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Tuesday, September 02, 2014

The Basics Of Teaching Prenatal Yoga

provide instruction to pregnant women
By Faye Martins

While there are a plethora of interesting and personally rewarding experiences that professional yoga instructors can have, teaching prenatal yoga can be particularly beneficial. This is the case for many reasons, including the fact that yoga teachers who provide instruction to pregnant women contribute to the life-giving processes that will facilitate the health of both the unborn baby and its mother. Despite the wonderful role that yoga teachers can play in helping expectant mothers, however, many hesitate to teach them yoga exercises out of fear or lack of experience. Yet by reading the brief guide found in the subsequent paragraphs, yoga teachers can gain the information necessary to guide pregnant women into performing wellness-inducing yoga moves.

One of the first things yoga teachers should become or remain cognizant of when teaching pregnant women yoga is that the moves should not be particularly intense. This is especially the case if a woman has not practiced yoga in a long time or has never completed the exercises in her life. Thus while hard-core yoga has a very important and health-inducing effect for many, this format should be omitted when working with pregnant women. Instead, concentrate on offering beginner and/or intermediate style moves that will facilitate agility and cardiovascular work without elevating the risk of fatigue, strain, or unnecessary harm to the unborn child.

Recognizing the time that pregnant women who have been practicing yoga should shift into prenatal yoga classes is important. Generally, it is advisable for these women to start shifting into prenatal yoga classes between the end of the second trimester or the onset of the third trimester. The special instruction that the women receive in these courses will prepare their bodies for birth.

Yet another factor yoga instructors should take into consideration when preparing to teach prenatal students is the importance of avoiding twists. This is important because compressing and wringing out the abdomen during pregnancy would make little sense and could be potentially dangerous. In addition to avoiding twists, yoga teachers should skip core work exercises when instructing pregnant women. Since the woman's belly necessitates expansion, it's not a good idea to spend time building sculpted abs during this era.

If you are serious about being able to teach prenatal yoga classes with proficiency and excellence, you may want to consider the great value of taking continuing education courses (CECs). Many of these courses can be taken online, and there are also traditional learning programs that you can enroll in for the purpose of attaining hands-on experience. Attaining this type of education is incredibly valuable for yoga teachers and will typically make them more marketable job candidates.

As many people know, becoming a mother is a very important transformation. Moreover, effective yoga practice can enhance a woman's ability to carry her baby in a healthy state and subsequently give labor. Since this is the case, yoga instructors should recognize the integral role they can play in positively contributing to this cycle of life. By carefully considering the outline found above, yoga instructors can become proficient in teaching pregnant women.
Faye Martins, is a Yoga teacher and a graduate of the Yoga teacher training program at: Aura Wellness Center in, Attleboro, MA. 

2 comments:

parvezbdjsr said...

One must have to consider of taking continuing education courses to teach prenatal yoga classes with proficiency and excellence. Thanks for sharing the info.

Unknown said...

Yoga instructors should take into consideration when preparing to teach prenatal students is the importance of avoiding twists.

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