You can start these exercises after 14 weeks of your pregnancy.
If you have any complications or injuries please check with your doctor or physio that it is safe for you to do yoga.
The exercises below are taken from the DVD 'Pregnancy Yoga with Tara Lee'.
Sit cross-legged or kneel and use cushions if you want to for support. Rest one hand on your baby and the other hand in the centre of your chest. Take some deep breaths (in and out through the nose) with the eyes closed andsit as tall as possible.
Feel as though you can anchor down through your pelvis into the floor and feel more space as you lift through your spine. Feel the rise and fall of the abdomen, with the breath. Feel a connection with your baby. Stay here for a few minutes, feeling the calming effects.
Pregnancy yoga: Tara Lee
1 of 9Elbow lifts
Interlace your fingers underneath the chin. As you inhale, lift the elbows high, filling up the lungs and as you exhale, lower the elbows back down. Repeat for 5-10 slow breaths.
2 of 9Calf stretch
Come onto all 4s and stretch one leg behind, tucking the toes under. Reach back through the heel, feeling the stretch down the back of the leg. Change legs.
3 of 9Cat stretch
Come onto all 4s with the knees under the hips and the wrists under the shoulders. Tuck the chin into the chest as you round up through the spine and inhale come back to a neutral position with the spine. Repeat exhaling as you round, hugging your baby in toward you and inhaling releasing back to neutral again, looking in front of your hands.
4 of 9Opposite arm and leg stretches
Come to the hands and knees on all 4s. Inhale lift the right arm and left leg and as you exhale release back to the starting position. Inhale lift the left arm and right leg and exhale release back down.Repeat 5 x each side keeping the hips in line, looking down at the floor. Aim to have the leg hip height and the arm shoulder height. This exercise helps to strengthen your back.
5 of 9Side stretches
Sitting cross-legged or kneeling if it’s more comfortable, place your right down on the floor by your side and reach your left arm over. Feel the stretch down the side of your body and feel the opening between the ribs.Keep your shoulders down and relaxed. You can either look down to the hand on the floor or up towards your top arm. Stay for 5 deep breaths and then slowly come back up and change sides. This can be helpful for rib pain and provide more space for your growing baby.
6 of 9Wall stretch
Lean against a wall and walk your feet back until you make an L shape with your body and legs. Lean back through the hips and through the heels. Stay 5-10 breaths feeling the stretch through the back and the hamstrings. Keep a bend in the knees.
7 of 9Child's pose
On all 4s with the knees wider than the hips, bring the hips back towards the heels and you can rest the forehead on the floor, make a pillow with the hands or rest the forehead on a pillow. Stay here as long as you like, breathing deeply.Helpful for labour in between contractions and good for releasing tension.
8 of 9Legs up wall
Lie with your legs up the wall if you are under 28 weeks pregnant and still feel comfortable lying on your back. Start by lying on your side with your hips by the wall and then carefully swing the legs up the wall. □Stay here for a few minutes, relaxing. When you are ready to come down, bend your knees, keeping them wide and roll over onto your side before carefully coming back up to sit.Benefits: Good for reducing swelling in the legs and ankles. Relaxing and restorative for your energy.
9 of 9Tara's DVD is out NOW
Tara Lee has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and has been teaching yoga for 12 years.She began teaching pregnancy yoga while pregnant with her first child 10 years ago and developed her own dynamic fluid style. Tara has taught thousands of pregnant women, guiding them through their pregnancies and births.Tara 's yoga DVD boxset “Bump, Birth and Beyond” has been a bestseller (over 60,000 copies sold) in the UK and her new Pregnancy Yoga DVD is now available (www.amazon.co.uk).Tara currently teaches ‘Pregnancy Yoga’, ‘Mother and Baby Yoga’ and ‘Vinyasa Flow Yoga’ at The Life Centre, Notting Hill Gate in London. She is a mother of two, a trained doula and Shiatsu practitioner.www.taraleeyoga.com