Prenatal Yoga with Bec Conant
Last week, I officially decided to shelve running until after I deliver the baby. And since yoga subsequently has been my main fitness practice, and since many of the sequences I typically enjoy aren't so great while carrying a giant pumpkin belly, I decided to buy a copy of Prenatal Yoga with Bec Conant following the rave recommendations for Bec (a local prenatal yoga teacher, doula, and hypnobirthing teacher) and her classes when I queried about favorite prenatal yoga classes in Boston.
And I totally dig this DVD and recommend it for expecting moms. The DVD is broken into seven sections (e.g., warm up, sun salutations, wall balances, seated poses, etc.) and you can either skip around or run the DVD in entirety (about 1 hour and 15 minutes). Throughout, you can follow Bec's calm voice and the visual lead of two women in early and later stages of pregnancy. Bec's directives are very good, and she's excellent at providing gentle reminders about the individual nature of the body and practice on a given day. Typically, for new yoga students I recommend attending classes so you can receive corrections and learn the poses properly, but I think this DVD would work for new or less experienced yoga students.
From the perspective of someone with a lot of yoga experience, I've been happy to learn some new poses and stretches that feel utterly delicious, and also learn about them in the context of how they impact my baby and upcoming delivery. At the beginning, I followed the DVD to the letter, and now that I'm familiar with the flow, I add in my own variations and favorite extra poses as I go. It's been wonderful to enjoy a fitness practice dedicated to pregnancy, and following Kate's lead, I'm now looking forward to picking up some additional prenatal fitness DVDs at the library.


















Comments
I've been a huge fan of Bec's since we worked together at Isis Parenting and I began taking her beginner classes at Blissful Monkey yoga studio in JP. I love Bec's supportive approach to yoga. As we tried new poses, she'd always explain what you should be feeling as well as what you shouldn't be feeling. It gave me the confidence I needed to continue my practice at home. This set makes me wish I were expecting so that I could have an excuse to try it!
Posted by: Jill | January 14, 2011 1:07 PM | Reply to this comment
Congratulations to Bec on this fabulous and well-deserved praise for her DVD as well as her skills as an instructor. Bec is an extremely talented and popular member of the fitness/yoga team at Isis Parenting. I encourage you to try her out live! See her schedule of classes at http://www.isisparenting.com/classes/programs/fitness.
Posted by: Becky Morgan, Pregnancy & Wellness Program Lead, Isis Parenting | January 19, 2011 10:22 AM | Reply to this comment