Yoga for Pregnancy: Embracing Your Changing Body

A gentle guide to staying connected, strong, and grounded during this sacred season of life.

Pregnancy is a profound and beautiful journey — one that brings transformation on every level. From the moment you learn you’re expecting, your body begins to shift in miraculous ways to support new life. Alongside the wonder, though, come challenges: physical discomfort, fluctuating hormones, emotional waves, and a changing sense of self.

At times, it may feel like your body is no longer your own — unfamiliar and unpredictable. But rather than resist these changes, yoga invites you to move with them, to honour your evolving body, and to meet yourself with gentleness and grace.

Yoga during pregnancy is more than just modified movement. It’s a sacred practice of connection — to your breath, your body, your baby, and your inner strength. Through breath awareness, mindful movement, and deep rest, yoga becomes a source of support, grounding, and empowerment through each trimester.

The Benefits of Yoga During Pregnancy

As your body and emotions shift day by day, yoga offers a steady anchor. These are just a few of the ways yoga can support you throughout pregnancy:

1. Improves Flexibility & Mobility

Gentle stretching helps ease tightness in the hips, back, and shoulders — areas that often hold tension during pregnancy. Poses like Cat-Cow and Seated Forward Fold encourage space and ease in the body as it changes.

2. Relieves Common Discomforts

Back pain, swelling, joint strain, and fatigue are common pregnancy symptoms. Yoga helps promote circulation, reduce tension, and support better posture. Poses such as Reclined Bound Angle and Legs Up the Wall offer relief and relaxation.

3. Promotes Emotional Balance & Mindfulness

The emotional landscape of pregnancy can be unpredictable. Yoga brings you back to the breath, helping reduce anxiety and cultivate calm. Breathing practices like Pranayama encourage inner stillness and presence amidst all the change.

4. Supports Pelvic Floor Health

As your baby grows, the pelvic floor supports more weight. Yoga helps tone and relax these muscles with targeted postures like Squat Pose and Bridge Pose, promoting strength and elasticity in preparation for birth.

5. Prepares You for Labor & Delivery

Yoga builds both physical stamina and mental resilience — essential for labour. Through breathwork and hip-opening poses, you develop tools to stay centred, grounded, and open during childbirth.

Key Yoga Poses for Pregnancy

These gentle, supportive poses are ideal for pregnancy and can be adapted to suit your trimester and experience level.

Cat-Cow Pose (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

Eases tension in the spine and shoulders, and encourages fluid movement.

• Start on hands and knees, wrists under shoulders, knees under hips.
• Inhale: drop the belly, lift the tailbone and gaze (Cow).
• Exhale: round the spine, tuck the chin (Cat).
• Repeat slowly for 5–10 breaths.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

A restful posture that calms the nervous system and stretches the back and hips.

• Kneel and widen the knees, bringing big toes to touch.
• Lower hips toward heels and extend arms forward or rest them alongside the body.
• Rest the forehead to the mat and breathe deeply.
• Wide-Legged Forward Fold (Prasarita Padottanasana)
• Lengthens the spine and opens the hips.
• Stand with feet 3–4 feet apart.
• Place hands on blocks, a bolster, or a chair for support.
• Hinge from the hips to fold forward with a long spine.
• Hold for 5–10 breaths, knees slightly bent if needed.

Squat Pose (Malasana)

Builds hip flexibility and strengthens the pelvic floor.

• Stand with feet wider than hips, toes turned out.
• Lower hips into a squat, keeping chest lifted.
• Bring palms together at the heart, pressing elbows into the knees.
• Hold for several breaths, using a block under the sit bones if needed.

Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani)

Promotes circulation, reduces swelling, and invites deep relaxation.

• Sit sideways beside a wall, then swing legs up as you lie back.
• Let arms rest at your sides and eyes close.
• Breathe slowly and deeply, resting for several minutes.

Embracing the Journey

Pregnancy is not a linear path — it is a cycle of change, expansion, and surrender. Yoga offers a soft landing place where you can come home to yourself again and again. It reminds you that you are strong even in your softness, powerful in your presence, and sacred in your transformation.

Through breath, movement, and intention, yoga becomes a mirror — reflecting the beauty of your resilience, the depth of your intuition, and the sacredness of this chapter in your life.

Let this practice carry you — not only through your pregnancy but into motherhood with grace, strength, and connection.

Continue Your Practice

To explore the full spectrum of prenatal support through yoga, check out our 9 Months of Blossoming course — available now on Sattva Connect. This immersive series is designed to support you through every stage of pregnancy with wisdom, movement, and heart-centered guidance.