My First Experience Teaching Prenatal Yoga
After my first yoga teacher training in 2000, I was asked to teach a prenatal yoga class.
I knew nothing about pregnancy (except the basics of course), but I was filled with inspiration from the goddess-based philosophy I had just been immersed in.
I gushed to my students about their perfect fullness (purnatva). I told them that they were all a beautiful, unique expression of the Divine, that they only need to listen to the wisdom within, and that this was a transformative dance to enjoy.
And, well… they all looked at me like I was nuts.
Turns out, pregnancy isn’t just about painting nurseries and cute baby kicks.
I learned very soon that my pregnant students were felt like they had new aches and pains, not just every day, but every moment… they weren’t sleeping well because it was hard to find a comfortable position and they had to get up to pee all the time… and there were very real risks coming at them in their inbox, online, and through conversations that left them feeling anxious and insecure.
I decided to use my excellent alignment training to support physical and mental healing. We addressed
everything from wrist pain to fear in class, and my mamas felt proud of the poses they could do, and less stressed by the end of class.
But I still felt like I was missing something.
The prenatal yoga trainings I’d taken consisted of Do’s and Don’ts (mostly Don’ts), and pose lists. Teaching prenatal yoga to me just felt… kind of boring, and extremely limited.
It wasn’t until I asked myself one question that my teaching began to expand – and I decided teaching prenatal yoga was my true life path.
The question I asked myself was this: what is the opportunity that pregnancy brings?
I figured that pregnancy is natural, so it must have gifts. It had to be more than just the challenging, annoying precursor to motherhood.
Over my first few years of teaching prenatal yoga, I had witnessed a transformation in my moms-to-be: from anxious, overwhelmed, and isolated to calm, clear and connected.
And I realized that these women had all made the same choice: to slow down, listen inward, and honor their bodies.
In short, they were learning to become a mother, not just to their baby, but to themselves.
I realized that prenatal yoga was not just limited regular yoga or gentle yoga – it had a different point altogether.
Rather than trying to “get” the poses… or avoid strengthening poses… for me, prenatal yoga is about learning to love ourselves, listen to our bodies’ wisdom, and learn how to access inner and outer strength and wisdom.
How Ma Yoga Came to Be
Another way to describe what I had seen my students do when they decided to come to prenatal yoga was this: Find the Feminine.
Most spiritual traditions divide our qualities into complementary opposites. We all have both parts, and neither is better.
Describing ourselves in this way is simply a tool we can use to become more skilled at accessing the right qualities for the right situations.
Whether we’re talking about Sakti/Siva, yin and yang, or feminine and masculine, these aspects are not related to gender or sexuality or even archetypes. They are simply parts of ourselves that are in eternal dance with each other, and in fact, can never be separated from each other. Like the inhale and exhale, or a contraction and expansion, they are part of each other.
We can look at one half of ourselves as more linear, logical, achievement-oriented and independent – this is the Siva, yang, or masculine part. It’s the part that takes action and says “I got this.”
Or we can connect to the other half that’s more feeling-our-way-forward, intuitive, process-oriented and collaborative – this is the Sakti, yin, or feminine part. It’s the part that listens and knows “We’re better together.”
Our more masculine qualities are essential in getting things done throughout our day, checking off task lists, and getting food on the table. Moms need this often – going down the lists in our minds to make sure rooms are baby-safe; picking up the right kids at the right place and getting them to their activities. All very linear, requiring self-reliance and linear thinking.
But for more co-creative acts, like writing a poem, starting a new relationship or finding a new career path, it’s the feminine qualities that will be most helpful to start with – listening, sensing, and following a different energy from our thoughts or will. Yoga teachers often start here – meditating, listening, setting an intention and taking in their students to see what they need.
Society doesn’t often reward the feminine side of things. We get accolades for completing a project or being confident, but not for taking time to do nothing and just be, or for being uncertain and asking otherwise their opinion.
And yet we yogis know that true wisdom and power can only be found when we slow down, empty out, and open to receive.
My new emphasis on the feminine inspired by my prenatal yoga experience transformed my classes so much that I decided to give this alignment-based, Divine Feminine prenatal yoga method a name: Ma YogaⓇ for Pregnancy, Postpartum & Beyond.
The root “Ma” in many languages is part of the word mother:
- Arabic: Ummi, māma, ahm
- Catalan: Mare
- Czech: Matka or maminka
- Greek: Màma
- Icelandic: Mamma
- Indonesian: Mama, bunda, ibu, ‘bu
- Korean: Eomma
- Latvian: Māte
- Malayalam: Amma
- Norwegian: Mor or mamma
- Slovak: Mamička
- Swedish: Mamma or mor
And in Sanskrit, “Ma” means “the highest, most powerful and wise” – as in “Maha Vaha Srota” – the Great
Digestive Channel, and “Ma Kali” – the Mother of all Goddesses (maybe not the prettiest, but she loves fiercely).
The syllable “Ma” encapsulates beautifully what I learned from years of using birth as my guru: that when we learn to mother ourselves, we begin to embody our highest, most powerful and wise “Ma” Self.
How the Universal Principles of Alignment Became My Guide Through Pregnancy
I have always been fascinated by science.
I got My Masters in Kinesiology and did a 6-year study of the effect of prenatal yoga on birth outcomes.
And yet, my pregnant students were less interested in the biomechanics and physiology of it all.
Pregnant mamas, in general, want to feel better, prepare for what’s to come and enjoy this exciting time.
So I backed off of my focus on shoulder blades and tailbones, and returned to the essence of the alignment principles I’d learned: the five natural elements.
The feminine is holistic – it’s not about separating and isolating parts, but rather seeing and experiencing the parts as an interconnected whole.
The five elements allowed me to bring alignment into class, while giving the mamas a powerful experience of their inner and outer strength – without discussing the exact angle of the bottom tips of the shoulder blades.
And in fact, the more I taught from this most foundational place of the elements, the more I realized that it’s the energy beneath each alignment action that actually transforms our students: physically, mentally/emotionally, energetically and spiritually.
As I continued working with the energy of the five natural elements, I realized that the five natural elements are wonderful, essential principles for prenatal yoga.
Here’s how:
SPACE: Make Space for Baby
Whenever we are beginning any co-creative act – anything that clearly requires bigger forces than our will – spaciousness helps.
If we want a beautiful vegetable garden, we clear away weeds and brush to create space.
Before writing a poem, we open up to receive imagery and meaning.
Before pregnancy, we make space in the body for easeful pranic flow, especially downward from the low belly (Apana Vayu).
Even in the first trimester, before everything has stuck, we slow down, listen in and allow.
Space is about finding the feminine – opening to receive.
But of course, in prenatal yoga we never stop making space for baby.
As baby grows, they push our organs aside. Our bladder gets squeezed, our diaphragm is impinged, and the weight of the baby often pulls the rib cage forward leaving less space in the back of the body.
It turns out that baby needs space in the back of the body to move into optimal position.
In fact, wherever we usually make space for breath in yoga, baby needs space there too.
The back of the body, the top of the chest, and even just settling our energy down on the exhale and expanding up and out on the inhale – all of it allows baby to move more freely.
And of course, these principles are more than physical. When we learn to make space in a pose – in a lunge for instance, putting arms inside the front leg, we are also making space for baby in our minds and in our hearts.
If we make space for our yoga partner now, we will be expanding our whole being for this new life partner – forever.
EARTH – Create a Strong Container for Baby
Because of pregnancy hormones like progesterone and relaxin, all joints are weakened and vulnerable during pregnancy.
It’s more important than ever for pregnant mamas to learn to give themselves a hug with their muscles
before stretching.
And as our belly grows, instability increases. I’ve had students who couldn’t even lift their hips off the floor for Bridge Pose in their 3rd trimester – I had to stand over them and squeeze their hips with my legs, or they felt like their bones would just fall off of each other.
As moms-to-be learn to find physical strength in the midline of their bodies (mudya), they can’t help but find their inner strength as well.
For me, as a mom, I realized what Warrior II had always been preparing me for: lying uncomfortably for hours with my sick baby on my chest, my head against the wooden headboard, not wanting to move… breathing through the intensity and remembering my big why.
Understanding how to stabilize joints – especially around the pelvis – not only relieves aches and pains, but teaches a principle our students will use throughout labor and motherhood: we have a wellspring of strength in our center.
WATER – Do a Divine Dance with Baby
It took me two and a half years to get pregnant, and people ask me often: what finally did it?
Of course, we never get to know. We were about to do IVF (we had the meds and everything)… my husband went away and missed our window… but one element that I wonder about a lot is this: the week before he went away, I took a week-long workshop with Ansuara Founder John Friend. His theme was water, and the goddess, and we made every pose into a dance.
I remember swaying my hips in Warrior II and realizing that we could bring softness into anything – and make it better.
We swayed and flowed and never hardened stayed stuck. It was an amazing practice, and… who knows?
What I do know is that dancing and flowing feelings really great when we’re pregnant. And when we stick our booty out, we release not only the groins but the Round Ligament – connecting the uterus to the pelvis – that can get over stretched and feel crampy.
We also make space in the back of the pelvis for baby’s head – opening up its exit route.
And – it’s fun, and great preparation for letting go and playing with baby.
FIRE – Stand Strong in the “Ma” You Want to Be
Have you ever been taught that pregnant women shouldn’t work their core?
If so, have you ever tried carrying around a bowling ball without any core engagement for months?
It would not be good.
Of course, we need to understand how to engage the core safely and effectively for pregnancy.
This is one principle that – in the context of the feminine – has evolved for me over the years.
Instead of a kegel (mula bandha) root lock, we want to support pranic flow. Prana (life force) flows downward from the low belly. Any instruction like “tuck the tailbone”, especially for women, tends to block energy, pushes the thighs and belly forward, and increases the risk of diastisis recti, or abdominal wall splitting.
Instead, “exhale, and root from hips through heels” is a great prenatal cue that helps keep energy moving, the parts connecting, and the whole body feeling grounded and spacious.
AIR – Trust What’s Moving Through You
On the mat, the 5th principle refers to the stretch. But what would it mean to use it during labor? Postpartum? Motherhood?
While I encourage mamas to take birth classes, find lactation groups, and receive knowledge from those who have walked this path before them, I also remind them that once they have this knowledge, it’s important to trust their own wisdom.
In other words: educate and meditate.
And then, act.
As a mom of a 17 year old, I know I made a lot of mistakes. I’m sure I’ll hear later what I missed.
But the biggest regrets we have are when we ignored that little voice inside, guiding us, directing us along our path.
For many people, prenatal yoga is a doorway to the Self.
It’s an opportunity to discover how to nurture ourselves, and then access a deep power and expansive wisdom we might not have known we had.
It’s a chance to challenge ourselves, learn to breathe through intense sensations, vision what’s to come and set both birth plans and birth intentions.
It’s a transformative journey to become our highest, most powerful and wise “Ma” Self.
And with the five natural elements as their guide, prenatal yoga teachers can stand at the doorway, saying “Welcome.”
Learn More about Supporting Moms-to-be with Prenatal Yoga
If you’d like to learn more about how to use the five natural elements to teach moms and moms-to-be, please join me for a free 5-day Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training. You’ll get one session a day, one for each of the elements.
If you would like to become Certified, I am teaching the Ma Yoga Prenatal Certification Program online – live or self-paced – and I’d love to have you.
Just fill out the form on www.PrenatalTeacherTraining.com for info about both the free training and the 85-hour, comprehensive, alignment-based RPYT program.
If you would like to stand with us in our mission to provide yoga, education and community for mamas everywhere – join us for MAMAthon!
We’re inviting yoga teachers everywhere to join us for MAMAthon any time in September, to raise awareness and funds for prenatal yoga, education and community – “Ma Circles” – in underserved neighborhoods throughout the US.
Why is this so essential? The US is experiencing a crisis in prenatal care:
- One out of three moms report that their birth was traumatic
- Black women have three times the risk of having negative birth outcomes.
- Many mamas in underserved areas can’t afford classes, and teachers in underserved and BIPOC communities tell us they can’t afford prenatal training, or the cost of starting a Ma Circle.
MAMAthon participants can teach any donation-based yoga class – any style, any kind – to help provide teacher training scholarships, props and free classes where they’re needed most.
Just go to www.macollective.org for more info… and thank you. 🙏💞
