This innovative, 90 hour Yoga Alliance Professionals accredited specialist training course will train you to teach pregnancy yoga, yoga for birth, postnatal rehabilitation yoga and mum & baby yoga classes, safely and effectively to women both in-person and online. The course is delivered online via the teachable platform, with excellent tutor interaction and support throughout, via a creative mix of:
You can start this course anytime and use yoga to create community and support for women at this special time in their lives.
The Course Content (syllabus)
Module 1: Yoga for Pregnancy and Birth
Anatomy and Physiology
• The physiological changes, hormones and emotions from conception to labour.
• Labour, ‘normal’ labour and other courses of labour, including induction, intervention and caesarean-birth.
• The pelvis and pelvic floor in pregnancy and labour.
Complications in pregnancy
• Common conditions of pregnancy, including pelvic girdle pain or symphysis pubis dysfunction, sciatica, LBP, HBP, oedema, insomnia, fatigue, nausea, heartburn wrist pain, back pain and the impact of relaxin on the ligaments.
• More serious conditions, including preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome.
• The dark side of pregnancy, bereavement and grief.
Yoga Asana
• Yoga in the first trimester, to practise or not?
• Asana and class sequences for the 2nd and 3rd trimester of yoga.
• Optimal Foetal Positioning and asana.
• The grey areas, the dos, the don'ts and the maybes?!
• Precautions, prohibitions and modifications including safely integrating women with symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) into a class.
• Using props in asana: swiss/gym balls, pilates balls, blocks, bolsters, cushions, chairs, and straps.
• The pelvic floor: traditional Kegels, postural asanas for pelvic floor engagement and release, and structural support of the pelvis.
• Yoga for birth preparation: birthing positions for the 3 stages of labour and discussing labour with sensitivity.
Pranayama, meditation and visualisation
• Breathing practices for pregnancy and labour.
• Working with sounds, mantra and mudra.
• Visualisations, affirmations and meditation for pregnancy and labour.
Planning and teaching
• Lesson planning and class sequences to enable well-rounded yoga classes that meet the varying needs of pregnant women.
• Incorporating yoga philosophy within a class.
• Teaching methodology in person and online.
Module 2: Yoga for the Postnatal Period
Working with mothers
A Mother’s health and wellbeing, including postnatal depression, sleep deprivation, birth trauma, exhaustion, breast-feeding, the pressures of motherhood and further pregnancies.
The postnatal Period
• The first 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and beyond.
• Common physical issues, including diastasis recti, and wrist, back and knee pain.
• The impact of pregnancy, and labour on the pelvic floor and pelvis.
• The impact of breastfeeding on the body and our yoga practice.
Yoga for Postnatal rehabilitation
• Postnatal specific asana practices 6 weeks, 12 weeks and beyond.
• Rehabilitation yoga for diastasis recti
• Yoga for the “core”, the process of re-discovery.
• The pelvic floor: an exploration of traditional approaches to the pelvic floor, including Mula bandha and Kegels, and functional use of the pelvic floor integrated into the movement.
• The use of small Pilates exercise balls.
• Pranayama and relaxation in the postnatal period.
Mother and Baby Yoga Classes (6 weeks to 10 months)
• Baby development 6 weeks to 10 months.
• Asana for mother and baby together, including songs, movements, and visual props for babies.
• Yoga for babies.
• Ways to hold, lift and carry baby safely.
• Breath work, mantra/sound, and relaxation for mother and baby.
• Class plans and sequences for Mother & Baby yoga, planning for the unexpected!
• Teaching methodology online and in person.
Also included - The Business of running classes for mums and mums to be.
• Setting up a class, suitable venues, class times, payment structures, teaching safely online and marketing made easy.
• Child protection, and Enhanced Disclosures (CRB checks), our responsibility as yoga teachers.
Course content and delivery
• 1:2:1 mentor sessions with Amy via zoom at the start of the course, after each module and as you work through the training (up to 4 hours)
• Self-pace training video (30 hours)
• Monthly live Q & As, time and date released monthly (6 hours)
• Access to live and recorded pregnancy and mum & baby yoga classes with Amy for observation (16 hours)
• Access to "Further training for pregnancy and postnatal yoga teachers" course bundle (10 hours)
• Online written manual resources (4 hours)
• Video feedback on all assignments and teaching practise (2 hours in-person)
• Personal reading, research assignments, planning and teaching practise (18 hours)
• Online supportive community space on Circle
• Life-time access to all online course material after the course.
