My fav - Prenatal Yoga DVD

Today I practiced Shiva Rea’s DVD Prenatal Yoga for the fourth or fifth time, and I think it’s my favorite yoga workout for pregnancy so far. It’s a little slow, but it really seems to center me and open up my hips and my back to prepare me for labor. In the video are three models representing each trimester of pregnancy (Shiva is in her first.), which makes the DVD usable throughout the entire nine months.

Another positive is that it’s broken down into sections, although she doesn’t have it broken down into chapters, but you could skip through until you found the four major sections:
* Meditation and Pranayama (Breathwork)
* Standing Poses
* Floorwork
* Relaxation

You could probably do each section as its own workout if you’re low on time (each section is about 15-20 minutes and the entire video is about an hour long depending on how long you stay in savasana), but I usually end up doing the entire workout.

The first section is much more than meditation and pranayama and includes various warm up asanas and hip openers. Keigel exercises are also done and a good reminder to do them (I always forget!)

The standing poses section is decent. Shiva recommends a lot of props throughout the practice, especially for second and third trimester. So you may want to have a block and a strap handy and also a blanket and chair (more common items laying around the house).

The floorwork is nice and relaxing and stretches those pesky hammies that cause my back to hurt (knock on wood, my back has been great so far during my 16 weeks of pregnancy).

Of course at the end is savasana, and she has very good instruction on how to be in the various trimesters and gives okay, guided relaxation.

After doing about three or four different yoga workouts on DVD for pregnancy, I'd say this one is my favorite so far.