One thing I wish I’d known more about back when I was pregnant was the benefits of pregnancy yoga. I had a lovely chat with Tara Lee, co-author of My Pregnancy Yoga Journal, out in bookshops now.
Tara Lee is internationally renowned as one of Britain’s leading yoga experts and teachers. She spoke about why yoga helps you feel calmer and more supported through what can be an overwhelming experience for new mums. Read on for more helpful insights on yoga — whether you’re carrying a bump or you’re an expectant dad or family member!
10 Questions for Tara Lee, co-author of My Pregnancy Yoga Journal
Congratulations on the book. How did the idea for this journal come about?
Thank you! Clare and I actually had the idea for the book together many years ago. We’d been teaching pregnancy and postnatal yoga teacher-training courses together and had accumulated so much knowledge and so many ideas that we felt they would make a really useful resource for pregnant women.
We also brought our different backgrounds into it. I trained as a nutritional therapist, so I really wanted nutrition to be an important part of the book. Clare is also a trained coach, so it felt natural to include journal prompts that encourage women to reflect on how they’re feeling and what they’re experiencing as their pregnancy progresses. We couldn’t find other pregnancy books which combined all these elements.
Additionally, as we’re both yoga teachers, yoga, breathwork, and meditation are at the heart of it. We wanted to bring all of those elements together in one place and create something that would genuinely support women throughout their pregnancy.
Pregnancy is such an extraordinary time, but it can also feel overwhelming. There’s so much information out there, and it can be difficult to know what’s relevant to you at each stage. It’s the book we would have loved to have had during our own pregnancies.
Why did you decide on the journal format?
We wanted it to feel like a companion rather than a book you simply read once and put on a shelf.
Pregnancy changes so quickly, physically and emotionally, and the journal format allows you to check in with yourself each week. There are prompts to reflect on how you’re feeling, space for scanning photographs, appointments, thoughts and memories, as well as yoga practices and information relevant to that stage of pregnancy. It also becomes a lovely record of a very special period in your life that you can look back on afterwards.
What makes yoga so helpful for expecting mums?
So many things! Physically, yoga can help maintain strength and mobility and ease some of the common discomforts of pregnancy, such as backache, tight hips, rib discomfort and general stiffness. I think the mental and emotional benefits are just as important. Pregnancy involves enormous change, and yoga gives you an opportunity to slow down, breathe and reconnect with your body. It can also help you become more aware of your nervous system and learn how to move from a state of tension into one of greater calm. Those are incredibly useful skills during pregnancy, birth and motherhood.
How bendy can you actually get when you’re carrying a bump (or does this actually matter)?!
Being bendy really isn’t the point of yoga, pregnant or otherwise! We’re generally more interested in maintaining stability, strength and comfortable mobility than pushing deeply into stretches. As your bump grows, you naturally adapt your practice. You widen your stance, make space for your belly, use props and choose positions that feel supportive. Good pregnancy yoga is about working with your changing body rather than trying to make your body fit a particular pose.
How does yoga prepare mums for a calmer and (hopefully) smoother birth?
One of the most valuable things yoga teaches you is how to stay present when something feels intense. Through breathing, movement and relaxation, you practise noticing tension and consciously softening rather than automatically bracing against it. You also become familiar with different positions that can be useful during labour and learn ways of using breath and sound to help you stay grounded.
Of course, no yoga practice can guarantee a particular type of birth. Birth is unpredictable. But yoga can give you a toolkit to draw on, whatever path your birth takes.
Of course, no yoga practice can guarantee a particular type of birth. Birth is unpredictable. But yoga can give you a toolkit to draw on, whatever path your birth takes.
Tara Lee, My Pregnancy Yoga Journal
What common misconceptions do people have about yoga?
Probably the biggest is that you need to be flexible to do it. You absolutely don’t. Another is that yoga is primarily about achieving difficult poses. For me, the physical postures are only one part of a much bigger practice. Breath, awareness, meditation and yoga philosophy are equally important. In my classes, yoga is accessible to every pregnant woman who joins at any stage of pregnancy. Yoga isn’t about performance. It’s about listening to your body and learning to respond to what it needs.
Do you need to have tried yoga or is this journal suited to absolute beginners?
It’s absolutely suitable for beginners. You don’t need any previous yoga experience. Everything is explained clearly, and there are different practices depending on what you need that day, from simple breathing techniques and meditation to individual poses and complete sequences. There are even QR codes linking to some of my short yoga classes online.
The aim is for the book to feel accessible rather than intimidating. You don’t have to do an hour of yoga for it to count. Sometimes five minutes of conscious breathing or a few carefully chosen movements can completely change how you feel.
What do you hope new mums take from the journal?
More than anything, I hope they feel supported.
There can be a lot of focus during pregnancy on what you should or shouldn’t be doing. We wanted the journal to encourage women to develop trust in themselves and their bodies, while giving them practical tools and reliable information.
I also hope it encourages women to make time for themselves. That ability to pause, check in and notice what you need becomes even more valuable once your baby arrives.
Can dads (and other family members) get any benefits too?
Definitely. Although the journal is written for the pregnant woman, partners can be very much part of the experience.
They can learn some of the breathing and relaxation techniques, understand positions that may be useful during labour and explore ways of offering physical and emotional support. Learning how to breathe, regulate stress and stay calm when somebody you love is going through something intense is a pretty useful skill for any birth partner! I also have a partner yoga class for pregnancy in my online library.
Finally, what does yoga mean to you?
Yoga has been part of my life for more than 30 years, so it’s difficult to separate it from who I am. For me, it’s much more than a physical practice. It’s a way of coming back to myself. Sometimes that happens through movement, sometimes through breath or meditation, and sometimes simply through remembering to pause.
Yoga has accompanied me through pregnancy, motherhood and many different stages of my life. The practice changes as we change, and I think that’s one of the things I love most about it. It meets you where you are.
What Makes Coloured Diamonds a Growing Trend in Fine Jewellery
