Supporting Pregnant and Postnatal Students in General Yoga Classes

Course Overview

This is a 3-week self-guided online course on Supporting Pregnant and Postnatal Students in General Yoga Classes, delivered by experienced Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Lisa White, and facilitated by Kristen MacPherson, also an experienced Pregnancy Yoga Teacher and Head of Trainings at Yogacampus.

At the outset it is important to be clear that this is not a training to become a teacher of pregnancy (or postnatal) yoga. This course has been designed to deepen existing yoga teachers' understanding of how best to keep students safe when they join a general yoga class.

This course is a combination of pre-recorded material and live online sessions. The pre-recorded content of the course is delivered by Lisa White, who will guide you throughout the 7 modules of this course exploring ways to integrate pregnant and postnatal students into your general yoga classes safely and intelligently, whilst ensuring non-pregnant students are still given a class that fulfils their needs. You will get the chance to practice the modifications for yourself in Module 5 with two full-length classes involving both pregnant and non-pregnant students.

The course includes a downloadable workbook, to accompany the content on the online learning platform. Also included are two live online sessions with course moderator, Kristen MacPherson.

At the end of this course you will be equipped with the necessary tools and modifications to adapt your pregnant students’ yoga practice in the context of a general yoga class. While this is not a Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Training, the content covered in this course will enable you to better understand the different stages of pregnancy including physical and hormonal changes that can impact your student’s yoga practice.

Course Structure

The course is linear and structured in its approach, allowing you to explore your own journey of learning on a week by week basis.

Week 1: Modules 1 and 2 plus LO
Week 2: Modules 3, 4, 5
Week 3: Modules 6 and 7, plus LO

Each week, new content will be released. You will be able to access the content as often as you wish. There will be short quizzes to help assimilate and reflect on the information learned.

Twice during the course, you will also have the chance to participate in a live online discussion with Kristen. This will include a session on setting up Restorative poses for pregnant students.

You have one week to complete the requirements for each module before being able to move on to the next module. This is to ensure that the whole group begins and ends the course at the same time. However, once you have completed the course, you will have access to the content for a further 12 months.

The course unfolds over 7 modules:

Module 1: Introduction and The Pregnant Body
Module 2: General Modifications for Asana and Pranayama
Module 3: Consider and Avoid, The 3 Trimesters
Module 4: Common Ailments
Module 5: Example Classes and Creative Modifications
Module 6: Savasana for Pregnancy
Module 7: Introduction to the Postnatal Period

Course Schedule / Dates for your Diary

Week 1

Modules 1 and 2 content will be released 6th Nov

Live Online session 18:00 to 19:00 UK time Tues 7th Nov

Week 2

Modules 3, 4, 5 content released 13th Nov

Week 3

Modules 6 and 7 content released 20th Nov

Live Online session 18:00 to 20:00 UK time Tues 21st

Who is this course for?

Qualified yoga teachers, practitioners looking to support themselves

Are the 2 live sessions with Kristen recorded?

Yes, these sessions will both be recorded and the replay saved on the online learning platform. You will have access to the videos for 12 months. You can catch up on the recordings if you cannot attend the live sessions. This will not affect your accreditation.

How long will I have access to the material?

You will have access to the course material for 12 months after the course finishes.

Completing the course

At the end of this course you will be equipped with the necessary tools and modifications to adapt your pregnant students’ yoga practice in the context of a general yoga class. While this is not a Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Training, the content covered in this course will enable you to better understand the different stages of pregnancy including physical and hormonal changes that can impact your student’s yoga practice.

Certification

On completion of all modules of the course you will be awarded with a Yogacampus certificate of completion eligible for Yoga Alliance hours.

Meet the Teacher: Lisa White

While training with Birthlight, Lisa was blessed to meet Uma Dinsmore Tuli who soon became her mentor. Lisa worked in Uma’s office helping to run the Sitaram Partnership while studying with Uma and her husband Nirlipta Tuli. During this time Lisa worked closely with both teachers taking from them their passion and experience, assisting Uma with her classes and workshops and on her pregnancy yoga teacher training course. Around the same time, Lisa also set up Lotusbaby, a perinatal yoga studio focussing on small groups of students in London Fields.

With 8 years of perinatal yoga teaching behind her, Lisa has taught pregnancy, postnatal and baby yoga at The Life Centre, the Special Yoga Centre, St Thomas’ Hospital, King’s College Hospital.

Lisa is also a yin and restorative yoga teacher, teaches classes for OAPs, and holds monthly birth preparation workshops for couples. She holds the Birthlight Perinatal Diploma, is BWY certified, and completed her teacher training with Yogacampus. She is currently developing her interest in Vedic chanting, and broadening her passion for yoga nidra, which feature heavily in her classes.

Lisa says that her biggest rewards in life are when her pregnancy students return to the Mum & Baby classes, when she gets to meet her little hidden students, and when mums return for their second and third pregnancies.

Meet the Facilitator: Kristen MacPherson

Kristen has been teaching yoga since 2009 (E-RYT, YACEP). She is certified in Kundalini Yoga + Meditation (KRI Level 1), Pregnancy Yoga (Khalsa Way), Children’s Yoga (Radiant Child Yoga), Restorative and Advanced Restorative (Judith Hanson Lasater), and Mindfulness Meditation (Oxford Mindfulness Centre). Kristen has studied with many prominent international teachers such as Timothy McCall, MD (Yoga as Medicine, Level 1), Sarah Powers (Yin Yoga, 50 hrs), Postnatal Yoga, Fertility Yoga (Birthlight), Active Birth (Active Birth Centre), Experiential Anatomy (Judith Hanson Lasater).

She has taught weekly pregnancy and postnatal yoga for over a decade, as well as leading 6 week 'Mindfulness for Childbirth and Parenting' courses. She is an experienced teacher trainer (200hr TT, Restorative Yoga TT) and has been a member of the Yogacampus team since 2021. Kristen is currently the Head of Training Programmes at Yogacampus.