By Amy Richardson | Doula, Perinatal Yoga Instructor, & Former Midwife

Pregnancy yoga is often seen as just a way of staying active when you're pregnant. And while supporting your changing body is important, the physical benefits are only the beginning. To develop a strong yoga practice when you're pregnant is to cultivate deeply transformative preparation for birth, recovery, and early parenthood.

Here is an inside look at my approach to pregnancy yoga, backed by physiological science and real-world birth wisdom.

1. Physical Relief & Functional Preparation

The physical benefits are very well known and well documented. A systematic review and meta-analysis by Corrigan et al. (2022) found that prenatal yoga significantly improves vaginal birth rates, pain tolerance, and perinatal mental health.

As your baby grows, shifts in your centre of gravity, hormonal changes (like increased progesterone and relaxin), and shifting internal anatomy place unique demands on your entire body.

• Supporting Your Circulatory System

During pregnancy, your total blood volume increases by up to 40–50%. This extra fluid volume places higher demand on your heart and cardiovascular system. Gentle, rhythmic yoga movement supports lymphatic and venous systems, encouraging optimal blood return back to the heart and easing swelling.

• Creating Space for Your Major Organs

As your uterus expands, your abdominal organs are gently displaced.

The Lungs & Diaphragm: Your diaphragm is pushed upwards, reducing total lung capacity and making breathing feel shallow. Mindful posture work and intercostal breathing open up room in the ribcage, restoring deep oxygen flow for both you and baby.

The Digestive System: Progesterone slows down gut motility, while physical compression from the womb can cause heartburn, reflux, and slow digestion. Side-stretching and gentle pelvic tilts help create space, supporting healthy digestion and easing upper abdominal pressure.

•  Pelvic Relief & Optimal Positioning

Easing hip, back, and pelvic tightness: Targeted movement helps relieve common discomforts like pelvic girdle discomfort and lower back strain by stabilising the joints.

Building functional strength: Build stability and stamina in the legs, glutes, and upper back, taking the strain off the pelvic floor, preparing you for dynamic birth positions and the daily physical demands of holding and feeding a newborn.

Supporting pelvic floor balance: Teaches active pelvic floor awareness, focusing not just on strength but learning how to consciously relax and soften the pelvic floor muscles so they can yield easily during birth.

Creating space for optimal baby positioning: By encouraging softening through deep pelvic fascial tension, we create the physical ease that allows your baby to settle into an optimal position for labor.

2. Moving Inward: Accessing the Liminal Space

While supporting your changing body is important, the real magic happens when you learn how to turn inward.

I guide you to use intuitive movement and breath in a way that helps you drop into a quiet, liminal space. This is the space where your thinking brain (the neocortex) steps aside, and your instinctual birth body takes over.

• The Science of "Labour-Land"

In physiological birth, 'active' labour requires a shift from the analytical, logical mind (beta brain waves) to a calmer, deeper brainwave state (alpha and theta waves) driven by the primitive brain. When we lower light, quiet external distractions, and focus on rhythmic movement, we reduce adrenaline and allow endogenous oxytocin to flow freely.

Together, we practice working with intense sensations. We move and breathe with intention and intuition, shifting out of fear and into a place of deep inner safety. Through this practice, we cultivate a deep self-trust, exploring what your mind and body need—and what they don't.

3. Laying the Groundwork for Postpartum Recovery

The practice you cultivate on the mat doesn't end when your baby arrives. It lays a direct foundation for a smoother, more grounded fourth trimester:

• Protecting core and pelvic floor health 

A Cochrane Systemic Review on pelvic floor muscle training highlights that antenatal pelvic awareness significantly reduces the risk of postnatal dysfunction. We focus on both relaxation (releasing tension) and gentle engagement, ensuring your pelvic floor is responsive, not tight.

• Creating muscle memory

Gentle, mindful movement during pregnancy creates neural pathways, making it much easier to safely reconnect with your deep core muscles post-birth.

• Nervous system regulation

Controlled breathwork stimulates the vagus nerve, signaling safety to the parasympathetic nervous system. This regulation is a critical tool you will use daily to navigate the emotional highs and lows of parenthood.

• Practicing true rest

Learning how to slow down and enter deep relaxation on the mat is essential preparation for the rest and recovery required in early postpartum.

Real-World Birth Wisdom on the Mat

Wherever and however you bring your baby into the world- whether that is a home birth, a birth centre, a hospital labour ward, or planned caesarean section- these skills will serve you. And these tools are yours for life.

Bringing my experience as a perinatal yoga teacher, doula, and former midwife, I weave real-world birth wisdom into every sequence so you leave feeling informed, capable, and deeply supported.

• Step Onto the Mat with Me

If you need a space to step out of your busy routine, quiet the noise of the day, and tune into your instincts, I’d love to welcome you.

📍 Weekly Group Pregnancy Yoga Classes (Shepton Mallet)

🏠 Private 1:1 Perinatal Sessions (Tailored support across Somerset)