Prenatal Yoga in KC Archives | Page 5 of 8

Prenatal Yoga In The First Trimester

June 12, 2017 by Full Circle KC

Prenatal Yoga in the first trimester can be incredibly helpful as long as one listens to their intuition. With the increased research that supports the health benefits of prenatal yoga, more and more healthcare practitioners are recommending prenatal yoga or pregnancy yoga.

Yoga can help center your mind to tune into the amazing work your body does in the first trimester. This is a time to notice the unbelievable changes that are happening, number one, you’re growing a new life, congratulations!!! Celebrate this moment and be gentle with yourself as you notice your body changing.

Whether you are an advanced yogi or just beginning, your body is going through tremendous changes. Your hormones are surging. Your producing more estrogen- which increases your pliability of connective tissue, produces more blood, and can produce mood swings. More progesterone is produced, slowing the digestive system, and increasing the basal body temperature. Relaxin hormones also increase, relaxing the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Because of the major increase in these hormones it can play a role in your yoga practice.

Prenatal Yoga Tips For The First Trimester:

Listen to what your body needs!!! This is often a time of fatigue, although you can’t see it, your body is working so hard! First trimester may create nausea, be gentle to yourself.
Avoid closed twist poses, rather stick to upper torso open twists to open the shoulders, upper back, and chest.
Prone poses- proceed with caution, make sure you know how to do these poses correctly to keep and belly is not getting direct pressure. Direct pressure on the uterus should be avoided.
Deep backbends, again should proceed with caution, and possible avoid as it can place direct pressure on the uterus and overstretch abdominal muscles.
Some pranayamas- typically this is a good time to practice breath through the nose and out the mouth, which is the most beneficial way of breathing during labor.

This list is not comprehensive and one should talk to their yoga instructor and/or healthcare practitioner to ensure safety for mama and growing baby.

At Full Circle Yoga KC our prenatal yoga offers a class that mamas at all stages can practice and build their physical and emotional strength in preparation for their birthing journey.

Prenatal Yoga Helps You Connect With Your Baby

June 7, 2017 by Full Circle KC

Prenatal Yoga or Pregnancy Yoga helps you connect with your baby and grow the partnership between the two of you. At Full Circle Yoga KC we begin our prenatal class by welcoming you and baby (or babies) to the mat for practice. This allows the two of you to begin connecting to each other.

Three poses we focus on baby and mommy connection

Easy Pose- Placing one hand on heart and one hand on beautiful belly and breathing for two. Inhaling life-force or your pranayama into your lungs and baby’s lungs. During this time we bring our attention to our bodies and surrender to the outside world for the next hour.
Seated Side Angle Pose- Elongating mom’s side to allow more room for baby to play, move and stretch.
Savasana- A time for connecting with your baby and your body without distraction. An opportunity to appreciate the scared time of pregnancy. Taking time to place your loving hands on your growing baby and offering your nourishing touch.

Full Circle Yoga in Overland Park was founded in 2017 by yoga teacher Jenny Hellman focusing on wellness in the early stages of family life from prenatal to early parenthood and the older adult years. Full Circle Yoga KC is an Overland Yoga Studio specializing in Prenatal Yoga, Baby Yoga and Chair Yoga for seniors.

5 Ways To Prepare For Labor

June 2, 2017 by Full Circle KC

The “big day” is always on our minds when we are expecting. When will it be? Will I be late or early? Will it be painful? What can I do to prepare myself for the journey?

Labor and Delivery is tough, you must prepare mentally and physically. It hurts, however the hurt is different than a broken bone. A broken bone signals to your brain something is wrong in your body and you must fix it. Labor and Delivery birth hurts in a way that’s like running a marathon. You train mentally and physically for a marathon but the final stretch can be challenging, even painful, but there is a finish line you’ve worked so hard to get across!

There are many things you can do to prepare for the “big day”

Exercise- Your body needs to be in shape and ready for labor and delivery. One of the best forms of exercise during pregnancy is prenatal yoga or pregnancy yoga, helping you prepare mentally and physically for labor and delivery by practicing breath during intense poses. Learning prenatal yoga poses allows you to release tension during pregnancy and during labor. Prenatal Yoga also allows for mediation, an opportunity to practice surrendering and being present to the moment rather than push against it.
Educate Yourself- Whether your delivering at home, hospital, birthing center, it’s so important that you be your best advocate. I once heard “you are not a patient during your birthing journey,” so true!! The more you educate yourself the less fear and anxiety you will have going into that “big day.”
Call in your support team- invite those on your team that have the same philosophy as you do when it comes to your birthing journey. Create a space of peacefulness for your birthing journey. Do you want this to be a sacred time for just you and your partner? Do you want the whole family present? Who do you want as your practitioner- OBGYN, Midwife? Will you include a doula as part of your team?
Be Present- Trust in the processes. Women have been giving birth for thousands of years. Contractions are like waves, they build and crash, and you have time in between each wave to center again and ride the next wave.
Use Visualizations- visualize something that brings calmness to you. What is that something? What color is it? What does it smell like? What does it look like? Where is it? Practice this visualization prior to labor. Practicing visualization is powerful tool in pain management.

Full Circle Yoga KC offers prenatal yoga classes that support a mother’s pregnancy journey. In our prenatal classes we practice mindfulness in breathing, bring awareness to our changing bodies, and offer movement for a full body workout.

Make Friends At Yoga Class

May 30, 2017 by Full Circle KC

Prenatal Yoga Class is a great place to meet like-minded mamas! At Full Circle Yoga KC I believe there’s much more than yoga on your mat when it comes to prenatal yoga. It”s an opportunity to unite as expecting mamas whether it be your first or fourth!

When mama’s come together every week at Full Circle Yoga KC they build a support network, a place where each is understood, those crazy cravings are appreciated, pregnancy resources are shared with one another. It’s a path that women can share together and bond during the momentous journey.

When a mama is close to her due date I make it a priority to create space at the end of class to send wellness, strength, and the ability to surrender during her birthing journey. As a collective group we send each mama who is ready to enter the birthing journey with powergful mama energy we create as a community.

I love getting texts that a sweet baby has arrived and sharing with the community of other mamas. Many become friends on social media and continue to connect with each other post pregnancy and return together to participate in Bring Your Own Baby (BYOB) Yoga, continuing with the supportive network.

Prenatal Yoga Can Help Flip a Breech Baby

May 24, 2017 by Full Circle KC

Originally published (5/24/2017) update (9/26/2024)

In your third trimester hearing that your baby is breech, meaning not in a head down position, can create some real anxiety, especially if you’re nearing your estimated due date. Most babies will move into a head-down position before it’s time for baby to be born. Approximately 1 in 25 babies are carried breech in the final stages of pregnancy in the United States. By 32-33 weeks most babies will move into a head-down position. Prenatal Yoga at Full Circle Yoga KC can offer support in getting little bambino to move into the more ideal head-down position through prenatal yoga poses and movements.

Why might a baby be in a breech position?

There are many reasons why baby might be in a breech position:

*Imbalance in the pelvis
*Soft tissue issues
*Imbalance with loose or tight muscles, facia, and/or ligaments
*multiple pregnancies
*uterine shape
*placenta position
*baby conditions
*too much or too little amniotic fluid

Prenatal Yoga Can Help Flip a Breech Baby

“This baby feels like she’s going to drop of out me” -FCYKC Mama

“It feels like my baby is kicking my butthole” – FCYKC Mama

“My baby is breech” -FCYKC Mama

Here are some poses that are specific to helping baby get into optimal head-down position for birth. These poses can also help relieve pelvic pressure. These poses will open up space in pelvis to give baby room to move so he/she rotate into head-down position. Lengthening muscles and increasing range of motion in your own body will create more room for baby to move. Be patient and hold poses for 30-45 seconds a day (if you can tolerate, and if not come out of the pose), up to three times a day, to give baby time to move. Do these poses during times when baby is active, which will increase chances of baby moving into the desired position.

Inversion Poses

Inversion poses relaxes lower uterine ligaments, creates space, restores balance, gives the pelvic floor rest and relieves pressure.

Supported bridge pose– place several blankets, firm cushions, or yoga blocks under lower back and get hips as high as you can.

Forward leaning inversion-allows ligaments to lengthen and untwist. This can be done from a firm couch or stacked blankets as shown here

Additional yoga poses we would encourage to help baby flip:
* Juicy hip circles and cat cow. You can see a video here
*Standing and moving the hips into figure 8’s

Poses to avoid when baby is breech after 30 weeks:
*deep squats
*deep goddess pose

Side-line release is also a wonderful addition to add into your practice to help baby flip. Here’s a video to see how your partner can assist with this technique.
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What else can I do to help baby go head-down?

When a baby is in a breech position later in pregnancy at Full Circle Yoga KC we will educate about the many posture and movements that can aid in aligning the body, release ligaments and create space for baby to move into a head-down position. We believe in integrative care and will also encourage complimentary holistic care such as:

*Chiropractic work with someone that specializes in prenatal care and a bonus if they are Webster Technique Certified.
*Acupuncture- a treatment that involves inserting very small needles into the skin to stimulate nerve channels.
*Therapeutic Massage
*External Cephalic Version (ECV)- a procedure done by a medical practitioner with hands on your belly to attempt to turn baby.
*moxibustion- a Chinese Medicine heat treatment that burns medicinal herbs near acupuncture points on the feet.
*place an ice pack where you believe baby’s head to be, he/she will want to move away from the cold! (not evidenced based)
*Have your partner read/sing/talk towards the lower part of the pelvis (not evidenced based)

If you want to experience the mental health benefits of prenatal yoga, join us at Full Circle Yoga KC! Explore our prenatal yoga classes and reserve on our class calendar. Check out all of our workshops and special events we offer to support your growing family too!

Click to sign up for prenatal yoga