Prenatal Yoga - L Pose

Kathy Duke: Hi! My name is Kathy Duke, I teach prenatal yoga at the Health Advantage Yoga Center. Today, we are doing prenatal yoga. I am going to show you how to stretch your hamstrings and your lower back in a pose called L pose.

You can use a chair, a kitchen counter top or any sturdy piece of furniture that is at the appropriate height. We will start in mountain pose with your feet comfortably resting below your hips. Take them out as wide as you need to.

On an inhale, press down into your feet, feel your spine and your side body stretching upwards. On an exhale, hinge forward from the crease of your hips, bringing your hands on to the support of the chair, you can start this pose, with your knees bent.

Allow the hips to lengthen away from your hands and your shoulders; this will give you a nice long stretch through the spine. As you are ready, you can begin to press down into the feet, gently pressing your thighbones towards the wall behind you. You will feel that this begins to produce more of the stretch into the hamstrings. Breathe gently and comfortably.

This is a wonderful position that stretches both the legs and the back. It helps to increase circulation to the legs and the lower body. By shifting the weight of the baby, it softens pressure on the uterus and the spine. It allows more oxygen for both you and your baby.

Stay here for as many breaths as you like. When you are ready to release, bend your knees and on an inhale, roll up through the spine, coming back to mountain pose. Thats how we stretch our hamstrings and our lower back.

Next, I am going to show you Bound Angle pose.