Workshop

Pregnant and Postnatal Students in General Classes: Inform yourself, refresh & update your knowledge

with Uma Dinsmore-TuliLondon

A pregnant student in your general class is a real gift to you and your other students—but do you know how to keep her safe in her practice? They are elemental forces, physical embodiments of unconditional love, and they bring everyone who comes into contact with them closer to the real ‘union’ with cosmic energy that is at the heart of all yoga. They are truly fabulous yoginis – motivated, focused and sensitive to the inner world. What a treat it should be to teach them in your classes!

A postnatal woman is one of the most physically and emotionally vulnerable students that you are ever likely to teach. Very special care is needed when teaching a woman recovering after birth, and the recovery period could be considered as extending for up to two years. During this time, a woman’s musculoskeletal structure can be very delicate. This is a result of the hormonal changes of pregnancy and birth that render joints unstable, but also because she is likely to be carrying injuries from pregnancy or birth. In addition, at the same time she is adapting at speed to a whole range of powerful physical stressors such as baby feeding, carrying and changing. Yoga can provide a great opportunity for healing, but can also cause injury and impede full recovery after birth. So it is also important to be informed about the needs of the postnatal women in your classes.

This workshop will guide you on some of the “don’ts” but, more importantly, will inspire you to be creative and joyous in integrating your pregnant students (on Saturday) and post-natal students (on Sunday) into the class in a way which inspires them, you and the rest of the class. All too often, workshops on this theme are really just about minimising the disturbance which such students may cause to the smooth running of your general classes. This is a pity – because there is so much more to be gained from seeing the presence of the pregnant and postnatal student as a real gift to your teaching, to you, and to your other students.

This workshop not only provides an outline of the guidelines for safe response to pregnant and postnatal students, but also offers the opportunity to refresh existing knowledge: it includes updates on current information on safe teaching, and a new selection of recentlly developed practices suitable for pregnant and postnatal students. Each day will provides a blend of theory and practice, with clear safety guidelines, answers to your questions and practical ideas.

mother and baby pregnancy

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Uma Dinsmore-Tuli was first introduced to yoga at the age of four, and has been teaching yoga and meditation since 1986. Read Uma Dinsmore-Tuli's full biography.

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Hosted in partnership with Sitaram Partnership

For more information please email info@yogacampus.com or call +44 (0) 20 7042 9900