Yoga for Pregnancy
“I would never have thought before I joined your classes that a yoga class could be so welcoming, friendly and helpful – and the fact it’s been virtual during such a difficult year is totally amazing.”
Hi there! Congratulations on your pregnancy, and thank you for checking out our classes. We know your pregnancy is a precious time, and it’s really important to find just the right thing for you and your baby, where you will feel relaxed and welcome. We hope you’ll find what you’re looking for here. As the lovely words above suggest, this is much more than a yoga class. Creating connection and community is really important to us and we’re here to support you every step of the way. Yoga is recommended by midwives to help you enjoy a healthy pregnancy, easing your aches and pains, releasing tension and feeling great in your body.
We offer time and space for you to grow into yourself as a mum to be, exploring all your options and possibilities, safely held, with kindness and without judgement. Hurried midwives don’t always have time for all your questions, and we can help with that. Alison,
our pregnancy yoga teacher has 14 years experience and holds a wealth of information and resources. You might be planning a hospital birth, home birth, maximum pain relief, minimal intervention – and all are welcome here. If you have any complications, health conditions, injuries and so on, we can adapt all the practices to suit you, or feel free to come along and just sit, lay down, breathe and be. Everyone is welcome to come and take what they need.
Why not book a £5 trial week – this gets you a Sunday and Wednesday, consecutive classes, via zoom.
If you want to chat to us before deciding, send us an email and Alison will get back to you within 24 hours.
Benefits of yoga in Pregnancy
The Stables Yoga for Pregnancy classes will:
- Help ease common discomforts of pregnancy
- Strengthen and stretch you in preparation for birth
- Teach you essential breathing techniques
- Help position your baby well in the womb
- Deepen your loving connection with your baby
- Increase your self-confidence
- Provide you with information about your birth choices
- Introduce you to other mothers-to-be in a very supportive environment
- Signpost you to other useful resources
In-Depth Information
Extensive Knowledge
Sophie Carr and Alison Goodwin are mothers with a combined 40 years experience in yoga. They have long been recognised as the leading exponents of pregnancy and postnatal yoga in Yorkshire.
Sophie and Alison work in close contact with local NHS community midwives and doctors, the National Childbirth Trust and with Yorkshire Storks, the independent midwifery practice for the area. They have extensive training in perinatal yoga with the British Wheel of Yoga, Jean Sutton, and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli. Sophie teaches Birth Preparation and Mindful Birthing and is registered with Mindfulness Training Institute. She is a recognised and beloved birth doula. As well as yoga for
pregnancy, Alison teaches our nourishing, supportive post-natal classes, a highlight of maternity leave for the people of York!
Our weekly pregnancy classes are great fun, with a strong sense of mutual support. Sophie and Alison have a wonderful way of weaving their extensive knowledge of pregnancy and birth into the yoga classes. Many women make lasting friendships and come back for more yoga through their second, third and fourth pregnancies.
Helping Common Discomforts
Yoga can help with back pain, cramps, nausea, heartburn, rib pain, insomnia, carpal tunnel syndrome. It can relieve anxiety and stress. It teaches postural awareness and helps in realigning your changing body. You will develop strength in the legs and softness and openness in the pelvis, and learn to support your vulnerable back. Gentle stretches opening chest and shoulders provide more space to breathe, more room for the growing baby, and counteract “feeding hunch” before it begins. By balancing hormonal upsets yoga can support your emotions, while yogic relaxation is essential for rejuvenating a tired pregnant body, and for helping you deal with uncomfortable nights.
If you have SPD, PGP or LBP, we offer you adaptations – do come, we will look after you.
Essential tools for Childbirth
Yoga is deeply steadying and grounding. In class you have proper time to connect with your mothering instincts before birth, developing your inner resources and preparing for the big day. We spend time each week discussing pregnancy pros and cons, and birth issues such as where to give birth, active birth, what helps and what hinders a normal birth. This is an essential part of the class, and mums-to-be find it good for widening their knowledge and choices around birth, as well as for making lasting friendships.
Yoga is an essential tool for childbirth. The inner focus helps access the instinctual state which facilitates normal birth. The breathing techniques give you confidence and calmness to deal with the intensity of contractions, while relaxation techniques enable you to conserve energy between them. Your strength work will give you stamina, and your softening work will ease the birth. If your birth becomes complicated, using your breathing will help you remain calm, able to make decisions without panicking.
Yoga helps you to trust yourself as a mother. Trusting yourself means that bonding with your baby and breastfeeding are easier. Relaxation helps you to cope with sleepless nights and promotes let-down of breast milk. Your pelvic floor will recover quickly. Good posture helps combat “feeding hunch” and aching backs.
We can signpost you to many useful practitioners, with whom we maintain close contacts and can personally recommend – doulas, independent midwives, hypnobirthing teachers, breastfeeding counsellors, places to rent tens machines, sling library, birth pool loaners, the local home birth support group, real nappy specialists, pregnancy massage and reflexology, as well as the following professionals who all specialise in maternity, post-natal and babies: osteopaths, acupuncturists, psychotherapists and chiropractors.
We have a team of volunteer mentors with whom you can discuss staying pregnant post-42-weeks, home birth after caesarean, vaginal breech birth, gentle caesarean, options for group B strep, obstetric diabetes, natural birth with high BMI and many other topics.

Book a pregnancy Class
You can join at any time during your pregnancy and don’t need to have done yoga before. The fee is £9 per class in-studio, with free access to our other class by Zoom, or £7 for two Zoom sessions per week. You pay half-termly in advance, up to your 38th week. After that you can pay weekly: you are welcome to come to class until your baby is born. Booking and pre-payment required for all classes.
Wednesday | 5:45 – 7:15pm | Alison (sometimes Sophie) |
Sunday | 6:30 – 8pm | Alison (sometimes Sophie) |
Mats, blocks, bolsters and blankets are provided, but bring along two small cushions for extra comfort.
Birth Prep Workshops
