Pregnancy Yoga
Pregnancy Yoga (Prenatal Yoga)
& Birthing Skills Classes
Pregnancy Yoga Classes (Prenatal Yoga Classes) 2025 for all stages of pregnancy
Vanessa Shribman Iyengar Yoga
Pregnancy Yoga 8 week course starts on Thursday February 6th at 5.15 pm with 30 minutes of birth skills and education followed by 60 minutes of yoga and Pilates
This course will teach all you need to know to prepare for a positive birth experience that is in line with the values of you and your partner. Each session will cover practical skills for birth, evidence based knowledge so that you can make informed decisions and yoga and pilates to maintain a healthy, strong body and mind during pregnancy. The course includes one evening for couples as a crash course on how you can best be supported in labour and beyond.
Venue: Body Voice Centre, 50 Wolverhampton St, Footscray
All pregnancy yoga classes are held at the Body Voice Centre, 50 Wolverhampton St, Footscray. Classes align with school terms however you can start midterm and pay a pro-rata fee until the end of the term. Although booking is not always necessary, we encourage you to book online to guarantee your place. Pregnancy yoga is suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced.
Pregnancy Yoga classes with Vanessa in Footscray
Vanessa Shribman Iyengar Yoga
3 Decades of Teaching Pregnancy Yoga
Vanessa’s Pregnancy Yoga Classes are designed to provide physical and mental preparation essential for a positive birthing experience. Our bodies know how to give birth and are perfectly designed to do so, but fear and doubt can get in the way. Vanessa draws upon her three decades of experience in teaching pregnancy yoga and birth skills, to give you the skills and support you need so you can have the courage and confidence to embrace your unique birthing journey.
Safe & Supportive Environment
Participating in prenatal yoga classes provides an excellent opportunity for you to connect with a supportive group of other soon-to-be mums, going through similar experiences. Each session focuses on a different topic surrounding birth and provides a safe and all-inclusive space for you to practice yoga.
Evidence-based Yoga Teachings
Vanessa’s teachings are underpinned by the latest evidence-based information to ensure you are well-informed about birth choices and care. By fostering a nurturing and supportive environment, Vanessa will help you approach childbirth with a sense of empowerment, so you can make informed decisions and shape the birthing experience to your preferences.
Pregnancy Yoga
Pregnancy yoga, also known as prenatal yoga, is a specialised form of yoga designed to support women through pregnancy. It focuses on gentle, safe, and effective exercises that address the physical and emotional changes that occur during pregnancy and has multiple benefits.
Pregnancy Yoga Promotes Physical Wellbeing
Strength and Flexibility
Pregnancy yoga helps in maintaining and improving muscle strength and flexibility. This can be particularly beneficial during pregnancy as the body changes to accommodate the growing baby.
Posture Improvement
As the tummy grows, it can affect a woman’s posture. Prenatal yoga helps retain proper alignment and posture, reducing the strain on the back and neck.
Relaxation Techniques
Prenatal yoga includes various relaxation techniques including deep breathwork, meditation, and mindfulness. These practices can help reduce stress, anxiety, and promote a sense of calm and wellbeing during pregnancy.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
Pregnancy yoga includes moves and asanas to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. This is particularly beneficial during labour and will help with postpartum recovery.
Mind-Body Connection
Prenatal yoga helps the mother to connect with her body and the growing baby. This can enhance the sense of bonding and awareness of the changes happening within.
Breathing Techniques
Yoga teaches specific breathing techniques that can be helpful during labour. Learning to control and focus on the breath has been shown to help with managing pain and promoting relaxation.
Labour Poses
Some yoga poses mirror common labour positions, which can help women become more familiar and comfortable with these positions.
Alleviation of Common Discomforts
Prenatal yoga can help alleviate common discomforts associated with pregnancy, such as back pain, swelling, and insomnia.
Tailored to Individual Needs
Prenatal yoga classes are designed to be adaptable to different stages of pregnancy and different fitness levels. Poses can modified to suit your individual needs.
Faster Recovery
Women who practice prenatal yoga often experience a faster recovery postpartum due to improved strength, flexibility, and overall well-being.
*Before starting any prenatal yoga program, please consult with your healthcare provider to ensure that it’s safe for you.
Gain confidence and feel positive about birth with pregnancy yoga classes.
Midwives attest that women who have attended prenatal yoga classes often cope much better with birth and have fewer interventions than those who have not attended classes.
Recommended by research
Australia has some of the highest birth intervention rates in the world. Many women would prefer to have a normal birth without intervention but don’t have the confidence or knowledge to go about this.
A study conducted in 2016 on 176 Sydney women
As published in the British Medical Journal, the study found that:
- Independent and interactive birth education classes lead women to feel that birth is manageable, that they have the resources to cope and that they understand birth.
- Following birth education, pregnant women had a 65% lower epidural rate, a 44% lower caesarean rate, half the rate of inductions and much lower perineal trauma rates than women who attended common hospital classes.
- Unlike Vanessa’s Pregnancy Classes, hospital classes were seen to socialise couples into accepting hospital protocol and a culture of intervention.
Non-drug approaches can be very successful in relieving pain in childbirth and reduce the need for epidurals and Pitocin (medications that may have side effects for mother and baby). About 70% of Australian women will have an epidural for pain relief during birth.
What do pregnancy yoga sessions involve?
Pregnancy Yoga Classes will cover the following topics:
- Be confident that birth is a normal healthy process and that your body is designed to birth normally.
- Understand the power of the mind in the birth process and how to stay positive.
- Become clear abou the type of birth support you want especially from your midwife and your partner.
- Understand the normal process of birth and how you can support yourself in allowing the process to unfold.
- Understand that you have choices in how you want to birth your baby.
- Practice natural pain relief techniques and understand how they work.
- Be introduced to many useful web resources and books to help you be informed and make choices that make your birth a positive experience.
- Understand how to avoid interventions if possible and how to be politely assertive with your health care professional.
- Learn about induction and how to use naatural alternatives (if your baby is overdue).
- Learn how to help your baby get into the most optimal position for birth.
- Meet other pregnant women and have the opportunity to ask any questions or share your own experience.
- Gain confidence through practicing techniques for body and mind and talking to other pregnant participants.
Who can attend the yoga pregnancy classes?
All pregnant ladies can attend the classes from 12 weeks to birth.
What should I expect from the pregnancy yoga classes?
Each pregancy yoga class starts with some discussion followed by yoga, pelvic floor strengthening and awareness, breathing and relaxation.
What are the benefits of pregnancy yoga?
Benefits of pregnancy yoga include:
- Maintaining a strong, pain free body
- Connecting with other pregnant people
- Learning to relax deeply
- Maintain a stable core to prevent back pain
- Connect with your baby.
- Learn and feel positive about birth
Pregnancy Yoga Class Facilitator
Vanessa Shribman; Physiotherapist, birth educator and yoga teacher with 30 years experience.
Vanessa teaches the pregnancy classes. She has been a birth educator in South Australia for 30 years and the director of the Coast Yoga Centre. In 2019 she relocated to Melbourne to be closer to her adult children and now teaches classes at the Body Voice Centre 50 Wolverhampton St, Footscray
Terms and Conditions
- You can start at any time.
- You can attend as many cycles as you want.
- You do not have to attend consecutively.
- Physiotherapy rebates are available for this course.
- There is a 6 month expiry.
- There are no refunds on class tickets.
