Prenatal Yoga

I purchased and tried 3 prenatal fitness DVDs around the same time:* Perfect Pregnancy Workout* Prenatal Yoga* Leisa Hart's Fit Mama Prenatal WorkoutHere's how I thought they compared. (Note that I do yoga and walk regularly; while I enjoy dancing, I do not dance regularly. I'm not overweight.)* Perfect Pregnancy Workout - 5 stars. Designed and narrated by a Cirque du Soleil acrobat (faint French accent), this video is my favorite of the three. The woman demonstrating the workout is about 8 months pregnant and in amazing athletic shape (visible muscle definition). The theme of this video seems to be preparing for birth and staying strong and fit. It has two sections: (a) workout and (b) instructions. (a) After a mercifully brief cheesy earth-mother introduction, the yoga-based workout is vigorous yet flowing and straightforward, building incredible muscle strength, flexibility, and stamina. It includes squats, lunges, lots of ab work, lots of great hip stretches, kegels, lots of different arm strengtheners. At the end I am sweating, breathing harder, relaxed, and satisfied. The next day my muscles are sore (in a good way) and feel stronger. The music is world-beat without vocals, easy to exercise to. (b) The instructions section is excellent as well. Animated anatomical graphics clearly illustrate diastasis, how to check yourself for it, and how to modify your workout to avoid further muscle separation, as well as exactly what kegels are. This part also explains in depth how to do the moves in the workout.* Prenatal Yoga - 4 stars. Designed and narrated by a UCLA-graduated yogi, this video is my second favorite. Shiva is under 3 months' pregnant in the demonstration but has women behind her in second and third trimesters. The theme of this video seems to be relaxing and preparing for motherhood. It has three sections: (a) workout, (b) massage, and (c) interview. (a) The workout is much less vigorous than Perfect Pregnancy, but includes squats, lunges, many spinal twists, kegels (no deep explanation, just metaphor), lots of different stretches. At the end I am sweating a bit, relaxed, and satisfied. The music is new-age without vocals. For some reason, Shiva does not pronounce the "h" in "exhale" which can be distracting. Also the narration gets slightly out of sync with the demonstration in a few places, which can be confusing. (b) The massage section is fabulous if you have a partner willing to watch it and give you one! Great techniques for feet, legs, back, and neck. (c) Shiva explains her story in the interview, how her father named her after an Indian god, how she took up yoga in college, etc.* Leisa Hart's FitMama - 2 stars. I bought this on Amazon's recommendation and I'm sorry I did. My biggest gripe is that this video doesn't focus on smooth continuous deep breathing, unlike the other two DVDs. Leisa is a perky actress who does infomercials. She is 8 months pregnant in this but her body looks very different (thin, wiry) compared to the woman's in Perfect Pregnancy (athletic). The theme of this video seems to be feeling better (sexier) about oneself while pregnant. It has basically two sections: (a) workout and (b) bonus stretches. (a) The workout is much less vigorous than Perfect Pregnancy yet goes at a faster, more erratic pace than either of the other two videos. It has four parts: salsa dance, "yoga fat burn," labor and delivery prep, and prenatal stretch and relaxation. The dancing is about 8 moves repeated, with a few squats. I feel foolish and bored doing this. The yoga fat burn is more aerobics than yoga, includes ab work, squats, no twists, never holds any pose for long, is repetitive. Labor and delivery prep includes kegels (no real explanation), many boring arm swings, ab work. Prenatal stretch and relaxation includes leg stretches, ab work, is repetitive. The music is salsa, soft rock, and world beat without vocals; very good workout music, loud in places. (b) The bonus stretches are the best part, but are buried under Special Features (the DVD doesn't seem very well organized). These include leg, back, hip and shoulder stretches actually held for several seconds, squats, plenty of rapid boring arm swings.All three videos show women in different trimesters doing the exercises and mention appropriate modifications. All three videos explain how to do the exercises safely and how to recognize warning signs of overdoing it.If you're a yoga gal like me and you want to buy just one prenatal yoga video, get Perfect Pregnancy. If you want your partner to give you a great massage too, get Prenatal Yoga.

I checked a few DVDs out of our library to see if I could find one that I would want to use through my whole pregnancy. Side note: I also watched the video "Yoga Journal and Lamaze present: Yoga for your pregnancy with Kristen Eykel" (it seemed to have quite a bit of promotional material where I wanted yoga and I didn't like the jarring motion of many of the moves) and "Yoga for Pregnancy, Labor & Birth Starring Colette Crawford" (which seemed like they locked two pregnant women in a small windowless room to do yoga with a creepy older lady). I've read positive reviews of each, so maybe they just weren't my style, but I didn't get what I wanted out of them. What I was looking for was something to help me relax and focus on myself and my body. I wanted calm, easy movements, with a few challenging moves to push me just a little further. My yoga goal is centered relaxation and control of my body for delivery. In that regard, this video is great. It is gentle and quiet, and her voice is very... I don't want to say monotonous, but I think that may be the best word. But I like that the whole video is hypnotically peaceful since it helps put me in the yoga headspace. If you're looking for a workout, this is not the video for you, since there is only a small portion of the video (the planks) that I find difficult, and I am not in great shape. There are other sections where I can push myself a little further, but that is the only section where I feel like it's a real workout. I do like that each section is focused on the muscles and positions that will help with delivery, and I love that they include Kegels.I have a two-year-old, so it took me about three viewings to get through the whole video uninterrupted (it's a full hour long). I do wish you could jump to the cuts between sections (sitting, standing, relaxation, etc) but there is no menu for that and scene jumping on the remote puts you randomly in the middle of the section. I just wrote down what the time was for each break so I can fast-forward when I don't have time for the whole thing. I also paused a lot to spend more time on some sections and less on others, but over time I realized the video comes back to the same areas a few times, so if you don't feel like you got enough of a stretch, you'll probably get that muscle again later. Oh, and there are a few places where the directions she says are not what the actors do, so it took me a few viewings to not mess up at those parts.All that being said, I do find that this video leaves me feeling relaxed, centered, and more in control of my body. I felt at ease and motivated with this instructor, and I find the modifications for each trimester helpful. I'm glad I purchased this video since it has become a pleasant part of my pregnancy where I get to focus on just me and the new baby. I definitely recommend it for people looking for the same peace and control that I am, even with the few set-backs it has.

I purchased the DVD when 15 weeks pregnant and I have really enjoyed the workout. It is made of several part : standing postures, seating postures and floorwork. Depending on your stage of the pregnancy you have the choice to follow one of the 3 practictionners, according to your flexibility and need for support. I am now in my last month and follow a mix both the 2nd and 3 rd trimester.You need a chair, a yoga blanket (a simple blanket does the job perfectly), a strap (I use a scarf) and a block, especially in yoursecond trimester. Because I do not have a block at home, I used a shoe box or an Argos catalog! i get all the equipment ready while Shiva explain how the workout will take place (you can not skip that bit).The pace is good, although different to my usual yoga teacher and it is suitable for both beginner and more adavnced practitionners. There is a good flow, none of that stop/go that you can have with other workouts and all in all the session lasts for 50 minutes (of course, you can make the relaxation at the end longer if you feel the need). It is possible to only do part of the workouts, for instance, just the seated postures, but you would have to fast-forward, because unfortunately the navigation is such that you can not just jump to the next section (hence the 4 stars)Another little problem that I found was that there seems to be a little to many side stretches for my liking and by completing them on the chair, I do not feel as if I am actually streching anything at all. This is why I do not follow all the instructions for the 3rd trimester.All in all a very good buy and Highly recommended.

Ive really been enjoying the routine in this DVD. Its well put together and the order of poses is logical and easy to follow. There are two students, one in trimester 2 and one in trimester 3, as well as Shiva Rea, so no matter what stage of your pregnancy you are at you can do the routine. Ive been doing it about three times a week now since I found out I was pregnant, and I really feel my legs getting stronger and my flexability increasing (although that may just be the hormones!) I would definetly reccomend this DVD if you have done some yoga before. If you havent it might be best to go to a few classes first, so you get an idea of how the poses are supposed to feel so you dont over do things. I give four stars because it's just a little too short. This does make it easy to fit the routine into your day and if you feel you need a bit more you can always repeat one of the sections, which is what I tend to do. I would also like to have seen a section on how to use yoga and breathing through labour.Im glad I bought it and will be using this routine throught my pregnancy.

I bought this DVD and a pilates one and this is far superior. I found it really easy to follow and liked the way it is broken down into 3 sections, so that when you're short on time you can do an abridged workout.This is really good for relaxation and for relieving those pregnancy aches and pains. The soundtrack is also really soothing and I often fell asleep to the music at the end of the DVD.The workout might be a bit limited for a seasoned yoga practitioner, but for a beginner like me who just wanted something to keep the joints supple and to strengthen the muscles needed for delivery, it was perfect. Regular practice of the breathing techniques was also a great help during the delivery of my daughter.I would thoroughly recommend this DVD to any mum-to-be.

This is a great DVD for pregnant women. It is relaxing, and is ideal for preparing your body for labour. It's not too long like yoga classes tend to be, and is ideal for those of us who are already pretty fit but want to introduce some extra stretching and variety to support a healthy pregnancy.I can't comment on its difficulty - I find it to be pretty easy to follow, having never done yoga before, but then again I am only 20 and already fit before I started. The main strain for me is hamstring stretches because I am guilty of not stretching after a run! I am finding the DVD brilliant, I wish I had started yoga earlier. And when my morning sickness was so bad I couldn't do anything else exercise-wise, I was able to do this. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I think women who are already good at yoga might find this DVD doesn't push them as far as they'd like.

I highly recommend this to anyone who is pregnant, especially if (like me) they have never done yoga before. I decided to try it when my growning stomach started to cause backache and my muscles were complaining. I am a total convert - this is a great set of exercises, with enough to challenge you, though it's highly enjoyable. I always feel full of energy, relaxed and strong after finishing it - and I'd do it every day if I had time.