Prenatal Yoga: Creating Space In Body And Mind

This nurturing prenatal yoga class focuses on opening the side body to create more space for breath, baby, and ease in movement. Through gentle stretches, flowing movements, and mindful breathwork, we’ll release tension, improve posture, and cultivate a sense of spaciousness in both body and mind. Perfect for all stages of pregnancy, this class supports physical comfort and emotional well-being, leaving you feeling refreshed, grounded, and connected.

Optional props: yoga blocks, pillows/bolster, blankets

Transcript

Welcome to your prenatal yoga, Your. . . 30 minute addition. Melissa, I'll be guiding you through this practice. And today we're just going to create space in our bodies and in our minds. Hopefully that will. Get some nice, Good mindfulness out of this. Let's go ahead and get into the breath. Find a comfortable seat. On your mat. Possibly on a block. Or a bolster. Then we'll just take a moment to ground. So maybe rolling the shoulders a couple times. Maybe a couple of head rolls. Until we kind of settle into stillness. And then feel free to place your hands. On baby and let's just take a few diaphragmatic breaths. So as you inhale. Puff up your belly, Expand through the 360 of the rib cage, Lift the collarbone. As you exhale, Let everything fall back into the middle. Inhale expand the belly the four corners of the rib cage, The collarbone. Exhale, Let everything fall back to center. Continue this at your own pace, Expanding on the inhale. And softening on the exhale. So with every inhale, We're creating space in the belly. The ribcage. The spine. And as you exhale, Maybe finding some release. And some softness. And it's really important for us to take the time to make space for ourselves. As we go through this journey of pregnancy and motherhood. Important to take time to ground, To breathe, To be. Knowing that stillness, That rest is fuel. Stillness is fuel. Take three to five more breaths here Keeping the jaw nice and soft. Shoulder saw. And then collective inhale, Nice and deep inhale. Open your mouth, Sigh it out. Gently. Open up your eyes. Let's interlace our fingers together. Flip your palms and press your shoulders back and away. So we're separating our shoulder blades, Puffing up that space in between our shoulders. Inhale. Exhale, Release. Let's do that again. Inhale, Interlace the fingers. Exhale, Press away. Huff up the space in between the shoulder blades. Inhale, Lift. Exhale, Release. Let's do that again, But this time we're going to add some side bins. Inhale, Interlace the fingers. Exhale, Flip the palms, Puff up the space in between the shoulder. Inhale grow tall hold here Exhale, Side bend to the right. Inhale back through center. Exhale, Side bend to the left. Inhale back through center Exhale, Release the hands. Now, Go ahead and either. . . Shift around if your knees are getting a little sore. If you're in a crisscross applesauce, Switch out your legs. If you're in Heroes or Verasana, Feel free to come down into crisscross applesauce or if you feel good with where you're at, As long as you're comfortable. Bones are rooted into either your prop or the earth. Shoulders down and back place your right hand beside you Inhale, Left hand high. Exhale, Reach up and over. Root down into your left hip. And then roll the left shoulder back so they're nice and stacked. And from here, Focus on puffing up the space in between the ribs so we're inhaling and expanding the rib cage out exhale bring it back in So we're creating space in the side body. Inhale, Expand. Exhale, Release one more time. Inhale, Expand. Exhale, Release, Gently come back up. Do that on the left side. Maybe shift around. Make sure our sit bones are nice and grounded. Left hand to the left. Inhale, Right hand high. Exhale, Reach up and over as we side bend. Root down into the right hip. Roll the right shoulder down and back. And then as you inhale, Expand through the ribs. Huff up the ribs out to the side. Exhale, Release. Continue to ground down through your right hip. Inhale, Puff up the ribs. Exhale, Release one more time. Inhale, Puff up the ribs. Exhale, Release, Come back through center. Then go ahead and. Send your feet in front of you, Give them a little shake. Maybe some ankle circles. Reverse your circles. And then gently find your tabletop position. So swinging your legs. Underneath you. Bringing your shoulders on top of your wrist, Wrist parallel to the top of the mat. Knees hips distance or wider. Spread your fingertips nice and long. Press down on the L's of the hands. Inhale, Cat pose. Lengthen through the spine. Pull the shoulders down and back. And so we're not really like making this exaggerated dip like we would. In a traditional vinyasa class. But we're just lengthening through the spine because the lower back can already be sensitive. And what we're doing here is just creating space and letting baby kind of hang in the hammock of our belly. Inhale. Exhale, Cat. Drop the tailbone to the earth. Hug baby up and in. Press the floor away. Tuck the chin to the chest. Inhale cat pose just lengthen through the spine Shoulders down and back. Exhale to cat round the spine. Pull baby up and inhale, Cow pose. Shoulders down and back. Exhale, Take care. Inhale back through center. And exhale, Tuck your right toes, Slide your leg along the mat. Pivot your heel down. Take your left shin and pivot it behind you so our toes are facing behind us. Reach the right hand to the sky for a supported side plank. And you have an option to stay here or option to reach the right arm up and over your head. So we're kind of making like a rainbow shape with our body. So starting with our fingers, It arches. Up and then comes down. To our feet. And then if we can lift our hips high to create the arch in the rainbow. Inhale, Reach the right hand back to the sky. Exhale, Back down to tabletop position. Three more cat cows. Inhale. Cat or cow pose hug the shoulders down and back. Lengthen through the crown of the head. Exhale, Cat pose, Press the floor away, Dome the back. Inhale cow pose shoulders down and back lengthen through the spine. Exhales the cat puff up the space in between your shoulder blades tailbone to the earth One more time, Inhale. And exhale to count. Inhale to tabletop. Exhale, Tuck your left toes, Slide your foot along the mat. Pivot your heel down and then pivot your right shin. So our right toes are facing behind us. Inhale left hand to the sky, Hold and breathe. And then you can stay here or. Make that rainbow-like shape or with the intention or the imagination that we're creating a rainbow by lifting our hips high and draping our arm up overhead. So again, Creating space in the side body. This is really nice. Getting into the hip. A little bit of the IT band. And then the side body along between the armpit and the hip. Inhale, Left hand to the sky. Exhale to tabletop. Inhale, Tuck your toes underneath you. Exhale to downward facing dog. Send your hips to the sky. Feel free to. Separate your feet as wide as you need to pedal out your feet. If down dog isn't for you today, Feel free to just meet us standing at the top of the mat. When you're a down dog, You can wag your tail from side to side. You can pedal out your feet. Press the floor away, Tuck your chin to your chest to find some traction in the back of the neck. And then slowly either walk your hands to your feet or your feet to your hands. Just depending on what feels best for you. Drop. Your tailbone bend your knees slowly roll up Inhale shoulders to ears. Exhale, Release them down your back. Great time to grab some blocks. Or um a chair or couch. We'll do a couple of half sun salutations. With the side bend. So I'll face you. And as you inhale, Reach your hands up to the sky. Grab your left wrist with your right hand. Exhale, Lift up and over like we did while we were sitting. And then bump your hips to the left. Stack your shoulders. Breathe into the space between the armpit and the hip. Inhale back through center Grab the right wrist with the left hand. Exhale, Side bend to the left, Bump your hips to the right. Stack your shoulders. Breathe into the side body. Inhale back through center. Exhale, Forward fold, Soften your knees, Hinge at the hips so we're having a nice flat back. You can release your hands to the earth, To the shins, To a block. Chair. Inhale, Halfway lift, Pull your heart forward. Keep your knees nice and soft and really root down through. The big toe, The pinky toe and the heel. And so if you don't have a prop, Hands are on your lap or on your shins. Laps tends to be a little more supportive. Either way, We're rolling your shoulders down and back, Pressing the tailbone towards the back of the room. Inhale. Exhale, Gently release. Let's do that breath to movement. Press down to rise up. Hands to the sky. Inhale. Grab on to your left wrist with your right hand exhale lift up and over side bend to the right bump your hips to the left Inhale back through center. Grab your wrist with your. . . Left hand, Exhale, Side bend to the left, Bump your hips to the right. Inhale back through center. Exhale, Forward fold. Soften your knees, Hinge at the hips. Inhale, Halfway lift. Tailbone to the back of the mat, Pull your heart forward, Lengthen through the crown of the head. Exhale, Forward fold. One more time. Inhale, Rise. Press down to rise up. Hands up high. Grab your left wrist with your right hand exhale side bend to the right bump your hips to the left Maybe going a little deeper this time. Inhale back through center grab your right wrist with your left hand exhale side bend to the left bump your hips to the right Inhale back through center. Exhale, Forward fold. Soften your knees, Hinge at the hips. Inhale, Halfway left. Pull your heart forward, Shoulders down and back, Knees are soft. Exhale, Forward fold. Inhale, Rise hands up high. Exhale, Hands to heart center. Let's take two grounding breaths. Inhale. Exhale, Let it go. Again, Inhale. Exhale, Let it go. Gently blink your eyes open if they were open. I'm sorry, If they were closed. None of that. Go ahead and bring your blocks in front of you. Step your right foot to the outer edge of the mat and then step your. . . Left foot behind you for a nice wide lunge. Drop your knee to the earth. So we want to send our hips. Little forward and actually let's do let's do a little flow here so inhale to low lunge exhale to half split Inhale to low lunge, Send your hips forward. Exhale to half split. Feel free to adjust your stance. You might need to send your right foot a little bit more forward or a little bit more to the right. Or inch your back knee behind you a little more. Keep moving with your breath. 4-4 And one, We meet into our low lunge with our knee nice and grounded. Option two, Keep your hands on your block or bring your right elbow to your right knee. Inhale, Reach your. . . Hand towards the front of the room. Continue to reach it up, Over, Back, And around. So we're just making nice big circles with our arm. Inhale as we reach forward and up. Exhale as we reach down and around. Let's do one more. Inhale forward and up. Exhale down and around. From here. . . Tuck your back toes, Lift your back knee, Pivot your heel down, Windmill your arms up to warrior two. Shoulders down and down. Take an inhale. Exhale, Extend through your front knee. Bring your hands to baby. Say, Get a little. Give a little hug or say a little hi. Inhale. Bend through your front knee, Warrior two. Scissor your hips. Exhale extend through the front knee say hi to baby Inhale, Warrior two, Bend through the front knee. One more time. Exhale, Hands to belly. Say hi to baby. From here, Hold, Zip your legs towards each other. Inhale, Reverse triangle. Reach the right hand high and we're lifting up. Rooting down into the front toe mound and then lifting through our fingertips. So again, Creating this nice long line of energy into the side body. And strengthen the lower body. Inhale. Exhale to extended side angle, Elbow to thigh. Bring your hand up and over, Just like at the beginning of class. Roll the left shoulder down and back. And then let's bring those circles in. So inhale, Reach. The left hand high. Exhale, Continue to find your circle down towards the ground. Inhale to the front. Up to the sky. Exhale to the back. And down around. Roll the right shoulder down and back. Continue to expand through the chest and the heart space. Let's take one more. And then gently find your wide leg forward fold. Pivot your body to the wide edge of the mat. Toes face the wide edge of the mat. And then just gently. Shift your hips from side to side. And then again, Just letting baby kind of. Relax and release. If you've got. . . Sore. Legs or want to get into a little bit of a deeper stretch you can always bend one knee at a time so just take a moment for what you need here four four three to and one let's gently pivot over to the left. Gently drop your right knee to the earth toe heel your left foot to the outer edge of the mat and then with Maybe some blocks underneath here. Take an inhale, Shift your hips forward. Exhale to your half split. Send your hips behind you. Flex your left toes towards your shin. Inhale. A low lunge. Exhale to half split continue to breathe continue to flow And again, Just adjusting where you need to. So you might need to step your left foot to the left a little more. You might need to step it forward a little more. Maybe inching your knee your back knee behind you Continue to breathe for four. To And one inhale, Low lunge. Place your left elbow onto your left thigh. Inhale, Reach your right hand forward. And up to the sky. Exhale, Reach your right hand behind you. And then down towards the earth, Creating these nicely big circles. Inhale, Reaching forward. To the sky. Down to the earth. Inhale. And exhale, Let's do two more. Inhale reaching forward. And around the last one, Inhale forward. Up exhale back and around. Tuck your back toes, Lift your back knee. Pivot your heel down. Find your warrior two. So shoulders down and back. Sizz your legs together. Inhale. Exhale, Extend the front knee. Place the hands on baby. Say hi. Inhale, Warrior two, Sink through the front knee. Exhale. Extend through the front knee. Zip the legs towards each other. Inhale to lower. Exhale, Extend. Say hi to baby. Inhale to lower. Exhale, Extend, Say hi to baby, Hold here. Scissor your hips together. Press down into your left toe. Inhale, Left hand high. Press down as you lift your left hand towards the sky. Again, Creating space. And lift. Through the side body and creating strength in the lower body by scissoring the legs towards one another. Inhale. Exhale extended side angle elbow to thigh bend through your left knee Reach the right hand up and over. Then again, We'll create those circles. Inhale, Right hand high. Exhale, Reach behind you down towards the ground. Inhale forward. And up. Exhale back. And down Again inhale forward. Exhale back. And around, Last one, Inhale forward. Exhale back. And around, Find your wide leg forward fold. And then take what you need here. Maybe you want some windmills, Some spinning babies. Reaching the right hand up And then the left. Take what you need, Mamas. Just create some space and breathe for four. Three and one. Let's gently Come down to the earth. We'll slow it down. Well, We'll almost slow it down. We'll get you there. Lowering onto the earth. On to the side we'll do a couple of marches. Set it up for almost like a bridge post, So feet flat on the ground. Knees bent, Hands down by the side. Press. The lower shoulder blades into the earth. As you inhale, Puff up your belly and tabletop your right knee. Exhale, Lower the right foot down to the ground. Inhale, Puff up the belly. Lift your tabletop, Your left leg. Exhale to lower. Inhale, Puff up the belly. Tabletop of your right knee. Exhale to lower. Inhale, Puff up the belly, Tabletop the left knee. Exhale to lower. Let's take a bridge. Inhale, Press down to rise up, Engage the glutes. We'll hold for four. Two And one, Gently lower one vertebrae at a time. Windshield wiper your knees back and forth. Feel free to Take a happy baby. Or a wind-relieving pose of happy baby is just. . . Not happening today. Can go ahead and grab your knees. Or possibly your feet if you want to take kind of like a butterfly pose. And then we'll gently Come into our resting pose. So maybe that's lying on your back. Onto your side. Or reclined. Goddess pose. With your pillow or bolster. And we'll just take a couple of rounds. Here we go. We'll just take a couple of rounds of box breath. So we'll inhale for four. Hold for four. Exhale for four. And hold for four. Here we go. Inhale one. For we hold one. Four exhale one four, Hold it, One. Four inhale and hold Exhale. And hold. Two rounds on your own. You're finished with your final round let your breath fall at its natural pace Mamas, If you need more time in Shavasana, Please feel free to just take whatever space that you need if you are ready to move on. Gently roll over onto the side. Press yourself up. Maybe bring one hand to heart, One hand to baby. Two hearts beating in one body. Take a nice inhale through the nose. Open your mouth. Let it go. Knowing that you can always return to the breath to find some grounding. Thank you so much for taking class with me this afternoon, This evening. This morning, Whatever time you're joining me. And I hope to see you next time.