Phase 2 · The Standing Work

Part of the 6 Week Prenatal Yoga Program for the Second Trimester

35 Minute Prenatal Yoga Sequence for Back and Hips

Weeks three and four. The standing work from the documented trial protocol, with a wide base throughout.

The middle two weeks do the standing work properly. In the trial that documented its full pose list, the specific back pain score did not separate from the control group, and gait speed, standing time and turning all did. Something changes in how you move even when the pain score does not, and this is the part of the program that does it.

35 min · Level 1

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When it helps

For weeks three and four, twice a week. Thirty-five minutes. A chair, a block, a bolster and a blanket. For the second trimester of an uncomplicated pregnancy, from about week 14 to week 28, with your midwife or doctor knowing you are doing it. No lying flat on your back, no closed twists, no poses on your front, no inversions and no breath holding: those are the standard modifications and this program is built around them rather than adding them afterwards. Stop and call your midwife for bleeding, contractions, fluid loss, severe headache or visual changes, dizziness beyond the usual, reduced movements, or a painful swollen calf.

How you move

Walking speed, standing time and turning all improved measurably in the trial this sequence is drawn from.

Everyday symptoms

The general pregnancy symptom score improved clearly in the same trial, more than the specific back pain measure did.

Hips

A lunge and a supported squat. Room in the pelvis while it is still easy to find.

Standing, wide base

Twenty minutes upright with the feet wider than usual and a chair in reach. Sit down whenever you want to.

Tadasana

3 min

Mountain Pose

Feet hip width or wider. Two part breathing, into the belly and then the ribs, with a long breath out.

The base and the breath, the same as week one. Familiar openings make longer sessions easier to start.

Learn more about Tadasana

Parshva Tadasana

1 min each side

Mountain Pose with Side Bend

Reaching up and over, feet wide. Length rather than depth.

Space for the ribs, which is worth two minutes at this point in a pregnancy.

Learn more about Parshva Tadasana

Virabhadrasana II

90 sec each side

Warrior II

Wide stance, front knee over the ankle, arms long. Hand on a chair if you want it. Ninety seconds now.

Longer holds ask the legs to carry the extra weight rather than the lower back doing it.

Learn more about Virabhadrasana II

Trikonasana

1 min each side

Triangle Pose

Hand on the shin or a chair seat, chest turning open, plenty of room at the front.

A long side over a wide base, with nothing pressing.

Learn more about Trikonasana

Utthita Parsvakonasana

1 min each side

Extended Side Angle Pose

Wide stance, forearm resting on the front thigh rather than reaching down. Keep the chest open and turned up.

The side body and the hip together, in the version where the forearm takes the weight.

Learn more about Utthita Parsvakonasana

Prasarita Padottanasana

2 min

Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend

Feet wide, hands on a chair seat or blocks, back long, folding only as far as the back stays long.

A wide legged fold with the hands supported. It lengthens the back of the legs without asking the pelvis for anything.

Learn more about Prasarita Padottanasana

Malasana

2 min

Garland Pose

Supported squat, heels on a rolled blanket, sitting on a block or a chair edge, elbows gently widening the knees.

The pelvis opens here and the support underneath is what turns it from work into rest.

Learn more about Malasana

Anjaneyasana

1 min each side

High Lunge

A long lunge with the back knee down on a blanket, hands on the front thigh or a chair. Feel the front of the back hip open.

The front of the hip shortens as the pelvis tilts forward through a pregnancy, and this is the direct answer to that.

Learn more about Anjaneyasana

On the floor

Eight minutes on hands and knees or sitting. Nothing on your front, nothing flat on your back.

Vajrasana

2 min

Thunderbolt Pose

Kneeling with the knees wide, blanket underneath. Take your time getting down.

The transition, unhurried.

Learn more about Vajrasana

Marjaryasana

3 min

Cat Pose

Hands and knees, knees wide, rounding on the out breath. Keep the movement in the middle and upper back.

Three minutes with the weight off the lower back. Longer than the first phase because it is worth it.

Learn more about Marjaryasana

Bitilasana

2 min

Cow Pose

Chest forward on the in breath, without letting the lower back drop.

Small, and the small version is the correct one.

Learn more about Bitilasana

Balasana

2 min

Child's Pose

Knees very wide, bolster lengthways underneath you so the bump rests on it, head turned to one side.

Knees wide and a bolster underneath makes this available for most of a pregnancy. Without both it is not.

Learn more about Balasana

Breath and rest

Seven minutes of breathing and a side-lying rest. Do not skip this part.

Baddha Konasana

2 min

Butterfly Pose

Sitting, soles together, knees supported. Alternate nostril breathing, no holding.

The component that carried the effect in the research, rather than the one that fills the last five minutes.

Learn more about Baddha Konasana

Savasana

5 min

Corpse Pose

Left side, cushion between the knees, one under the head. Never flat on your back.

Five minutes of guided rest on your side, and the same ending every time.

Learn more about Savasana

Phase 2 · Weeks 3 to 4

This practice is part of a program

It belongs to The Standing Work, the second phase of the 6 Week Prenatal Yoga Program for the Second Trimester. The program says how often to practise it, what comes before and after, and when to move on.

See the whole program →

Integration

Twice a week for weeks three and four, with the ten minute sequence in between. Take every standing pose wider than a class would normally cue, and use the chair whenever balance feels different from last week.

The teacher behind this sequence

Gründer & Autor

Manish Rana

Gründer von Asanaverse.de. Manish schreibt über Yoga, Ayurveda und Meditation und verdankt seine tiefe Verbindung zum Yoga seinen indischen Wurzeln. Mit über 1000 Stunden Yoga Alliance Teacher Training gibt er sein Wissen an die Community weiter.

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