5 fertility yoga poses for the two week wait
If you’d prefer to watch the video on yoga poses for the two week wait, head to the bottom of this post.
The two week wait can be really stressful. I remember constantly questioning ‘can I do this?,’ ‘can I do that?‘, ‘will it affect my chances this month? and STRESSING that I wasn’t doing everything exactly right.
Many women I speak to stop exercising at all when trying to conceive for fear that they might risk their chance of falling pregnant. When actually the reverse is true. Movement helps the body to get rid of stress, balance hormones and just generally feel good – which is all great for fertility!
So today I want to share with you 5 fertility yoga poses for the the two week wait. They will help you to de-stress and of course are all suitable for early pregnancy which we are hoping you already are!
If you’re brand new to yoga for fertility you might like to download my free fertility yoga PDF guide here.
5 fertility yoga poses for the two week wait
Legs up the wall (Viparita Karani)
How?
Sit against a wall with one hip slightly up the wall. Roll the body so that the legs come up the wall and the bottom is resting firmly against the wall. (Feel free to do a little shimmy shake to get a little closer if you need). Press the legs into the wall and draw the toes back towards you. Bring the hands to the belly to work with visualisation – imagine your healthy baby starting to grow within you.
Why?
This is one of the best yoga poses to aid fertility. Most importantly it calms down your nervous system (gets you out of survival mode) which in turn helps to make sure your endocrine (hormonal system) is working as it should. Legs up the wall also helps to bring blood from the feet and legs towards the reproductive organs. It supports the body to eliminate toxins that can affect fertility as blood flows into the lymph nodes in the groin.
Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar) – slow and modified
Ok so I kinda cheated with this one. It’s not actually a single pose, but rather a series of poses done slowly with the breath. I modify the typical sun salutation here for fertility and pregnancy so I recommend watching the video below. Basically we slow down the sun salutation and avoid cobra pose which presses on the belly (which may be slightly bloated at this stage of the cycle or in early pregnancy).
Why?
Full deep belly breaths are one of the best ways to reduce stress. In fact it’s one of the only ways that Science has found to calm your nervous system down! In a sun salutation we add slow movements to breath so that you can lengthen out each breath and gett out of your head (where stress lives) and into an awareness of your body instead.
Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
How?
From tabletop, bring one knee forward behind the wrist and tuck the foot in towards the groin. Stretch your other leg out behind you. If you find this is too much for your hips, place a bolster, cushion or blanket underneath your butt on the side of the bent leg. You can either sit upright in this pose or bring the torso down to rest onto your forearms or the floor.
Why?
This pose opens the hips freeing up blood flow to the reproductive organs. Energetically we also often store unprocessed emotions in the hips and opening them in this pose can help to release stuck energy.
Reclined Butterfly (Supta Baddha Konasana)
How?
You can practice this pose without the bolster (or a rolled up blanket) but it feels extra nice for the back to do it with. Just lie on back on your bolster or blanket, bring the feet together in front of you and let the knees fall out to the side. (If it’s too much of a stretch for the inner thighs you can also put cushions or pillows under the knees to lessen the stretch).
Why?
Again this pose helps to encourage blood flow and energy downward towards the reproductive organs. It also helps us to open the heart (to new possibilities – to new life!) which we can often become closed off to when we’re struggling to conceive.
Corpse pose (savasana)
How?
Super simple – lie down on your back! You can’t really go wrong with this one. You might like to have something underneath your knees if your back gets a little sore. Bonus points if you have the palms up (in an open to receiving position) or on the belly and coming back to your positive visualisation.
Why?
We practice savasana at the end of a class to give you a chance to integrate the practice. (What the hell does that mean? Some days, it will just mean rest and breathe after a sweaty practice. Other days you might experience an emotional release during your physical practice and this time to rest at the end helps you to process that release. Savasana also helps you to destress and often lets you find a stillness in the mind that isn’t possible without first moving the body.
How often should you practice these fertility yoga poses for the two week wait?
Ideally you’d practice yoga every day throughout your two week wait. It’s going to help you manage stress and give you something else to do rather than obsessing over every possible pregnancy symptom. However that’s not always realistic. If you’re only able to practice every second day – great! Only every other day? That will work too.
If you’re looking for more info on fertility yoga for the different stages of the cycle you might want to check out my four part fertility yoga series (classes for each stage of your cycle) or my 28 Day Online Yoga Course where I’ll share all the tools I used to come down from the stress of trying to conceive after 3 losses.