Prenatal Yoga: Garland Pose

Video Transcript

"So in this next pose Katie and I are going to be show you how to do garland pose, or malasana, for women in their second trimester of pregnancy and prenatal yoga. So for this pose Katie, you're going to take your feet, about as wide as your own yoga mat. And turn your toes out, heels in just a little bit. Go ahead and bring your hands into prayer, and as you inhale, sit up nice and tall. As you exhale, you're going to bend the knees, if it feels safe for your knees, and come all the way onto the block. So if you need to at any point, go ahead and re-adjust yourself, maybe place the block a little closer, make sure you're comfortable. And then go ahead and draw the elbows between the knees, and you can use the elbows to kind of press against the knees to open them. So lifting up through the back, lifting the crown of the head nice and high, and breathing. So from garland pose, you can also go ahead and do your kegle exercises, it's also called mulabanda in yoga. Where you use the muscles of the perineum, or the muscles that stop urination to hold them up about three levels, almost like an elevator, and then relax them slowly. Try taking one breath at each level. And then breathing, still allowing the belly to be soft. And after you're done doing maybe three sets of your mulabanda, go ahead and press the feet into the floor; if you need to you can draw the hands towards the floor. (So Katie, you can go ahead and draw your finger tips to the floor), press the feet into the floor as you start to lift the hips, and then come back up to standing. Wonderful. (Thank you Katie)."