Yoga Guru Annie Clarke Shares Her Top Pregnancy Wellness Tips

Both can be significantly affected by hormonal changes, the anticipation of what is to come and so many other contributing factors. While there are lots of things that are out of our control during pregnancy, I really believe that prioritising our physical health can have huge benefits, from easing pregnancy symptoms to supporting labour, birth and recovery postpartum. It might not mean that everything feels amazing all the time, but it will undoubtedly put you in the best possible position to navigate whatever pregnancy or birth throw your way.

The best place to start is to continue with whatever you were doing before (so long as it’s safe to do so) and slowly adapt it over time as it feels appropriate. It’s easier to work with what you know, but I also really believe we can all benefit from practices like yoga during pregnancy – not just from the obvious benefits that it offers, but for the opportunity it gives us to slow down and listen in so that we can learn a bit more about what we need.

I always find that time on my yoga mat is the most helpful when it comes to tapping into what I need. I think a big part of this is trying to drown out the noise of everything which can make it hard to connect to your intuition. The breath is such a good place to start and there have been so many times where I’ve rolled out my mat and realised that I’ve hardly taken a full breath all day. It gives us the opportunity to check in mentally and physically and from there we can tend to the needs of our body and mind more intuitively.

My second pregnancy has definitely been harder than the first but that’s mainly because it’s just harder when you have a family already. Rather than follow any specific programmes, I have tried to go with the flow a lot more and just do what I can when I can. My motivation has been that I want to stay fit enough to run around after my toddler, as well as having the mental capacity to deal with his emotions and my own. So, I’ve not only focused on keeping my body moving, but also on finding some great practitioners to keep my body in healthy alignment to prepare my body for birth. In terms of exercise, I’ve managed to keep up everything I did before, aside from running, which just hasn’t felt good this time around. Now that I am approaching my final days and weeks, I have eased off anything high intensity and swapped time on my spin bike for swimming or walking. Of course, yoga is the foundation for me and I’ve tried to focus less on ‘keeping up’ my existing practice and using the time on my mat to connect with my pregnancy and baby.

I’ve been lucky to have been able to stay quite active during both my pregnancies but they have been really different. The addition of caring for a toddler second time round adds a whole different dimension. While I was debilitated by nausea in my first pregnancy, it cleared up by 12 weeks. This time round it lasted until about 21 weeks which I found really hard. Now that I am feeling well, I am just so grateful for the time I get with Marlowe and to have the energy to lift him etc but I have tried to be really conscious of the strain that might also put on my body and make sure that I am doing lots of things to prevent aches and pains where possible. As a result, I’ve actually been much more comfortable this time round. It’s also been harder to connect to this pregnancy and baby in general. The days tend to revolve around juggling work and parenting and it’s harder to make space to be present, but I do appreciate those moments so much when I am able to make time for them and it makes me so excited to have my baby here so that we can get to know her properly!

This has been really interesting for me to navigate this time round. Life has felt quite full and busy and as someone who knows the importance of prioritising our physical health, for me it has come down to just trying to do something every day, or most days, that helps me to move my body. I was able to run comfortably the whole way through last time, but this time I’ve had to find other quick and easy ways to move. It’s definitely a case of finding small moments in the day (like walking to work) that keep the body mobile and active when we don’t always have time to attend specific classes or follow longer programmes. Yoga is of course a big part of it for me too, in terms of just rolling out the mat and moving without having to travel anywhere or book into a class.
 

I’ve been focusing on building confidence for birth, destressing  in the final weeks and trying to slow down mentally so that I don’t put so much pressure on myself. I’ve made a list of the things I need to get done, the things it would be nice to have done and some things to do if I am twiddling my thumbs. It’s really helped knowing that I have prioritised and anything else is a bonus. Outside of that, I am also now really trying to take more time to connect to my body and baby, so that I feel calm and connected ahead of the birth too.

I definitely experienced guilt, particularly in the first half of this pregnancy when I just couldn’t parent as actively as I wanted to and would sometimes go to bed before my toddler just to try and escape the nausea. I felt so guilty for not being there for him, but also for needing to ask for more help from my partner and family. I try to remember that everyone around me is just doing their best and that that applies to ourselves too. It’s normal to feel guilty, but people also want to help when they can, so asking for what you need gives them the opportunity to do that. And if you don’t have help around you, try to let go of the things that you can’t do and allow yourself to be operating at a lesser capacity than normal if that’s where you are.

This probably isn’t the best advice, but I’ve let go of the ‘rules’ I previously had about my own screen time to make it all work. To show up more for my son, it really helps to be flexible about when I work (and of course that is the luxury of working for myself). I used to be good at making sure I didn’t check my phone too early and switch it off in the evenings, but over the last few months, opening my laptop after Marlowe’s bedtime to tick a few things off my to-do list has helped me feel more on top of things. We also try to follow a few ‘guidances’ at home – like resetting the house before bed (and trying to do this before Marlowe’s bedtime so we don’t spend all evening doing chores). It feels so much better to come down to a tidy kitchen in the morning, and ‘closing the tab’ on tasks or chores so that if they get started, wherever possible they get finished too, so that you don’t have them contributing to the mental load/juggle.

Because I have all the baby bits already, I have been investing a bit more into myself this time round – I’ve taken Wild Nutrition Pregnancy + New Mother support since I was pregnant with Marlowe, and I’ve added in some other supplements to really support myself fully. Magnesium has been such a game changer and I am sure it’s the reason that I haven’t suffered from leg cramps or much insomnia this time (I am obsessed with Healthy Metal for this). I’ve been seeing someone monthly for chiropractic and craniosacral care to support alignment and I’ve upped this to twice monthly at the end of my pregnancy. Despite carrying a toddler around and being generally busy and active, my body has stayed so much more comfortable this time so I couldn’t recommend it more if it’s something that you are interested in.

Your experience is valid. The things that you find hard are hard and when you feel good or bad or anything in between, it’s okay to admit it. Not everyone loves being pregnant, and not everyone loves every element of pregnancy, and some people do. It doesn’t make you a better or a worse parent for admitting to yourself (and others) how you really feel.

Every pregnancy is different. It can be really inspiring to look around and see how others navigate it and find a sense of community around our experiences. But it’s important not to compare (even to our own previous pregnancies) how we look, how we feel and what we are going through. I spent a chunk of time in this pregnancy having expectations that were based on my first and they never made me feel good. Once I stepped back and realised what I was doing, I felt so much more in tune with myself, and it made me so much more at peace in the body and experience I am in right now.

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