Dear Boston Mamas: Prenatal Yoga

Today's Dear Boston Mamas question comes from Jenny via e-mail:

Dear Boston Mamas, I'm pregnant with my first child and would love to find a prenatal yoga class in Harvard Square or Watertown. Do you know of any good classes/instructors? Thanks!

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Dear Jenny,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I'm so happy to hear that you are considering prenatal yoga. I'm 23 weeks pregnant and have been enjoying continuing my yoga practice as a pregnant person. And the terrific thing is that yoga is one of the forms of exercise that you can do all the way through to the end of your pregnancy.

Now, I haven't tried any local prenatal classes since I engage in my own practice at home, but I do have some thoughts to share:

1. Via the Boston Mamas mamampreneur network, I know of Yoga With Sara. If you check out her site, you'll see that Sara teaches pre and postnatal classes at a variety of locations in the Boston area.

2. I checked in with three of my sisters; all active yogis and two of them teach yoga in the Boston area. My sister Jennifer (a fantastic massage therapist) reported, "Clients of mine who go to the Isis Maternity [now Isis Parenting] at the Prudential seem to be pretty satisfied." My sister Kyoung shared, "I was going to take this class just to try it out...why not give Genevieve a try? She comes to my Sunday morning class, is a mom, and a yoga instructor." And in Watertown, my sister Sharon recommended Inner Strength for its "great teachers" (they offer prenatal yoga) and she also suggested checking out Down Under Yoga in Newtonville.

3. I recently learned about the OMBE Integrative Health Center in the Back Bay. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but they offer prenatal yoga classes among other services.

4. I also queried about favorite prenatal yoga spots via Facebook and Twitter. Here's what I heard from the community:

Not surprisingly, Isis Parenting was recommended frequently, including from local Pilates instructor @LisaJohnson and @ComcastMarc_NE on Twitter.

@ComcastMarc_NE also noted that his wife loved Charlestown Yoga.

Via Twitter, @TheStudioDCFA recommended Blissful Monkey in Jamaica Plain, specifically saying that instructor "Bec is the best!" Also, via Facebook, Alex recommended Blissful Monkey, noting that, "Terri at Blissful Monkey in JP rocks."

Via Facebook, I received additional kudos for Bec. Marisa said, "Bec at Isis Arlington is the best I have had. No one has compared to her." And Nicole shared, "Bec is great. I take her class in Jamaica Plain." I also learned this week from Cindy at Isis Parenting that Bec has a new DVD: Prenatal Yoga with Bec Conant.

Via Facebook, Nicole also recommended, "When I lived in Cambridge, I loved goint to Barrett's class at Black Lotus Yoga."

Via Facebook, Dawn shared, "When I was pregnant I loved Healthworks in Chestnut Hill's prenatal yoga classes."

And via Facebook, some community members made recommendations a little further afield. Heather said, "If you're willing to stretch to the Merrimack Valley, Maureen Saba of Maternal Health and Fitness is simply the best. She also is a leader in hypnobirthing and a wonderful doula." And Laura shared, "This is very far north but I swear that Amy Buelow at Union Studio Yoga in Andover gets much of the credit for my second birth going so amazingly well."

5. Finally, I would also recommend you check for additional leads at the local yoga resource site Boston Yoga. They include a section on studios that offer prenatal yoga, plus general tips for engaging in yoga during pregnancy.

I hope these leads are helpful Jenny! They certainly are inspiring me to consider visiting a prenatal class!

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Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have a question for Christine? Drop her a line! And of course feel free to comment in if you have recommendations beyond those made above.