Gentle Yoga for Pelvic Girdle Pain

pelvic girdle pain yoga

Gentle Yoga for Pelvic Girdle Pain

Pelvic girdle pain can range from being a bit of discomfort to being excruciating and debilitating. During pregnancy self-care is of optimum importance but when you’re in pain from performing basic life functions like sleeping and walking it could seem like exercise is out of the question right? Thankfully not. The appropriate movement, that is safe when you have pelvic joint pain will mean you can still reap the benefits that come from keeping active whilst you’re pregnant.

Yoga, if practiced with a trained prenatal teacher it is also one of the best ways to stay healthy and prepare your body and mind for labour. It is important to keep in mind though, a lot of yoga poses will exacerbate pelvic girdle pain. Even in a prenatal yoga class there will be a lot of poses you want to avoid. For obvious reasons, there are a lot of wide-legged hip opening poses in prenatal yoga! Some examples of poses to avoid are poses with a-symmetry like triangle and warrior. External hip rotators like bound ankle, pigeon and goddess pose. Balance poses where you’re taking your weight on one leg. As you would have experienced if you’re reading this, any poses where you’re taking your legs apart is not at all comfortable when you have pelvic pain. 

So what to do?

With this in mind, I’ve created a gentle 15-minute yoga flow that is safe during all three trimesters and if you have pelvic girdle pain aka symphysis pubis dysfunction. This sequence focuses on moving energy around your body, opening up your neck, shoulders and side body, and taking the strain off your back and pelvis. It also requires no props except a cushion. If you like you can do it whilst wearing your Smileybelt for extra support for your pelvis.

So without further ado, roll out your mat and let’s get into it!

NOTES: If your arms get tired in ‘chair’ pose place them on your hips instead of having them raised above your head.