As a yoga teacher, your physical health is a vital part of your career success. So, if you find yourself pregnant, you may be wondering how it will affect your current and future classes. Having taught through my singleton and twin pregnancy, I’m here to tell you, it’s possible to maintain your schedule if that’s something you are comfortable doing. Keep reading for some of my best tips for teaching yoga while pregnant.
Please Note: this article is not meant to act as medical advice. Always consult your medical professional before engaging in physical activity while pregnant.
Tip #1: Ensure you are able to teach effectively without demonstrations
Sometimes as yoga teachers, we can use our demonstration of poses to provide the guidance for our students, but if you find yourself unable to practice certain poses throughout your pregnancy, you likely don’t want to exclude them from your class plans for the next 9 months. It’s important that you are able to effectively use verbal cues to guide students into poses, and be knowledgeable enough about the poses you teach to provide alignment cues when you see students doing a pose in a way that shows you they may need assistance. This means being able to use different words to explain the same things - for example if you notice students are continuing to round their shoulders when you are cueing “heartspace is open” you may try saying “roll your shoulders back and down” or “lift your sternum” or “broaden your collar bones”. One description may work for some studetns and another will work for others, so being comfortable and familiar enough with the poses and alignment you are teaching is important for being able to teach without using your body to physically show your students what you mean.
If you are working with students that you know well and have practiced with for awhile, if you feel like students need a pose demonstrated, you can also ask one of your students who you know understands the alignment of a pose to demonstrate for you while you talk to the students about what they see.
There will be plenty of poses you can (and will want) to practice through your pregnancy if you choose to, so you will likely still be able to practice along with your students somewhat, but on days you just don’t have the energy, or if your pregnancy becomes physically taxing or difficult, it’s definitely possible to teach while taking breaks to sit in a chair (trust me, I did this a lot while I taught a 25 weeks pregnant with twins).
Tip #2: If you have control over what you teach in class, make your class work for you
If you are working in a studio and you are the “Advanced Vinyasa” teacher, this may not apply to you (but see above), but if you are teaching a session that is more general (Hatha style yoga, beginner etc) you can make sure the class you offer your students works for you that day. If you wake up with very low energy and tight hips, offer a hip opening, relaxation focused class. If you wake up feeling like you have tons of energy and need some movement, teach some of the more challenging poses you feel comfortable doing (I will always remember demonstrating Ardha Chandrasana in my third trimester with my singleton pregnancy and how I felt like a superhero after lol). If you have the option to be flexible with what you offer your studetns, then plan the class based on your needs, and I assure you, some of your students will likely have the same ones and be very thankful for your choice that day.
Tip #3: Listen to your body
This is something we often preach to our students and it is important that we heed our own advice (pregnant or not). Your students will not be upset with you for taking care of yourself and your baby, so if you need to adjust something, even mid-class, it’s ok. I used a belly band in my pregnancies and there were some days that thing was being put on mid-class because I needed it (imagine loud velcro noises). There were days I sat in a chair and did only arm movements for the second half of a class because the energy I thought I had, had left after 20 minutes. One day during the days of mask wearing, I had to remove my mask (gasp!) and simply told my students that if I wore it one minute longer my morning sickness would be making an appearance - they understood. Make sure you don’t hold yourself to an unrealistic standard as a teacher. Listen to your body, take care of yourself, and your students will understand. (and if they don’t - they aren’t the student for you!)
So, if you are pregnant and wondering what that means for your yoga teaching career, it’s going to be ok. Of course, there are circumstances where you may not be able to teach (bedrest, hyperemesis gravidarum, etc), but if you have an uncomplicated pregnancy and your doctor gives you the “ok” to engage in physical activity, you should be able to continue to offer your students an amazing yoga experience.
Let me know if you have any other tips to add or any questions about teaching while pregnant in the comments below!