AboutHelene Byrne Expertise I can answer all questions regarding prenatal and postpartum fitness and exercise.
I will not answer any questions that are not related to prenatal and postpartum fitness and exercise. I will not answer questions regarding getting pregnant, or signs or symtoms, only fitness and exercise during and after pregnancy.
No due dates, medical problems during pregnancy, signs or symtpoms of pregnancy, pregnancy tests, vaginal problems/smells/discharge, periods or ovulation.
Experience Pre-and-Postnatal Exercise Specialist
ACE certified Personal Trainer
Author: "Exercise After Pregnancy: How to Look and Feel Your Best" Book
Author: "Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning" DVD
Founder: BeFit-Mom
Teacher: Post Pregnancy Exercise Workshops
Organizations IDEA Health and Fitness Association
Publications numerous regional parenting magazine
Education/Credentials Dancing Thru Pregnancy, Pre/Post Natal Exercise Specialist Certification 2000
Resist-a-Ball Core Program, 1999
American Council on Exercise, Personal Trainer Certificate, 1999
Peak Performance, San Francisco, CA, Pilates Instructor Training Program, 1992
Health and Fitness Institute, Cal State Hayward, Personal Trainer Certificate, 1990
American College of Sports Medicine, Group Exercise Leader, 1989
Boston Conservatory, BFA/Dance, 1982
Awards and Honors �Bounce Back Fast! Post Natal Core Conditioning�, 2005. Winner of the Platinum Award from the Family Review Center, 2007.
I've been practicing Bikram yoga weekly for many years. In the past month I've been going 3 times a week.
The classroom is usually about 40 degrees celsius. I brought a thermometer and took my temperature last class and it was 38 degrees at the peak of the class.
Will it be safe to continue going once I've become pregnant?
Obviously I don't want to do anything that will jeopardize my pregnancy, but I've been feeling terrific from the yoga and I would be sad to give it up.
Thanks,
Lisa
Answer A raise in maternal core temperature is strongly associated with birth defects. That's why pregnant women are advised NEVER to use a hot tub or sauna.
Most fitness professionals, myself included, believe that Bikram yoga has the potential to raise core temperature and therefore advise against this form of yoga for pregnancy.
Most, if not all, pregnant women feel overly warm throughout their pregnancies, and find that exercising in a hot room is very uncomfortable.
But you certainly don't have to give up your yoga practice after you become pregnant. I'd suggest that you switch to either Iyengar, which focuses on proper alignment and precision in movement, or a flow style yoga until your belly pops out and gets "in the way" and then switch to a special prenatal yoga class for the last half of your pregnancy.
If you are planning a pregnancy, I'd switch out of Bikram when there's a possibility of implantation.
