Yoga During Conception, Birth, and Beyond

Tara Williams is HART’s yoga expert from Yoga Mama. She is a yoga teacher, life & parenting coach. Her passion is to create a safe space for parents on their journey from fertility to postnatal care for the whole family. She explains, “We store so much in our bodies and through movement, meditation and coaching; I assist families to bring more peace, joy and happiness into your lives.”

Yoga is a mind, body, and soul-deep healing process, and Tara is passionate about using movement as a tool for fertility, pregnancy, and postnatal recovery.

We sat down with Tara to find out more about why yoga can benefit your IVF treatment:

Tell us more about Fertility Yoga?

Yoga is a mind, body, and soul experience. The minute you join a class to the end is a space of support, peace, and relaxation. Starting yoga when you begin your conception journey is a beautiful time to go inward and turn your attention to your soul, allowing for your mind to calm down and become a sanctuary for your good. 

With fertility yoga, we create a space and balance in your mind and body for the pregnancy which lies ahead. You will feel a more profound sense of connection to your body, leaving you better equipped to handle the emotional rollercoaster that conception, pregnancy, and birth brings. 

I work with movement, meditations, and breathwork that work in conjunction with your medical treatments. When you are in a better space emotionally and physically, your body has more energy and vitality and is likely to respond much better to the IVF process. 

Fertility yoga works around your sacral chakra, which is the energy centre that resides within your womb. 

Through movement, breathing, and meditation, we can assist in healing this area and preparing for pregnancy. This movement has also helped many women deal with endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, cysts, and other reproductive disorders. Fertility yoga compliments the treatments you are on and does not replace any medical diagnosis. 

I am grateful to the HART Fertility Centre for our collaboration to assist in bringing in a holistic approach combined with expert medical care, which is the key to success for expectant parents.

Can you please the difference between Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga? 

Prenatal Yoga:

Yoga allows the expectant mother to feel safer in her body and allows her body to function optimally by getting out of the mind where anxiety and fear reside. In working with mothers who have gone through IVF, I have seen mothers go from anxious and depressed to women who use the tools taught in class to work through difficult emotions and stressful situations. 

During pregnancy, prenatal yoga assists in the body transformation that comes with pregnancy. Each class is perfectly suited for moms who attend to address what they are going through on the day; From lower back pain, fatigue, pelvic pain, round ligament pain, headaches, stiff joints, and emotional outbursts. 

We work on forming a bond with your baby while in the womb, and we use breathing to soothe your mind, body, and soul. 

Postnatal Yoga:

Postnatal yoga helps adjust to motherhood and work with the pains that arise after birth, such as pelvic floor weakness, weak abdominal muscles, stiff neck, tight shoulders, and emotional support to reduce postnatal depression. It’s a gentle way of strengthening the mind and body.   

Mom and Baby yoga also helps the mother connect to her baby on a deeper emotional level and learn practices like baby massage and stimulation to enjoy the motherhood journey. 

Every mom deserves to be honoured and feel a sense of joy, peace, and happiness. I strive to do this with yoga and parenting coaching; no mom ever leaves the same way she came in. So, come as you are moms; we welcome you all! 

Namaste

Tara x