hot yoga during pregnancy?

sarteratops · April 2011

I have been a faithful yogi and part time teacher for several years now but like to keep my practice gentle and light. I took up hot yoga about 8 months ago and started going once a week but haven't gone since I became pregs. I know saunas and hot tubs are unsafe during pregs so I kind of assumed that hot yoga should be avoided as well. The room only gets to 105-110 degrees though and pregs women living in warmer climates like Arizona probably deal with this kind of heat regularly. Anyone have any insight on this?

ananas19 · April 2011

You should NOT do hot yoga. Raising your body heat that much is not good for baby, not to mention the risk of dehydration.

Also, if you're a well practiced yogi, inversions should be avoided during pregnancy. They can cause blood pressure fluctuations, which are bad news for baby.

Keep practicing mama, I LOVED yoga during pregnancy!

1220winterbride · April 2011

ditto, I heard no HOT yoga. Baby cannot sweat or regulate body heat like we can.

Question::

Can you do twists? I heard no the the twists.

ananas19 · April 2011

1220winterbride:
ditto, I heard no HOT yoga. Baby cannot sweat or regulate body heat like we can.

Question::

Can you do twists? I heard no the the twists.

I did toned-down seated twists, until it was uncomfortable for me, in place of any recommended twists during class. It's really not as much of a concern in the first trimester though.

1220winterbride · April 2011

thanks for the tip.

OP- Good luck and enjoy. namaste~

sarteratops · April 2011

Thanks for the answers! I kind of figured it wouldn't be safe but thought I'd get a second opinion. I love practicing when I'm pregnant, I feel like I connect with my baby on a different level and I am doing so much good for him.

Twists should be avoided in the third trimester, I've heard. Gentle twists are ok but I imagine that it would be uncomfortable to twist with a big belly anyhow!

tokenhoser · April 2011

I would pass on hot yoga. There's surviving summer heat, then there's exercising intentionally in heat, you know?

I've done twists as comfortable. I couldn't do the more advanced ones now if I wanted - I have no choice but to sub something more gentle. The main modifications I did was giving up reverse wheel (early - probably around 12 weeks), staying off my belly once I had a belly (around 18 weeks), and staying off my back once that became uncomfortable (around 30 weeks, although I still pass through lying on my back to get into other positions). I also had to cut back on holding my arms over my head early on - it made me dizzy.

Pretty much: listen to your body and you'll be fine. My yoga teacher complimented my ability to stay in her non-prenatal class as long as I did (I was there until last week). She watched me, but never had to make many specific suggestions.

mamarunner · April 2011

My husband and I have always worked out together and he recently wanted to try hot yoga. I, of course, insisted on doing it too, but he asked me to wait until we consulted my doctor. She has no problem with me continuing to run 40 miles per week, but she said absolutely NO hot yoga. She said it raises your body temperature too high.

beyoga · April 2011

Have you been doing Bikram? I love Bikram. His wife has a prenatal dvd which I did at home. You can look it up on the Bikram website or on Amazon I believe. You don't have to use heat but can still do the moves so you are not so far off track when you go back to class.

tweettyjohn · April 2011

I was taking Bikram Yoga before I found out I was preg, but when I found out that the high heat can be bad when you are trying to conceive, I stopped. I called the center and explained that I was trying and that a lot of fertility docs mentioned that I should refrain from the practice, they allowed my package expiration to end in a year. I spoke with the owner/instructor and she totoally understood b/c her daughter was trying to conceive and she took a break as well. So it depends on what your doc says but we were trying for a couple of years and I just didn't want to risk anything and since I am in my early stages, I'll just wait it out until the little one is here.

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