Yoga and fertility question

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-10-2007
Yoga and fertility question
7
Mon, 11-05-2007 - 9:30am

Hi ladies!

I am wondering if there are any yoga experts out there. A while ago I mentioned that I do yoga and someone said that there are some yoga positions I shouldn't do at certain times during my cycle. I asked my yoga instructor about it via email but haven't heard back, and I'd rather not talk with her about it in front of the whole class. I'm going to try to get there early today so I can ask her privately, but just in case that doesn't work out or she doesn't know--does anyone know which yoga positions you shouldn't do when you are about to ovulate? Or at any other times in my cycle? Thank you in advance. :)

Reba


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Remembering o

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-11-2006
Thu, 11-08-2007 - 5:42pm

Reba,


I'm sorry...I'm not a yoga expert.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-10-2007
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 1:16pm

Hi karla,

That's okay! My yoga instructor didn't know. I ended up asking the people at the yoga place that's in the same building as my acupuncturist. They have an instructor who has worked with fertility patients in the past, so once my current class ends in Dec, I'm going to check out her class. It's a little farther away and more expensive but I think it will be worth it! I will definitely update here once I know about the positions. :)

Reba


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Remembering o

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-08-2007
Sun, 11-11-2007 - 8:39am
Yes, please do keep us posted! I take a regular yoga class and figured I was doing the right thing for stress relief. I'd love to know if there are things I should watch out for.

Christy the Writer

TTC #1 for 3 years
Married to Guy for 5 years

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2006
Mon, 11-12-2007 - 10:25am

Hi Reba,


I have heard that there are certain positions women shouldn't do during certain times in their cycles.

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-17-2007
Fri, 11-23-2007 - 4:08pm

Hi Reba

While I am by no means a yoga expert, I can tell you what my RE told me. At our initial consultation we reviewed my exercise protocol amongst other things. I regularly do Bikram yoga (that is the yoga in the heated room) and he told me to stop immediately. In terms of more traditional yoga classes.....he did tell me that taking them is a mixed bag. He said that on the one hand the relaxation and mindfulness would be great for me. He stated that on the other hand there are some poses that some RE experts believe may negatively impact my personal fertility battles. He said the the jury is out. He did tell me that there are some classes that are particularly aimed at woman trying to get pregnant. He said that I could also attend pre-natal yaga (right...just where i want to be...around a bunch of pregnant women!) Anyway, he also told me to quit running. He strongly encouraged me to replace the running and the yoga with walking and strength training. He said that if I did choose to continue yoga that I should stop classes from ovulation through the 2WW.

Hope this is informative and helpful. Once again, this is just my experience and what is right for you may be different. On a side note, he did strongly encourage that I take a mind body class.

Have a great w/e!

Kim B.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-10-2007
Tue, 01-08-2008 - 11:53am

Hi everyone,

I know this was a long time ago, but I finally started the yoga class with the instructor who knows fertility yoga. It's an intense class, ~2 hours long, and I'm a yoga beginner so I was completely wiped out by it! The instructor seems great though and throughout the whole class, she would call out when there was a particular position that I should do slightly differently from everyone else. They mainly seemed to be related to increasing air flow to my belly area, and just opening that part of me up and increasing blood and energy flow.

As far as positions go, she said for beginners, there aren't really any poses that would hinder ovulation or harm either a growing follicle or fetus. She did mention not doing inverted poses during menstruation, but honestly I can't imagine doing this while having my period anyway, so I would probably skip the class if it were on one of my heavy flow days.

Reba


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Remembering o

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-20-2007
Tue, 01-08-2008 - 4:34pm
I do know that if you get acupuncture, you aren't supposed to do yoga (or any type of stretching exercise) after acupuncture. Wait a day.