In this training, Prenatal Yoga teachers will learn how to teach comfort measures and coping strategies for students in late pregnancy, labor, birth and the immediate postpartum. The information in this training can be woven into prenatal Yoga classes or it can be taught as a workshop or private session.

Yoga for Labor and Birth will help people prepare physically, mentally, and emotionally for birth using various techniques and philosophies of Yoga along with the practice of effective pain-management strategies. Teachers will gain a comprehensive understanding of the anatomy and physiology of late pregnancy, labor, birth, and the immediate postpartum and effective ways to safeguard the universal needs of people through the birthing process. Teachers will also learn about medical interventions and their potential impact on the birth process. Among the topics we will discuss are the use of heat and/or cold for comfort, eating and drinking as essential labor support, and the benefits of water in various forms.

We will explore positions, movement, and rhythms that influence fetal position, encourage progress in labor and support a greater sense of ease. We will work with breath and sound as ways to steady and calm the mind, induce relaxation, dissipate pain, and energize the body. We will work with touch—massage, counterpressure, acupressure points—as means to supply comfort, facilitate progress, and relieve pain. We will practice relaxation techniques and visualizations for labor and birth. When the mind is free of tension and fear, the body is able to give birth with greater ease.