Prenatal yoga video - recommendations?

[jillc]

Hi Ladies,

Can anyone recommend a good prenatal yoga video?

Thanks,
Jill

[squimp]

Crunch Yoga Mama. I tried a bunch and this was my favorite. It's easy and relatively short, but gives a good stretch for all the important places. Yoga definitely helped me through my drug-free labor. If you're looking for something more serious and hardcore yoga-meister, I'd try the Shiva Rea series. Here's my review for Amazon, from 2003:

"I am one week from my baby girl's due date, and have been using this tape throughout my pregnancy. It has been a life saver for me, especially for lower back and hip pain. I like the instructor's encouraging, light-hearted tone, and seeing all the women in various stages of pregnancy. I've enjoyed yoga for about seven years, and I think this tape is appropriate for beginners through at least intermediate yoga students. They show lots of adaptations for different levels of flexibility and comfort, which helps when I'm feeling sore or just lazy. I will probably keep doing this tape even after our baby arrives.

I also have the Shiva Rea tape, which is pretty good. However, I find myself using Yoga Mama much more often, because it's shorter and generally more inspiring. Doing this tape at least twice a week has really helped me stay active and flexible during pregnancy, and I hope it helps during labor! I've even got this tape packed in my bag in case I'm stuck at the hospital for a long time in early labor."

edited to spell Amazon correctly, duh!

[tina-t]

I used Rocki's Prenatal Yoga during my first pg and loved it. Could not use it for my second pg because I started having premature contractions though.

(I am in the process of going through my things and ds' things to sell and will be listing the video for sale. Let me know if you are interested.)

[RwnMayfair]

Just to say something about the same video Jana mentioned...

It's not a bad video, but the instructor drove me absolutely batty. So much so, that I had to stop doing the video. This was back in 2003 for me as well. I also left a review on Amazon for it, though I'm feeling too lazy to go look it up. I used Leisa Hart's FitMama prenatal workout much more than this one. (In fact, the Crunch Yoga Mama video is one I'd be more than willing to get rid of if I ever got around to clearing out videos/DVDs around the house.) The Leisa Hart one is not a solely prenatal yoga one, though. Just make sure you check out reviews on someplace like Amazon.com. If you've got a certain instructor you like/dislike, pay attention to reviews about that instructor (not just the specific video), because in my opinion people's opinions of the instructor say a lot about whether or not you'll really enjoy and be able to stick with the video/DVD.

Anyway, not trying to hijack Jana's review. I've just found that what you think of the instructor has a lot to do with whether or not you like the video. :)

-Melissa

Taran, November 20
Elowen, August 20

http://lilypie.com/pic/060524/WClp.jpg http://b3.lilypie.com/ddVzm4/.png
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[squimp]

Yeah, I noticed on Amazon that a lot of people didn't like her. I'm kinda the hippie dippie type so she didn't bother me. See now Leisa Hart, OMG, that woman would drive me insane. The instructor is really a factor.

[mudder17]

Shiva Rea's Prenatal Yoga is wonderful! She has a woman in the second trimester and another one in the third trimester and all three of them do the yoga poses, but you can see the modifications that need to be done. I have another regular video by Shiva Rea and really love that one as well. I think that's the one that partly got DH really into yoga.


Eileen

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33732.gif for Leah
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33734.gif 27 months...
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
Kaya will be a sister, ~11/14/06!

[pb&j]

I loved this one as well. She's a really good instructor, very nice voice. I liked being able to see the modified poses as I got bigger.

http://tinyurl.com/mrq33

-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, 01/05/06

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/32812.gif
http://b1.lilypie.com/aKGqm5/.png[/img] ([img)

[writermama]

Ok, so I have a few of them in my collection.

Yoga Mama -- my favorite. Not the perfect class for everyone, but I like the variety of bodies and pregnancy stages in the class, I like the pose sequence, and I like the idea of offering modifications based on how you feel not just which trimester you're in. Instructor is "perky" and has a sense of humor about pregnancy.

Prenatal Yoga with Shiva Rhea -- longer class, only 3 women (1 per trimester), nice sequence of poses (though I got tired of doing the side stretches when I didn't have those problems), nice studio looks like a living room, nice music, didn't like the idea that modifications were by trimester (if I felt good in my 3rd trimester, I'd follow the 1st or 2nd trimester modifications or on a low energy day in the 1st trimester, I'd follow the 3rd trimester modifications). Instructor is "new agey" with a breathy quality in her voice (I couldn't stand the way she says "exhale").

FitMama -- not really a yoga video at all, it's a low impact aerobic dance sequence with a yoga-inspired stretching section. Good dance sequences (easy and fun), effective stretches, but not the meditative quality you get from yoga. Nice bonus features for labor prep and during labor positions. Perky instructor. Like the "workout to music only" option that you can use after you learn the routine -- helpful if instructor starts to bug you. I really liked this one last time, haven't used it this time, though.

ZenMama -- 3 instructors 1 per trimester, nice sequence of poses, this might even be my favorite pose sequence, but I haven't done it enough to be sure. Instructor lacks a production quality voice -- she speaks in a monotone, has a sense of humor, though. Like FitMama, this one lets you do the routine with music only which helps if the voice bugs you.

Prenatal Yoga Complete -- most comprehensive program I have ever seen. Poses for each trimester and for specific problems. this is restorative yoga, so it doesn't flow like many yoga classes and it involves a heavy use of props. You will need a chair, a pile of pillows or bolsters, and access to a wall. You may need to pause the dvd to set up for a pose. Once in a pose, you hold it longer than in most other programs. I call this kind of yoga "yoga for cough potatoes" because you really focus on relaxing into a pose. I haven't' used this one much because I prefer the flow and sequence of other DVDs I have, and because I find the props a little cumbersome, but I really should try this one on days when I decide I'm too tired to do anything and just collapse on the couch.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000980GXE/103-1647323-1963000?v=glance&n=130

Honestly, the best thing would be to borrow each of these from a library and see what works best for you. That's what I wanted to do, but I ended up having to buy them because my library didn't have them. I really wish Amazon would show a short preview clip, the way they do for music -- if I could hear the instructor in action for a few minutes I would probably be able to tell if I'd like her style or not.

Good luck and HTH,

[jillc]

Thanks, Ladies! We're heading to the library today, so I hope to be able to look for some of these videos there. :)

[maestramommy]

I used The Method prenatal yoga video. There's a picture of a woman in a white turban on the case. The Amazon reviews in general like the yoga, but found the instructor to be really annoying because she never stopped talking! I certainly found this to be true once I started doing it. But I liked all the movements so after a while I just tuned her out. I like how all the women in the class were at different stages. I don't know if this was classic yoga but there were a lot of stretches that I found to be very helpful, and I was able to use it to the end of my pregnancy.

[RwnMayfair]

Heh, I don't have anything against her hippy, dippy part. It's her total lack of ability to use certain terms. She kind of walks around the edge of certain things that bugs the crud out of me. ;) Just say it, woman! The specific part that comes to mind is her discussion of kegels. Her fake, giggly, let's-not-really-say-it way of discussing things in that bugs me. I'd much rather she just spit it out. :D

Anyway, sorry to resurrect this discussion. ;)

-Melissa

Taran, November 20
Elowen, August 20

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http://lilypie.com/pic/060524/flZ8.jpg http://b1.lilypie.com/KqMam4/.png

[essnce629]

I also really liked Shiva Rea's Prenatal Yoga. I never tried any other prenatal yoga videos so I can't compare though.

***Latia
Birth and Postpartum Doula

Conner 8/19/03 (homebirthed water baby)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Self-weaned at 24 months!

[squimp]

See, I'd be fine if I never heard the word "Kegels" again in my life. :D Giggle away!