Carrying a baby inside you for nine months and then giving birth can be rather physically demanding. The physical endurance required for pregnancy and giving birth is something that women have always known, and this has, however unnecessarily, been confirmed by studies. It has been found that pregnancy and giving birth requires a level of physical endurance that pushes the limits of what humans are actually capable of, comparable to extreme athletes. And you would probably not want to undergo something so physically demanding without adequate training, would you? Many women might want to continue exercising throughout their pregnancy, albeit with some modifications to reflect the development of the foetus. If your fitness regime includes regular hot yoga, do you have to give this up when you become pregnant?
Not a Yes or No Issue
It might seem like the physical exertion of yoga, combined with the heat of the space, could potentially endanger your baby. It's not this simple. So does this mean you have to give up hot yoga? It's not always a yes or no issue, but you certainly shouldn't automatically continue with the same frequency and intensity of your pre-pregnancy yoga sessions. You shouldn't automatically discontinue them either. You just need some information before you proceed.
Your Doctor
Talk to your doctor. This is absolutely crucial if you wish to continue hot yoga during your pregnancy, which is generally possible. The likelihood is that your doctor will advise you to continue hot yoga until a certain point in your pregnancy before temporarily discontinuing the activity and replacing it with another form of low-impact exercise. Your doctor might also suggest that you gradually decrease your hot yoga sessions before this temporary discontinuation. If your pregnancy has been classified as high-risk, your doctor might discourage any form of exertion to err on the side of caution.
Your Yoga Instructor
It's not only your doctor that you should talk to. Once they have given the all-clear to continue with hot yoga, you should also inform your instructor. They will be able to teach you specific modifications to many of the standard postures—modifications that are tailored to be gentler to pregnant bodies. These modifications will perhaps need to be refined throughout your pregnancy, so be sure to regularly consult with your instructor.
Hot yoga can certainly remain part of your fitness plan as you prepare for the ultimate physical endurance test, but it's something that will need to be assessed and modified as you continue.
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