Benefits of Yoga During Pregnancy and Beyond

By Shannon Pacella

This week Shannon Pacella of the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center interviews a yoga instructor about the benefits of yoga before and delivery.

What is a typical Prenatal Yoga class like (length of the class, any specific areas of focus)?

Each prenatal yoga class can vary widely, depending on the teacher’s style, the general style of the studio, and the class length. Each class will also often vary based on the specific mamas on class. Towards the beginning of each of my classes, we do a “check-in” where each mom tells me (all of us, really) how she’s doing/feeling. In addition to “reading the room” as we move through class, this allows moms to get to know each other, and gives me an idea of what postures might be extra useful for that particular class. I incorporate postures that help mom stretch, build strength, maintain balance, connect with her breath, help ease any present discomforts, and work to prevent injury or discomfort going forward. We work with the entire body, even parts of the core that are safe and important to address during pregnancy. Classes include plenty of variations of being on hands and knees, postures for resting, standing, sitting, balance, side opening, safe twisting, hip-openers, shoulder/chest openers, pranayama (breath-control) and much more. Class lengths are typically 60, 75, or 90-minutes.

What are the benefits of yoga throughout pregnancy?

Practicing Prenatal Yoga throughout the length of pregnancy sets a foundation for mom physically, mentally, and emotionally. It helps keep her strong and comfortable during pregnancy, and prepares her for the marathon of labor. It’s also such a great way to bond with her baby, get to know herself on a deeper level, and develop friendships with other pregnant women.

Can yoga help with labor and delivery?

Yoga makes an incredible impact on how labor goes, from mental focus and comfort to improving body awareness to solidifying a relationship to breath. Mom’s physical health and strength level is a huge component, just as her mental and emotional relationship to her body and the birthing process is. Prenatal Yoga will help her develop all of these things. It also has an effect on her postpartum recovery.

Does a woman need to be cleared for Prenatal Yoga by her OB or Midwife?

A women generally isn’t required to show any proof of clearance. It’s usually a small piece of the conversation with her care provider – if there are no complications, she’s usually encouraged to continue any exercise routines as long as it feels good for her. Prenatal yoga is something that is safe (and highly encouraged) for women to start during pregnancy, even if they don’t have an existing yoga or exercise practice. If there are complications, it just depends on what (and how severe) they are. Often, Prenatal Yoga is still deemed a great option.

How are the pelvic floor muscles involved during Prenatal Yoga?

In Prenatal Yoga, the pelvic floor muscles are engaged in a variety of ways based on the poses that we move through. Some poses essentially give us automatic pelvic floor engagement by requiring the legs to work hard in supporting mom’s body in standing poses or while positioning and aligning the pelvis in a certain way. During other poses, I will queue moms to actively and deliberately engage their pelvic floors.

Where/how would a woman find a good Prenatal Yoga class?

While it can be a struggle to find a Prenatal Yoga class in your area that works with your schedule, most yoga studios do now offer at least one Prenatal Yoga class. Doing an online search is a great way to find available classes in your area. I also recommend using the MindBody app, which allows you to search for class types across most studios and makes it easy to curate the schedules of your favorite studios right there within the app. You can also purchase classes and register for them there, while the class is sync’d up with your calendar (if you choose to allow that). Another great resource for finding classes is by word of mouth. Joining expecting moms/new moms groups on Facebook is one way to get recommendations for everything pregnancy-related! Many women find that the classes offered just don’t fit into their schedules, in which case private in-home prenatal yoga sessions are a great option. The price-point is quite a bit higher and there are several additional benefits.

Does a woman need to be cleared to practice Postnatal/Postpartum Yoga?

I recommend that she is cleared, yes, but I’m more concerned with mom honoring how she is feeling. If her recovery is going well and she’s feeling good, it’s up to her whether or not to come to postpartum yoga. Her level of movement and engagement during class is always customizeable as well, which makes class beneficial for mom at any postpartum stage, really. Even just being there with other new moms, getting any small amount of movement and breathwork is so valuable. If a woman is having a difficult postpartum period, or just can’t find the time to get out to a group class, in-home postpartum yoga sessions are a nice way to really get a customized practice without needing to leave home.

Are there ways to incorporate both mother and baby into yoga sessions after giving birth?

Absolutely. In a typical Mom & Baby Yoga group class, I don’t incorporate the babies into our practice all that often, especially if they’re comfortably hanging out on a blanket at the top of mom’s mat or asleep next to her in the car seat. The reason for this is that I like to give mom some time where she’s NOT holding her baby (which is a hot commodity in the postpartum period). It also allows her to flow through movements and connect with her own body, breath, and rhythm a lot more, in addition to giving her the opportunity for chest and shoulder openers (which helps to reverse all of the hunching forward that comes with constant holding/feeding of her baby). There certainly are times, though, where we’ll pick baby up and use him/her as added weight, or just a nice little yoga companion to move with mom through some poses. I certainly want this to be a bonding activity for mom and baby as well. If mom is practicing at home, there are ways that she can deliberately incorporate her baby into most poses.

About the Author

Emily Masnoon is a Massachusetts native – born and raised in a suburb of Worcester and migrated to Boston to attend and graduate from Boston University. She is a proud auntie of her sister’s three amazing children, is a dedicated daughter and friend to her parents, and is one of her brother’s biggest fans. Yoga made its way into Emily’s life in 2008 and she began teaching in 2010. She has formal training in Hot Power Yoga, Prenatal Yoga, Reiki, and Birth Doula services. In addition, she uses her training, experience, energetic nature, and soul gifts to teach Restorative Yoga, Mom & Baby Yoga, and Postpartum Yoga. She brings a mix of no-nonsense, light-hearted fun, and a sense of calm to every class she teaches. Her passion and love for inspiring, supporting, and nurturing her clients and students lights her up every single day.

When she’s not teaching a class, or holding a private session, Emily enjoys roaming beaches, practicing yoga, listening to music, singing, dancing, surrounding herself with flowers, sitting in solitude, laughing hysterically with friends, eating good food, being crafty, playing photographer, soaking up the sun, gardening on her little ‘Persian Oasis’, feeling gratitude for this wonderful life, and striving to improve herself and her gifts each and every day.
She loves making new friends and connecting with her students, so don’t be shy! Interact with her on Instagram and Facebook!

FAQ

What are pelvic floor muscles?

The pelvic floor muscles are a group of muscles that run from the coccyx to the pubic bone. They are part of the core, helping to support our entire body as well as providing support for the bowel, bladder and uterus. These muscles help us maintain bowel and bladder control and are involved in sexual pleasure and orgasm. The technical name of the pelvic floor muscles is the Levator Ani muscle group. The pudendal nerve, the levator ani nerve, and branches from the S2 – S4 nerve roots innervate the pelvic floor muscles. They are under voluntary and autonomic control, which is a unique feature only they possess compared to other muscle groups.

What is pelvic floor physical therapy?

Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized area of physical therapy. Currently, physical therapists need advanced post-graduate education to be able to help people with pelvic floor dysfunction because pelvic floor disorders are not yet being taught in standard physical therapy curricula. The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center provides extensive training for our staff because we recognize the limitations of physical therapy education in this unique area.

What happens at pelvic floor therapy?

During an evaluation for pelvic floor dysfunction the physical therapist will take a detailed history. Following the history the physical therapist will leave the room to allow the patient to change and drape themselves. The physical therapist will return to the room and using gloved hands will perform an external and internal manual assessment of the pelvic floor and girdle muscles. The physical therapist will once again leave the room and allow the patient to dress. Following the manual examination there may also be an examination of strength, motor control, and overall biomechanics and neuromuscular control. The physical therapist will then communicate the findings to the patient and together with their patient they establish an assessment, short term and long term goals and a treatment plan. Typically people with pelvic floor dysfunction are seen one time per week for one hour for varying amounts of time based on the severity and chronicity of the disease. A home exercise program will be established and the physical therapist will help coordinate other providers on the treatment team. Typically patients are seen for 3 months to a year.

What is pudendal neuralgia and how is it treated?

Pudendal Neuralgia is a clinical diagnosis that means pain in the sensory distribution of the pudendal nerve. The pudendal nerve is a mixed nerve that exits the S2 – S4 sacral nerve roots, we have a right and left pudendal nerve and each side has three main trunks: the dorsal branch, the perineal branch, and the inferior rectal branch. The branches supply sensation to the clitoris/penis, labia/scrotum, perineum, anus, the distal ⅓ of the urethra and rectum, and the vulva and vestibule. The nerve branches also control the pelvic floor muscles. The pudendal nerve follows a tortuous path through the pelvic floor and girdle, leaving it vulnerable to compression and tension injuries at various points along its path.

Pudendal Neuralgia occurs when the nerve is unable to slide, glide and move normally and as a result, people experience pain in some or all of the above-mentioned areas. Pelvic floor physical therapy plays a crucial role in identifying the mechanical impairments that are affecting the nerve. The physical therapy treatment plan is designed to restore normal neural function. Patients with pudendal neuralgia require pelvic floor physical therapy and may also benefit from medical management that includes pharmaceuticals and procedures such as pudendal nerve blocks or botox injections.

What is interstitial cystitis and how is it treated?

Interstitial Cystitis is a clinical diagnosis characterized by irritative bladder symptoms such as urinary urgency, frequency, and hesitancy in the absence of infection. Research has shown the majority of patients who meet the clinical definition have pelvic floor dysfunction and myalgia. Therefore, the American Urologic Association recommends pelvic floor physical therapy as first-line treatment for Interstitial Cystitis. Patients will benefit from pelvic floor physical therapy and may also benefit from pharmacologic management or medical procedures such as bladder instillations.

Who is the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Team?

The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center was founded by Elizabeth Akincilar and Stephanie Prendergast in 2006, they have been treating people with pelvic floor disorders since 2001. They were trained and mentored by a medical doctor and quickly became experts in treating pelvic floor disorders. They began creating courses and sharing their knowledge around the world. They expanded to 11 locations in the United States and developed a residency style training program for their employees with ongoing weekly mentoring. The physical therapists who work at PHRC have undergone more training than the majority of pelvic floor physical therapists and as a result offer efficient and high quality care.

How many years of experience do we have?

Stephanie and Liz have 24 years of experience and help each and every team member become an expert in the field through their training and mentoring program.

Why PHRC versus anyone else?

PHRC is unique because of the specific focus on pelvic floor disorders and the leadership at our company. We are constantly lecturing, teaching, and staying ahead of the curve with our connections to medical experts and emerging experts. As a result, we are able to efficiently and effectively help our patients restore their pelvic health.

Do we treat men for pelvic floor therapy?

The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center is unique in that the Cofounders have always treated people of all genders and therefore have trained the team members and staff the same way. Many pelvic floor physical therapists focus solely on people with vulvas, this is not the case here.

Do I need pelvic floor therapy forever?

The majority of people with pelvic floor dysfunction will undergo pelvic floor physical therapy for a set amount of time based on their goals. Every 6 -8 weeks goals will be re-established based on the physical improvements and remaining physical impairments. Most patients will achieve their goals in 3 – 6 months. If there are complicating medical or untreated comorbidities some patients will be in therapy longer.