I’ve worked with hundreds of new moms through the years, and the biggest struggle most new moms have is universal. Moms feel guilty for taking time ANY time away from their families, their jobs, and all their obligations to take care of themselves.
If this sounds like you, there’s something I want you to know: You don’t have to be away for a long stretch of time to squeeze in a quick yoga practice! You don’t even have to be in a room by yourself!
YOGA POSES FOR PREGNANT AND NEW MOMS
This mini pose sequence at the wall makes space in your body, lets you practice balancing (without the risk of falling), opens the chest and shoulders a bit, and helps you unwind and relax.
It’s a perfect quick prenatal yoga class for pregnant moms and/or moms of infants or toddlers who need a mini-break while their littles are napping.
In the images here, I’m using a wall (more specifically a closet door) as a prop, but you can also use the side of a crib to brace yourself—something I did a lot more when I was pregnant with my daughter than I did after she was born. (What can I say? I felt like I needed to use that thing for something if it was taking up an entire room in my house!)
RELATED POST: How to Have a Healthy Pregnancy and Baby
5 YOGA POSES FOR PREGNANT AND NEW MOMS
Down Dog at the Wall (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Stand facing the wall. Place your hands on the wall at your shoulder level, straighten your elbows, hinge at your hips, and begin to slide our hands down toward the floor as you walk your feet away from the wall until you take the shape of an upside down L. Once you’ve got the shape really focus on lengthening your spine by reaching your sitting bones toward the middle of the room. Get looooooong. Stay here for at least 5 breaths.
DOLPHIN POSE AT THE WALL
Stand up, still facing the wall. Bring your forearms to the wall. Your forearms should shoulder distance apart, parallel to each other, and your fingers will point straight up to the ceiling. Then, just as you did before, hinge at the hips and slowly lower your forearms down toward the floor as you step your feet away from the wall until your elbows are close to the same height as your shoulders. Stay for 5 breaths. This is an especially nice yoga pose for pregnant bellies!
TREE POSE AT THE WALL (VRKSASANA)
Stand up again and turn to so your right side is facing the wall, a few inches away. Bring your right hand to the wall for support. Lift your left heel away from the floor, bend your left knee, and bring the bottom of your left foot to the inside of your right ankle. You may stay here, using your left toes on the floor for support, or lift the foot up either below the right knee or to the inner thigh (just don’t place the foot ON the side of the knee). You may keep your right hand on the wall, as pictured, or, if you feel stable, lift your hands overhead and extend them like tree branches. Stay here for about 5 breaths, then switch sides.
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KING DANCER POSE AT THE WALL (NATARAJASANA)
Turn to face the wall. Bend your right knee so that your right heel comes toward the right side of your butt. Bring your left hand to the wall for support. Then reach behind you with your right hand and you grab your right ankle (or the pinky toe side of the foot). Flex your right foot and begin to kick the foot into the hand. Stay here, or to deepen the pose, walk the left hand up toward the ceiling. As you find more opening through the chest and right shoulder, you might even bring your chest to the rest on the wall. Stay here for 5 breaths, then switch sides.
Be careful with this yoga pose if you are pregnant. The modification of this yoga pose for pregnant bodies keeps the leg down further, with the bent knee pointing more towards the floor.
LEGS-UP-THE-WALL POSE (VIPARITA KARANI)
If you’re in the later part of your pregnancy (20 weeks +), you’ll want to prop your torso up a little bit on a bolster or couch pillow so you aren’t laying flat on the floor (I’ll post a quick post showing a few different ways to do this soon, so please stay tuned.) Then, facing the wall, sit yourself a few inches away from the wall, put your feet up, and scootchy scootch (that’s the official term) your bottom closer to the wall so your legs can be completely supported. Close your eyes. Then, rest one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart as you take in full, deep breaths for at least 5 minutes.
Now, you tell me. What are your favorite poses to do when your little one naps? Or what are or were your favorites to practice with a little one on the way)?
Erica is a prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher who is passionate about helping pregnant and new mamas love their lives more, manage stress, and find a healthier balance of all things that #momlife demands of them. Through yoga, meditation, mindfulness, self-care, a strong community of like-minded mamas, and a little bit of humor, she knows that moms at all stages can learn to take better care of themselves and live the happy, healthy lives they’ve always dreamed of. Of course, these lessons aren’t just for moms–they can be applied to any busy, modern life.
In addition to her work as a yoga studio, Erica is a freelance journalist who has written about health, fitness, and parenting for Yoga Journal magazine (where she also was an editor for 5 years), Parents magazine, and a variety of other print and online publications.
