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 Pregnancy yoga provides a safe and supportive context for pregnant women to come together – sharing in a practice designed to promote optimal health and wellness for both mom and growing baby.
These yoga classes are specifically designed to support a more comfortable and healthy pregnancy, and to prepare for labour with special practices of movement, breathing and meditative techniques.
The focus of the classes is three-fold: movements for ease and endurance during pregnancy; breathing to relax and focus the body-mind; and essential techniques to help stay focused, empowered, and flexible during labour.
What is pregnancy yoga?
The practice of prenatal yoga will help you to meet the challenges and transformations of pregnancy and birth with strength, confidence and calm. Pregnancy yoga incorporates gentle, safe movements and stretches to strengthen and open your body; breathing exercises to increase calm, focus and balance; and relaxation techniques to release deeply held tensions and to promote the well being of yourself and your baby. Pregnancy is a time for moderation, so you are always encouraged to modify movements or to rest as necessary.
 Who can practice pregnancy yoga?
These classes are open to women enjoying a healthy pregnancy, during the second and/or third trimesters. Previous experience in yoga is absolutely not necessary, many women come as complete beginners to yoga.
These classes are for pregnant moms, however we also offer a one-time Saturday afternoon class for couples to prepare for labour together with movement and breathing. Visit the workshops page for more information about the next "Couples Workshop: Preparing for Childbirth with Movement and Breath."
In pregnancy yoga, you will learn and develop several useful techniques, including:
- movements and strategies to relieve common discomforts of pregnancy (backache, digestive difficulties, sciatica, etc.)
- advantageous positions for labour and delivery to promote an easier birth
- breathing and relaxation techniques to help maintain focus, calm and relaxation throughout your pregnancy and delivery
What will pregnancy yoga do for me?
Regular practice of pregnancy yoga, in conjunction with gentle cardiovascular exercises such as walking and swimming, can:
 boost energy and lessen fatigue
- reduce physical and emotional tensions and stress
- enhance strength and confidence
- improve posture, stability and balance
- create optimal health and awareness
- reduce the likelihood and need of medical
intervention during delivery - encourage a positive childbirth experience
Who is teaching the pregnancy yoga classes?
Clearlight Gerald (MA, E-RYT) has special training and certification in teaching pregnancy yoga (completed at the Kripalu Center in 1999), and she has been teaching yoga for pregnancy and childbirth preparation for over 12 years. During this time Clearlight has had the privilege of teaching several thousand expectant and new mothers in both her pregnancy yoga and mom and baby yoga classes. Read more about Clearlight below.
Kate Hudson (BA, E-RYT) has been teaching yoga for over a decade, and is a specialist in yoga for pregnancy, for new moms and for children. She brings extensive experience gleened from her formal training (certification for pregnancy yoga received in 2004) and her years of direct experience with pregnant women. Kate has been teaching at Yogaspace since 2010. Read more about Kate below.
Schedule & Registration
Visit the classes page for schedule and studio information for pregnancy yoga classes.
For complete rate and registration information, please visit our rates & registration page.
 Birth Stories
• Visit the birth stories page to read personal accounts of labour and delivery from women who have already taken these pregnancy yoga classes.
Preparing for Childbirth with your Partner
Visit the workshops page for more information about the next "Couples Workshop: Preparing for Childbirth with Movement and Breath."
You provided me with so many beautiful and useful tools to have the labour and delivery I always wanted to have. During labour, I thought of you and tried to hear the calmness of your soothing voice to keep me going – it worked. I know that I was able to do what I did because of your classes. You're a wonderful yoga instructor, teacher, motivator and person.
- Giovanna D.
With this being my third pregnancy, I am really busy and distracted in my daily life. These classes are the only time in the week where I can focus on just me and this pregnancy - what a gift! I feel so much more relaxed and happy after the classes, I wouldn’t miss them for anything.
-Sandra M.
I’ve had a lot of back pain this pregnancy, and am pleasantly surprised at how effective these classes have been in literally eliminating my discomfort. I really appreciate the knowledge you bring, giving us exercises that feel both safe and challenging – and above all have made a world of difference in how I feel in my body. I also appreciate how you support us to listen to the wisdom of our own bodies. Thank you Clearlight!
- Maria N.
read more personal reflections from pregnancy yoga
Clearlight Gerald, MA, E-RYT500, founder and director of Yogaspace Studio, is a professional level certified Kripalu and Prenatal Yoga Teacher. Clearlight currently teaches classes and workshops at Yogaspace in Kripalu Yoga, Pregnancy Yoga, Childbirth Preparation for Couples and Mom & Baby Yoga.
Clearlight began practicing yoga in 1991, and started teaching in 1999 after she completed her certification as a Kripalu Yoga Teacher and Pregnancy Yoga Teacher.
With over a decade of experience, Clearlight brings skill and passion to her role as a specialist in teaching prenatal yoga and postnatal yoga, a path she chose after feeling profoundly inspired in the 1990s to bring yoga to pregnant and new mothers. As a result of following her heart, she has had the privilege of teaching several thousand expectant and new mothers in her pregnancy yoga, and in her mom and baby yoga classes.
She has been witness to the dramatic beneficial effects of yoga in her own life as a mother of two, and as experienced by so many other women during this time of transition. She continues to offer an inspiring context in which women can connect more deeply to the wisdom, balance, and joyfulness that they bring with them into parenthood.
Clearlight’s dynamic teaching style reflects the passion she has for her personal practice and her love of sharing yoga with others. Her yoga teaching balances an emphasis on safety and strength with the importance of discovering how the practice of yoga can bring a greater sense of wholeness and balance to every aspect of one's life.
Finally, since the question does come up so frequently, it must be shared that Clearlight was named Clearlight at birth by her mom and dad, and that she feels a deep gratitude for this beautiful gift from her parents!
Make sure to read the wonderful birth stories by moms who were in Clearlight's classes.
 Kate Hudson, BA E-RYT200 is a certified Integrative Yoga Teacher, Prenatal Yoga Teacher and trains other teachers how to teach yoga for kids. Kate currently teaches classes at Yogaspace in Pregnancy Yoga, Mom & Baby Yoga and Yoga for Toddlers and Parents.
Kate has been practicing yoga since 1998, and started teaching in 2001 after completing the Integrative Yoga Therapy Teacher Training Program. In 2004 Kate also became certified to teach Prenatal Yoga. Over her years of practice, Kate has become an experienced teacher of all aspects of yoga including yoga asana, pranayama, meditation, energy anatomy and the underlying philosophies of yoga.
Kate also has studied extensively at the Institute of Natural Health Consultants which has allowed her to understand the human being in a truly holistic way, seeing beyond the body-mind to an experience of true self and wholeness. This is reflected in her teaching and overall approach.
She was inspired to teach yoga to children and to moms and babies early on in her career, and over the years has come to the understanding that the children are really teaching her. She is director and principle teacher with Little Lotus Yoga for Kids, who run training programs for Kids Yoga Teachers and workshops and classes for kids of all ages. She continues to learn from children, particularly in how to be fully present in the moment, to approach life from a place of curiosity and exploration and above all to have fun!
Kate's passion for kids yoga naturally led her to become certified in teaching prenatal yoga. She has witnessed the benefits of yoga for countless women during this time in their lives through the practice of yoga, in their abilities to be deeply present and connected to a deeper wisdom within themselves and with their child throughout the experience of pregnancy, childbirth and parenting. She loves to be able to follow her students and their children on their yoga journey through pregnancy, mom and baby yoga and eventually toddlers and children’s yoga.
W e b s i t e U p d a t e s a n d N e w C l a s s e s
 We had a beautiful baby girl, the labor and delivery were great. I must say your classes REALLY helped!! We had a completely natural delivery with no epidural (but I can definitely understand why people get it). The breathing and vocalizing really helped. My sister Shannon said you would have been proud :). Thank you for everything!
- Ashley C.
You provided me with so many beautiful and useful tools to have the labour and delivery I always wanted to have. During labour, I thought of you and tried to hear the calmness of your soothing voice to keep me going – it worked. I know that I was able to do what I did because of your classes. You're a wonderful yoga instructor, teacher, motivator and person.
Since then, I remain a changed woman – the classes empowered and motivated me, and kept me grounded in one the most beautiful experiences of my life. Aside from the very fact that I have my beautiful Marcus, you made one of my biggest dreams come true in being able to have such a beautiful birthing experience. I, to this day, look back on that cold and snowy day in February 2007 with only utter satisfaction, elation and pride!! And Clearlight, it really was because of all you instilled Thank you.
- Giovanna D.
With this being my third pregnancy, I am really busy and distracted in my daily life. These classes are the only time in the week where I can focus on just me and this pregnancy - what a gift! I feel so much more relaxed and happy after the classes, I wouldn’t miss them for anything.
-Sandra M.
A few years ago various events led me to choose a more spiritual path along which to travel through my life. In fact, that path led me to my partner and led us to bring a child into this world. Interestingly, the experience of motherhood has made staying grounded in my spirituality quite a challenge! Not in the big moments of tremendous gratitude, love and joy, but rather in the 'smaller' or more day-to-day moments that too often have been characterized by fear, doubt and self-criticism.
Yoga practice, as you understand and articulate it, as well as how you simply embody and enact it, brought me back to the quiet place within myself - even in a room of crying babies! You helped me to reconceptualize what it means to walk the path in a daily way when daily meditation, regular journaling and quiet reflection are no longer a realistic expectation. Through practice in the moment, I was reminded that what is happening is perfect. Always. And that breathing in and through that moment is the touchstone for this understanding. Truly, the impact of the class was profound. I am deeply grateful.
- Eva P.
I want to thank you for the wonderful tools I gained from your classes. I really credit the breathing and vocal toning techniques with getting me through those last hard hours of labor without intervention. Thanks again!
-Rebekah L.
I’ve had a lot of back pain this pregnancy, and am pleasantly surprised at how effective these classes have been in literally eliminating my discomfort. I really appreciate the knowledge you bring, giving us exercises that feel both safe and challenging – and above all have made a world of difference in how I feel in my body. I also appreciate how you support us to listen to the wisdom of our own bodies. Thank you Clearlight!
- Maria N.
I want to thank you for your pregnancy classes. Vocalizations, hip move ments, and a committed approach to pain as a passing experience is what got me through a very challenging labour ...epidural-free, as I had hoped. Your instruction and my doula's support really enabled Thomas and I to focus on what was happening with confidence rather than fear. So, thank you.
- Rhonda W.
I have truly loved and appreciated the classes you have guided – from early pregnancy all the way through to mom and baby yoga! Thank you so much for all your insight and support. I truly feel that yoga helped me to embrace the magic of childbirth and to be in the moment able to utilise that ‘toolbox’ of tricks we developed (it was great to have so many!). My husband Nitai also really appreciated the tools and positions we practiced in the workshop. Keep up the great and important work Clearlight!
- Krystyna S.
I feel very blessed to have come across your pathway. I found your website by chance and it led me to discover many of the elements that helped prepare me psychologically, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually for pregnancy, give birth, and motherhood. The yoga was amazing for helping to focus on the here and now during pregnancy (which wasn’t always easy) and to prepare for childbirth. I can’t put my finger on exactly what I found most useful during labour. I definitely used the breathing techniques and the analogy of moving with an ocean wave rather than against it, but even more than that I think it was an overall sense of peace from within, and a knowing that what I was experiencing was normal and natural.
I’m not downplaying the intensity of my childbirth, because trust me, there were moments when I truly felt that I may not be able to continue, but having internal focus is one thing that allow me to get over the obstacles that I faced. The focus and sense of peace was something that developed after meeting you and starting the yoga course. The experience of labour and childbirth was one of the most special and exhilarating moments of my life, and I want to thank you for the important role that you played in that. I will be forever grateful for your gentle kindness and guidance throughout this journey that is only just the beginning.
- Melissa C.
Labour and delivery was a really beautiful experience because I was able to stay in the moment, get through the pushing effectively and feel strong while doing it, and get through the c-section which was ultimately necessary with a lot more calm composure than if I had not been breathing the 'ocean breath' the whole time. The nurses and doctor's kept telling me I was breathing really well and doing really well throughout. They barely needed to coach me, and you can take most of the credit for that.
So, thank-you again for the wonderful information and help. I got to know my body even better during the courses and I trusted it when I was in labour and afterward. My body's strength inspired me to be strong and focused emotionally too. Thank you!
- Nancy G.
I am proud I never got the epidural even though it was not by choice… I am also proud that I labored standing up doing the yoga breathing as I had intended to do. (read Lucia's birth story...)
- Lucia C.
I don't think that I could have had a natural birth without the preparation of the prenatal yoga class. Focusing on my voice and keeping it low helped me to think of something other than the pain. (read Michelle's birth story...)
- Michelle S.
... Et que je n'aurais pu réussir sans tes si précieux enseignements. J'ai pensé à toi tout au long de cet accouchement, pour toutes les lumières que tu as allumées pour braver cette tempête lourde de sens. Aussi pour cela je tiens profondément à t'exprimer ma gratitude. Ta présence dans notre parcours a été plus que nourrissante pour notre besoin de profondeur, de sens, de solidité. Merci, et pour sûr nous nous revoyons un jour !!
- Judith C.
I just wanted to thank you again for your prenatal yoga class and the couples' workshop that my husband and I attended. Our daughter Eleanor was born on December 16 at the Jewish General, and without my yoga practice I'm sure it would have been a very different and much less satisfying birth experience!
Despite a 40+ hour labour I managed to get through it without an epidural, thanks in great part to the breathing techniques and positions that we learned in class. In turn, being able to cope with the pain without an epidural actually allowed me to avoid a c-section in the end. I was able to bond with my baby right away. A wonderful Christmas gift!
- Juliet J.
We had a wonderful & natural birth experience, and our baby boy entered this world very peacefully. Thanks so much for all the tools you taught me... I can easily say I unconsciously went through every single one, and your 'you know you are breathing if you hear yourself breathing' was my mantra at various difficult moments. Keep up the great work!
- Jordan T.
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© 1999 - 2011 yogaspace.com / yogaspace.ca
photos © 2004 yogaspace.com / yogaspace.ca
all rights reserved
Yogaspace Studio
L'Esprit Rehabilitation Center
5252 de Maisonneuve West, #100, Montreal, Quebec, H4A 3S5, Canada
514-933-8671
site by Futura Studios
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