, held for less than 6 seconds. So, hopefully, I haven't caused any damage. My m/c was in November. I teach full time, about 10 classes a week, so I need to find my perfect balance. And I must add, that I always remind students I often do not demo so that they can ENJOY their practice and not rely on me as a guide, but rather let my voice and assists take them where they need to go. I suppose my need (silly, I guess) to demo more challenging poses like crane comes in because sometimes I just feel they would need to see me and that I'm ok and safe in the pose before they try.

Edited by Lanabean 2010-05-16 8:06 PM

tourist

Posted 2010-05-17 9:57 AM (#122961 - in reply to #122923)
Subject: RE: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Expert Yogi

Posts: 8442
5000

http://www.amazon.com/Iyengar-Yoga-Motherhood-Practice-Expectant/dp/1402726899

I have had a brief look at this and it is VERY thorough. I don't understand it all - trikoonasana is allowed in the first trimester but virabhadrasana II isn't - but the prop setup photos are really, really good.

brayanSg

Posted 2010-05-17 11:19 AM (#122965 - in reply to #122901)
Subject: RE: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Veteran

Posts: 109
100

Location: Singapore

Namaste, I am not an expert yoga teacher. However, I have had the opportunity to learn with some of the best yoga teachers in this world and they dont demonstrate during the class.
So I don’t think a teacher needs to be worry for not demonstrating the postures in front of students. Your verbal skilful guidance is enough for them to go through the class. I have also seen some yoga teacher use one of their students to demo poses in the class. I wish you enjoy the most amazing time in your life with fun.

Posted 2010-05-17 12:52 PM (#122971 - in reply to #122901)
Subject: Re: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

Tourist says:
I don't understand it all - trikoonasana is allowed in the first trimester but virabhadrasana II isn't...

Trikonasana facilitates containment which is appropriate in the first trimester. Vira II facilitates opening which is appropriate in the third trimester in preparation for birth.

Posted 2010-05-20 11:09 PM (#123040 - in reply to #122901)
Subject: Re: Namaste! Newly pregnant yoga teacher with a ?

foremost, in principle, i completely agree with the others. you need to listen to your body, and in so doing, do only what you need to do. the others hvae also given great techniques to help facilitate your teaching while allowing you to forgo certain postures.

but secondarily, i will talk about myself.

i miscarried at 5-6 weeks with my first pregnancy. i didn't know i was pregnant until i was miscarrying. it was a heck of a miscarriage. 50% of first time pregnancies miscarry, so i do not assume that it had anything to do with me, what i did or did not do. simply, it is just a common thing that happens.

at the time, i practiced and taught a vigorous, heated vinyasa style. i would practice in heat about 4-5 times a week, and i would teach about 5 times a week in heat (sometimes more), and often assist classes as well (3-5 times a week). so, i was used to being in hot temps most of the time (about 90 degrees F).

i never considered that the heat affected the pregnancy; it was so early, that i figured that it was likely due to genetic anomoly on the part of the fetus, and was thus rejected. this is, afterall, the most common cause of miscarriage in general. no one's fault, really.

years later, when we decided we wanted to be pregnant, we got pregnant on the first try. at this time, i was no longer practicing in heat, yet i still practiced vigourous forms of vinyasa for the most part. i have always had a strong restorative practice (1-2 per week) while the others are all vigorous. i'm also a very active person in general. this is my way of being. LOL i also sleep like a log.

so, i became pregnant and i just followed my body. about half way through the first trimester, i was exhausted. i had no morning sickness, and i ate well, but man, did i need naps. it was crazy. i'd never felt so tired! so, my practices were very restorative during this time. i still taught, and i would still demonstrate postures like crane if i felt up to it--though i usually had a student do it. i also assisted in classes.

once i hit the second trimester, everything went back to normal. i was practicing my normal routines that i enjoy--1-2 restoratives per week, 5-6 vigorous ones. i was teaching about 5 times a week at this point, and otherwise just enjoying my pregnancy. i also got weekly prenatal massage and cranial-sacral therapy (which i highly recommend--best prep for birth ever!). i also ate well, of course.

i have photographs of me practicing headstand when i was 38 weeks pregnant. i have headstand, hand stand, fore arm balance, crow, triangle, and a variety of other postures in that roll of film. some of them, sadly, did not come out. sucks for me. i had this nice baby belly and these lovely postures, and i love the way the pictures look.

some of my favorite pregnancy pictures.

anyway, i had no trouble doing these postures. i didn't often demonstrate and i don't teach them to prenatal students UNLESS i know the student. a number of my students start with me at whatever stage, get pregnant after some years of practice, and then i'll guide the practice through the pregnancy and such, and then they see me after. otherwise, i am more cautious with pregnant students.

but i was all about just following where my body went. and it could handle the vigorous practice, so we went there. i was, of course, protective of my ligaments and such. but still, there you have it.

enjoy your pregnancy!

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