Postpartum Yoga
Yoga has been a huge part of my life for years. I began practicing in 2016 as a Junior in college. My first encounter with yoga was a Bikram (hot) yoga class with some of my classmates. I immediately took an interest in it because of the clarity of mind and peace it gave me. Initially, my practice was inconsistent, but after starting Grad school in 2018, I realized I needed to practice daily. I stopped doing hot yoga and found a Vinyasa Flow yoga class near my university. After graduating grad school, I moved to Los Angeles where I found a new yoga home. Living in LA was like a dream come true for my yoga practice. All of my favorite teachers from Instagram were in LA and they had some of the best yoga studios. One Down Dog was in walking distance from my apartment. It was perfect! While in LA I got pregnant so naturally the next phase of my yoga practice included prenatal yoga. I walked to the studio every Saturday. I never missed a class. After doing a cross country move at 7 months pregnant, I stopped doing yoga to focus on preparing for my baby’s arrival. Unfortunately, my hiatus from yoga lasted until I was 6 months postpartum.
My postpartum period was not as easeful as I would’ve liked. Just like many other new mothers, I experienced uncontrollable emotions, aches, pains, anxiety, and much more. Postpartum yoga, also known as postnatal yoga, could’ve helped me with all of that! The word yoga means “to yoke”. It is believed that a consistent yoga practice can bring the mind, body, and soul into unison and balance. Yoga refers to much more than the asanas or poses, but for the sake of this blog post, when I talk about postpartum yoga, I’m referring to the postures and breathwork that are beneficial to the healing and strengthening of a new mother.
Postpartum yoga can help you learn to do the following:
- Connect to your body
- Learn to love your body
- Connect to your baby
- Find peace of mind
- Reduce aches and pains
- Improve pelvic and abdominal strength
- Avoid injury during recovery
- Ease shoulder discomfort from breastfeeding/carrying baby
After the 6 weeks of recovery recommended for birthing people, postpartum yoga would be a great way to ease back into working out. Nothing about yoga is easy, but a postpartum yoga practice is perfect for slowly regaining your strength and allowing your body to heal on it’s own time. Even more important than getting back in shape, postpartum yoga would teach you how to admire your current body. Body acceptance was something I really struggled with for months after having Kairo. I held on to the image of the “old me” for far too long. I compared every aspect of my new body to my old one. It took me a while to learn to embrace and love the changes. I think this experience is common for many mothers. I also noticed that it wasn’t until I started loving myself again that I was able to lose any weight. Had I been practicing postpartum yoga, rather than hating how I looked, I would’ve been more present in my body, grateful for all it had done, and in awe of how it continued to support me and my baby.
Other than learning how to love the new version of myself, I wish I had started postpartum yoga earlier as a way to deal with all the emotions I was experiencing. Holding the poses in yoga helps to improve your endurance muscle both on and off the mat and it helps you not to take the poses or life so seriously. I think both of those lessons are really important for new mothers. We feel like every decision we make is life or death, and in most cases it really isn’t. And knowing that the emotions are just energy in motion and they do not define who I am nor do I need to carry them with me throughout the day might’ve helped me deal with them better in those early postpartum months.
In addition to the asanas that are tailored specifically for a postpartum mama, a postnatal yoga class would help you connect to your breath. Or breath is everything. During the day, many people walk around holding their breath without even noticing it. A mama who knows how to bring her attention to her breath is a powerful mama. She knows how to be present. She knows how to persevere. She knows how to heal. All of these things would be experienced with a postpartum yoga practice.
I like to encourage people to try yoga for themselves. I can go on and on about all the benefits and life altering power of yoga, but you really have to experience it for yourself. Be open to the ways that it can transform you mentally, physically, and spiritually. Especially my mamas who might be dealing with postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, weak pelvic floors, weak abs, or my mamas feeling like the weight of the world is on their shoulders, struggling to manage stress or wanting to love themselves again. Yoga just might be the answer you’re looking for.
I’m currently training to be a yoga teacher and will soon offer prenatal and postpartum yoga to my community. I can’t wait to help each of you own your power and reclaim your peace through the powerful practice of yoga.
Sending lots of love!
Until next time,
Stay ViKtorious, Mama!
