Yoga For Me And My Baby

Kathryn Riding's DVD promises to prepare you mentally and physically for labour and motherhood.  Journalist, first time mum-to-be and trainee yoga teacher Cathryn Scott put it to the test.

Creating a pregnancy yoga DVD must be difficult. While existing yogis look to adapt their practice to suit the needs of their changing body and of the growing baby inside them, pregnancy also sees many women coming to yoga for the first time.

Many are seeking to relieve aches and pains, connect with their impending arrival, or prepare for labour and birth.

This DVD is definitely geared more toward the latter group. 

A collection of easy-paced, well-explained poses, it's incredibly accessible, but probably not challenging enough for those used to a stronger practice.

Attention to detail
The core of the DVD is a 40-minute asana practice where Kathryn Riding, an Australian teacher specialising in pre-natal yoga, guides us through a series of postures suitable for all stages of pregnancy.

As Kathryn narrates, yoga student Claire demonstrates, the action switching between the beautiful Byron Bay and a living-room setting. Each asana is explored individually, with a range of seated and standing poses and stretches explored step- by-step.

Kathryn explains in detail exactly where various body parts should be, rather than just expecting you to follow Claire's lead with minimal instruction.

This attention to detail makes it great for those who are new to yoga, while the step-by-step approach is ideal for those looking for a gentle practice. For more experienced practitioners, however, the slow pace and lack of sequences may not be enough.

A DVD in six parts
As well as the main 40-minute class, the DVD also includes an introduction to pranayama plus sections on the pelvic floor, restorative poses, third trimester poses and post natal poses. However, these are a little disappointing compared to the main class.

I expected the third trimester section to be a mini-practice I could follow. Instead, it consists of modifications for poses in the main sequence.

It would have been more useful to have these modifications explained during the main class - women often experience difficulties during pregnancy that mean some poses need modifying from early on, and it would be a shame if they did not view this section until later on in their pregnancy.

The restorative section contains a number of lovely poses. However, rather than being a session you could follow in real-time, it was more of an explanation of the poses with the suggestion you could hold it for several minutes.

I would imagine those new to yoga would rather a practice they could follow - instead of one that involves pausing the DVD for several minutes at a time, or having to remember the poses for a later time.

Connection
Despite claiming to 'help you to connect deeply with your body, mind and spirit', compared to other pregnancy yoga DVDs, this one didn't focus too much on connecting with your baby.

Aside from the scan-like images of a foetus appearing on the screen, this lacks the visualisation and deeper connection of other DVDs.

The pranayama section focuses on the complete breath, which is a great introduction for women new to yoga, but it would have been nice to have included more pranayama exercises - ujjayi, alternate nostril or the golden thread breaths for example, which can all help during pregnancy and birth.

In conclusion...

For those new to yoga, this is a great introduction to practicing during pregnancy, with a varied selection of poses that will ease aches and pains, as well as those that can help during labour and post-birth.

However, compared to others on the market and for those with an existing practice, my verdict is that it is not nearly comprehensive enough.

Cathryn Scott is a freelance journalist based in Cardiff, writing on everything from music to homelessness, with a special interest in yoga. She has practiced yoga for ten years, and is currently studying for a British Wheel of Yoga teacher training diploma with Andrea Newman. She can be contacted at cathrynscott@hotmail.com