The word yoga means unity. A pregnant woman is by nature the personification of this state. Her body and the body of the developing fetus are one for nine months. One within the other they breathe, nourish, are active and rest, sleep and move. They are two and yet one….Our modern society is not accustomed to conscious work with the body and mind. We spend most of our time “from the neck up”, we often have little or no awareness of our bodies, and our lives are mostly a merry-go-round of our minds. This disconnects the body from the mind and spirit and creates a gap, a disconnect. Yoga postures are a tool or guide to perceive our body, to be in conscious connection, contact and communication with it. Where there is mutual feeling, understanding and harmony is possible. Thus, through yoga, the pregnant woman has a tool to listen to her ever-changing body, understand its needs and meet them. As yoga practice engages not only the body’s movements, but also the mind, which is invited to feel and sense the body, the connection begins to be restored. All parts of our being are reconnecting. We know what we feel. We know what we need to feel well. Sensitivity training on the yoga mat leads us to trust our bodies and have confidence in their abilities. We have the experience that our body knows what is good for it, that it will always know, and that if we listen, we will hear the message. This skill, which can be learned and continually deepened, is a great gift in pregnancy and childbirth. A pregnant woman gains her own inner strength, confidence in herself and in her ability to bring a healthy and happy baby into the world.
In my experience of working with pregnant women, I know that problems that are considered a normal part of pregnancy, such as back pain, swelling of the hands and feet, heartburn and others, may not occur at all. A healthy woman can go through pregnancy without any difficulties or pains or can greatly reduce or eliminate them altogether through yoga practice or other holistic methods.

In the practice of yoga, through the wise guidance of our body’s intelligence, we seek and find stability and comfort at the same time. The body and mind can experience inner solidity as well as openness and malleability again and again in yoga practice. The practice truly serves as a rehearsal. What takes place on the practice mat then carries over into everyday life. If the yoga practice makes us feel more ourselves and more in touch with the baby in the womb, it is very likely that this experience will last beyond the yoga class and beyond the pregnancy period.