16w 5 days and have been twisting in yoga now knowing it’s contraindicated…

[tolearn]

Typo in title, meant to say NOT knowing, not now*

I’ve been doing yoga for the past year now. I took a break for a few months and got back into it about a month after I found out I was pregnant in November. So I was about 8 weeks when I went back for 2 sessions, took January off, then started back up this month. I have been going one day a week for the last 3 weeks. It’s a gentle yoga class, but I know I’ve been doing closed twists in the scheduled flows. Not in excess or anything but still. I told the instructor today I was pregnant afterward and she said “oh I wish you would’ve told me before!” And she said “really the only thing off limits is closed deep twisting”. I have a noticeable belly at this point. There were a few twisting poses today. Not a twist pose, but oddly enough the one I felt the most uncomfortable in was child’s pose honestly. Obviously now I won’t do those poses anymore that I know and she said she’d give me modifications.

So…have I been like cutting off my blood flow to my baby? Now I’m horribly paranoid. Anybody else out there twist in yoga and have a healthy baby? Sos

Edited to clarify I don’t have a desire to do twisting poses, just that I’m worried that I’ve done them and that I’ve done some harm.

 

[earlene]

@tolearn The fear isn’t that you are going to harm your baby with twisting, it’s that you might worsen ab separation/DR so it’s fine that you’ve done them as you haven’t hurt your child! you can just leave them out going forward, if that makes you feel more comfortable. I asked my pelvic floor therapist about twists and she said they are totally fine to do - just watch for coning or doming.

 

[tolearn]

@earlene Thank you! I also do strength training twice a week and that instructor echoed the same thing you said, so she doesn’t have me doing any crunches, sit ups, or other flexion abdominal workouts.

 

[lovejt209]

@tolearn I've taught yoga all throughout my pregnancy and have taught now for over 15 years. I did gentle open twists throughout and it felt fine on my body. I taught classes until I was 34 weeks. Closed twists became uncomfortable somewhere in my second trimester and I stopped doing any poses that felt uncomfortable to me.

You'll know what feels good and what doesn't. I did have a longtime established practice before I got pregnant and I know my body well. If you're not sure, ask your OB and see what they say.

 

[tolearn]

@lovejt209 Okay. Thank you. From what I’ve read, that’s the general consensus is that when it feels bad it’s time to stop. I felt zero pressure or pain in my abdomen today doing them but to be cautionary will stop. I also found being on my belly doing cobra, sphinx, etc was uncomfortable. I wish so bad I had a specific prenatal class near me.

 

[lovejt209]

@tolearn Yes, belly down poses were some of the first I had to modify. For cobra/sphinx you can place a bolster beneath your thighs so your bump can hang free with no pressure on the uterus+ baby. I did that for a while until even that felt like it was no longer working, then I stopped those poses as well.

Your instructor should be able to show you how to modify twists for an alternative gentle open version if that feels good for you. I found that continuing easy twists really helped my spine as I got further along.

 

[tolearn]

@lovejt209 Oh wow that’s a great idea about the bolster! Thank you so much!!

 

[passion3545]

@tolearn I think you are fine so long as you are mindful from here on. Baby is still so small that at that stage it's quite hard to harm them. It's as you get a bit bigger and get a proper bump that movement really matters.

 

[tolearn]

@passion3545 Thank you for your input, it’s appreciated!

 

[highway2heaven]

@tolearn Prenatal yoga teacher here. We don’t do closed twists in order to protect our abs, no worries about hurting baby Open twists are the alternative as long as they feel good. Remember to always listen to your body!

Also, when child’s pose feels uncomfortable to me, I enjoy extended puppy instead.

 

[tolearn]

@highway2heaven Oh thank goodness. This is what I was looking for lol. Thank you!! I feel relieved. She had us do walking puppy today which was nice.

 

[arabismo]

@tolearn Yes! Child’s pose is kinda uncomfortable for me too! And I’m so baffled because they do it ALL the time in the prenatal yoga videos!

 

[tolearn]

@arabismo I had a slight tum before pregnancy, and even then thought it was a little too tight on that region lol

 

[johnhenrygroenewald]

@tolearn Fwiw, I didn't follow the standard timelines for when to stop doing a type of movement or exercise. My baby and womb grew upwards more than out and it really put minimal stress on my abdominals for a long time. I just kept doing things until it felt weird or bad. My diastasis healed by 6 weeks pp without any special attention to it on my part, so my approach didn't seem to cause any lasting damage. In my non-medical opinion, maintaining range of motion and overall mobility as long as you can is going to make your pregnancy more comfortable. I did standing windmills til the bitter end and the coach at the gym was surprised I could still manage it, but it felt totally fine!

 

[jimmyk]

@tolearn I’ve practiced yoga for over 20 years. First pregnancy, I did yoga up to the end. Mostly standing warrior poses etc practicing breathing and pelvic floor control. This time I’m 14 weeks. Ivdd we quit doing twists since 10 weeks, I could feel my uterus like an orange in there. It was uncomfortable and my body said no. My body isn’t liking forward folds or anything that scrunches my lower abdomen.

There’s so much to get out of yoga, I don’t understand why you want to do twists so badly? Just leave it for now, focus on what you can do, and chill.

 

[tolearn]

@jimmyk I don’t want to do twists so badly, I’m just worried that I’ve done them not knowing and now there’s damage done. I don’t care to do them at all

 

[jimmyk]

@tolearn I think you’re probably alright, it’s relatively early on and it sounds like your body wasn’t protesting. I’d just probably leave the twists from here on.