During my training for the Dublin City Marathon, I go for a long run on the weekends. This weekend, I wrecked my hip. During the week, I could feel it niggle so I rested, but after 8 miles on my long run, I had to pull up, make the call and get a lift home. I'm very peeved about it, but also, it actually happened on the other hip the last time I trained for the marathon. As with all challenges in life, I need to listen to the lesson in this! I'm sharing this as I know it will help a lot of women, regardless if you are pregnant, had a baby a few months or a few years ago!

I know myself I need to incorporate more glute (butt) strengthening work into my routine. I'm fairly flexible, so often what happens in the body is if someone is really flexible in some part of their body, they need to build strength or stability. And the reverse is also true. You'll often see very strong guys in a yoga class who are really inflexible. Finding the balance is key, particularly as you increase...

I get emails and phone calls all the time from gorgeous pregnant mamas, and so many of them are wondering the same thing.... is it too late for me to start yoga? I can hear the slight anxiety in their voices.

For many pregnant women, the time has flown by, particularly if they have other children at home and life is busy! They can be around 30 weeks pregnant sometimes before I talk to them. The very short answer is NO, it is never too late to start prenatal yoga in my opinion! Even if you are 38 weeks pregnant and you attend one class or practice Prenatal Yoga online once, you will always get some benefit from it.

In all my years teaching, I have yet to meet someone who didn't enjoy at least some aspect of the session! The very least you will get from yoga is a good stretch out, reduced back pain, and a blissful period of relaxation. So if I was 38 weeks pregnant, I'd certainly take that! 

But just look at what a few weeks or months (or longer!) of yoga practice can do for...

What a beautiful title! Constipation is a real issue for many if not most Pregnant women. As the hormones increase (particularly progesterone) through your body, the digestive system becomes a little lax and slows down somewhat. Also, some of the Prenatal supplements for iron can have an extra constipating effect.

If you had a tendency to suffer from constipation before Pregnancy, then you especially want to read this article and take some notes!

To get you back on track, and being 'consistent', here are my 5 top tips:

1. You want to immediately address your diet and fluid intake. This is simple to do and you'll find an improvement within 24 hours. Fibre is your friend. Now, be careful introducing or reintroducing fibre into your diet as you don't want to make massive sudden changes, as then you may actually do more harm than good! So the first and easiest thing to do is to swap out all white/processed fibre sources and switch them to wholegrain / whole wheat - for...

I was reading an article recently by the fabulous Gail Tully, from Spinning Babies, and I had an 'aha' moment! More than 7 years ago while I was in labour with my 2nd son, I remember sitting on the edge of the bed, with my feet towards the floor. I kept arching my back and leaning backward during a few contractions, over about 30 minutes, just before he was born. I never really 'got' why I did that until now!

When I read the article...I'll explain it now in a second...I thought to myself, 'jeepers, I wonder if that what I was doing before Sebastian arrived'.

Gail's article was about Walcher’s Position. This can help to engage (engagement means the widest part of the baby’s head has dipped below the entrance to the pelvis (the brim)) a baby that is still high and hasn't entered the pelvis yet.  The baby may be stuck at the brim or inlet (entrance) of the pelvis, and needs help to engage. Getting into Walcher's position, and staying there during...

Such a sexy topic!!! But one that affects many Pregnant Women, particularly at the end of pregnancy. Popping your legs up against the wall is really effective at helping to reduce the fluid build-up which happens during the day. You might need lots of pillows or cushions under the hips, shoulders, and head to make it comfortable for you, and remember, if at any point, you feel uncomfortable or dizzy, immediately roll to the side. Follow my advice in the video.

If you find lying on your back even for one minute is not an option for you, any amount of raising your legs up will be beneficial, so sitting more upright on the bed or couch with pillows under the legs, will also help.

It's also a lovely short exercise to do if you are not pregnant and if you have been on your feet or sitting at a desk for a lot of the day.

The lighting in the video is a little dark, but functions great!

Please do like and share xxx 

If you'd like help getting baby into a good birthing...

Good question! It's one I get a lot :)

So I would break this into 4 areas - Physical, Mental, Breath and Community.

Physical:

I'm not a believer in doing very little exercise just because you are pregnant. In fact, if you exercise for about 30 minutes a day, it is proven to help you have a more comfortable pregnancy, a shorter and therefore easier labour, and a faster recovery. So a 'shorter and therefore easier labour' should bring music to your ears mamas-to-be! Focusing specifically on labour and birth, prenatal yoga will help you stay strong, toned and open, therefore making your labour easier and more manageable, and helping you have the strength and stamina required to keep you upright for as long as possible. Sometimes, and of course not all the time, labour can be a long process particularly for first-time mamas, whose bodies haven't gone through the experience of childbirth before. The majority of first-time mamas who come to my classes in Dublin, can be quite surprised...

I recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post about Exercising in Early Pregnancy. It was always something I felt unsure and even nervous about, particularly having experienced 3 miscarriages. 

As well as being a Prenatal & Postnatal Fitness Specialist, and Prenatal Yoga instructor, I'm a keen runner and exerciser in general. I've always had so many worries and queries myself, so I've gone through all the areas of concern and answered all the questions you could possibly have inside the blog!

You know that I'm going to reassure (and advise ;-)) you that you should be exercising, all throughout pregnancy, but there definitely are important things you need to know about.

So if you'd like to know more, please delve in...

HuffPost Article - All you need to know about exercising in early pregnancy

If you have any questions at all, just comment below or get in touch on email or social media links.

Enjoy

x

_{Helen Plass is a Pre & Postnatal Fitness...}

So, you've peed on that stick and either you are feeling one of two ways: 

                     OR                              

Either way honey, congratulations, you're preggers!

Any time I found out, I was always more Buddy, than JLo in my reaction! But either way, you are probably asking...now what?!

Here are 8 things I'd recommend, and have done myself in the past:

1. Ensure you are taking your folic acid daily, and some form of prenatal vitamins. For me personally, prenatal vitamins I've taken previously haven't had a very positive affect on my digestive system. So I took the folic acid and specific, very high quality,  EFA Omega-3 and Omega-6 capsules, and made sure my diet was awesome.

2. Clean up your diet. Get rid of refined, sugary and processed foods. Increase your veggie intake and try to eat as healthily as you...

Ah the glow of pregnancy, isn't it just beautiful? Eh no, no it's not. For some women, all they seem to have to do is go from sitting to standing and they break out in a sweat!  Do you find yourself peeling off the layers sometimes when everyone else isn't even warm?! All this increased heat and sweating is a right royal pain in the bum.

So why is it exactly that as pregnant women we tend to get all hot and sweaty more easily? What do we need to avoid doing? And is there anything we can do to reduce the sweats?

 Why the increased sweatiness?!

As we know, the body is under enormous change during pregnancy. It has to work extra hard as the mother's body has increased heat from a multitude of sources.

• All pregnant women's systems are increasing their workload massively - the cardiovascular, respiratory, excretory and more - and all this extra energy creates extra heat. Mama-to-be also has an increased metabolism, which causes a rise in temperature.
• As well as that...

Pretty much every pregnant woman suffers from some form of back pain. Here are 5 simple exercises to do daily which will relieve back pain. Also listen out for my 2 tips to help prevent back ache too!

Exercises start at 2mins 50 sec.

Enjoy

x 

If you would like to learn more about freeing yourself from discomfort in Pregnancy, feeling strong, sleeping soundly, and feeling prepared for your labour, check out our comprehensive Online Prenatal Program.