Before I became pregnant I played netball each week. I really didn’t want to lose this weekly activity so went on the hunt for something that could replace this for me. Pregnancy yoga was what I found! I’d never done yoga before and was a bit sceptical but even after my very first session I knew it was for me. The exercises loosened me up from head to toe and I felt so good after each class. I never really struggled with hip or back pain during my pregnancy and worked right up to 7 days before my due date (and 3 days before Rudy arrived!) Maybe this is due to me attending your classes from as soon as I had my 12 week scan!
Attending yoga certainly helped me bond with my baby. Having this time each week helped me get my head around what my body was going through and that there was a little baby growing inside me!
The breathing techniques that you learn at yoga really got me through the birth of my baby. My birth experience on the whole good but during a very scary spell when my baby’s heart rate dropped dramatically the breathing techniques got me through it calmly and luckily his heart rate went back to normal quickly. I put part of that down to my body relaxing and letting it do it’s thing instead of panicking. The midwives couldn’t believe how calm I remained throughout. I ended up delivering my baby in theatre as the doctors were getting concerned about my baby’s heart rate again. They wanted to try a forceps delivery and if that wasn’t successful I was going to have a c-section. Again, I just used the breathing technique through all of this and my healthy baby was delivered by forceps.
Yoga was my only opportunity to speak to other expectant mums. I was originally going to look at an NCT group so I could make some mum friends but after a few yoga sessions knew that I could find this through yoga instead. The classes were great for chatting too, we all shared our experiences from the week. As people were at different stages of their pregnancies you could learn about what was yet to come and get advice about the pregnancy and what other people had learned in preparation for their births. Also hearing updates on what positions people used during their labour was really helpful. Yoga/Tessa certainly taught me that my body was designed to birth a baby and that I could do it!
I would always recommend pregnancy yoga to anyone. It was always a highlight of the week during my pregnancy. It kept me active, helped me focus my mind each week and acknowledge what my body was doing whilst giving me an hour to dedicate to my baby.
“Tessa Clemson Yoga - your yoga studio in Great Harwood, serving Hyndburn, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley & Burnley”