What if I told you that the aches and pains we think of as inevitable in pregnancy are actually windows into how to have a better birth experience? That those aching SI joints might be telling you something about the position of your cervix…

Aching lower back, hip pain, calf cramps, stiff shoulders…Whenever I ask a prenatal yoga class what they would like to work on the list almost always includes these, and it doesn’t stop there. It almost goes without saying that being pregnant can put a huge load on your body. But for me, these aches and pains aren’t inevitable consequences of being pregnant, they are rather windows into where the body might be holding too much or too little tone, and if we practice some simple movements on a regular basis (like daily), we could re-balance the load on the connective tissues, and not only create more comfortable pregnancies, but actually ease the process of labor, birth, and postpartum recovery!

I often find in teaching prenatal yoga, that I have to adjust my instructions from the classic or traditional ways in which certain asanas are instructed. Part of this is because the body most of the yoga asanas were developed on was a male body, but some of this is also because some of the cues are outdated, and have become overused or over-instructed. The prime example? Tucking the tailbone!

Bedtime/naptime had pretty much become an all out fight for me. I had prided myself on being the parent who never raised her voice, or saw red when coping with her child, but the reality was far from matching my intentions as a parent. This was where an accidental use of tactics from an FBI hostage negotiator suddenly changed things.

Ever notice that some of the instructions you get from yoga teachers don’t seem to make any physical sense? Sure there are the big obvious instructions; put our left foot forward, turn your right heel out. But then there are the more tiny adjustments; drop your tail bone, lengthen the skin on the back of your hips, soften your eyes, or relax your vision out the sides. What exactly are teachers asking for when they say to sink deep within your ears?