Prenatal Yoga Center

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Prenatal Yoga Center PYC is the first yoga center in NYC to focus on the needs and interested of new and expecting parents. Pregnancy is a unique and wondrous time in life.

We offer pre/postnatal yoga, Baby + me and other classes and workshops to help prepare the path into parenthood. As a yoga center we help parents and children openly explore the mind, body, and spirit. Using a three-pronged approach to our teaching, our classes address the aches and pains of pregnancy so students feel better each day, we foster a supportive community of friendship, and we integrate childbirth education into our classes to help the mother be more prepared and empowered for labor, delivery and motherhood. We value:
Physical comfort: Highly trained and educated instructors cater to the anatomical, hormonal, and muscular changes which occur normally in the pregnant body by creating sequences which lessen discomfort so students feel better after each class. Community: We start each class with “circle time”, a time where the women introduce themselves, say how far along they are, and discuss any aches and pains they would like to address in class. Pregnancy and postpartum periods carry such enormous physical and emotional changes;and this bonding time creates a springboard for long lasting friendships among students. Childbirth Education: We interweave childbirth education themes and current birthing trends into our classes. Our intention is that the new mothers will feel more confident and prepared to make conscious, educated decisions during pregnancy, labor, delivery and motherhood. As a resource center, we provide information and education for new parents as their family expands, offering various workshops and lectures that addresses common issues related to pregnancy, early childhood parenting, family dynamics and alternative healing. We look to create a quiet sacred space and community where you and your family can step out of the busy New York lifestyle to find warmth and comfort.

09/10/2026

“Belly breathing” is one of the most common cues in yoga but it’s not quite the full picture, especially during pregnancy. When we breathe only into the belly, we’re directing that pressure into the linea alba (the connective tissue running down the center of your abdominals) and the anterior pelvic floor. During pregnancy, when the linea alba is already stretching to accommodate your growing belly, repeatedly pushing pressure into it isn’t doing it any favors.

What actually serves the body better is full 360-degree breathing. On the inhale, instead of just pushing the belly forward, think about the entire rib cage expanding (front, back, and sides) and on the exhale, the whole rib cage deflating back down. This matters because your back and side ribs are often chronically tight and underused in breathing, especially as pregnancy changes your posture and breathing mechanics.

Here’s the part that makes this especially relevant for pregnancy and pelvic floor health: when the rib cage moves this way, the pelvic floor can respond in kind - almost like two jellyfish moving together. As the diaphragm contracts on the inhale, natural pressure travels down and the pelvic floor gently stretches; on the exhale, the diaphragm domes back up and the pelvic floor recoils back to its natural resting position. That coordinated movement is what actually supports pelvic floor function, rather than repeatedly pressing pressure straight into the belly and pelvic floor with every breath.

So next time a teacher cues “belly breathing,” try shifting your attention to the ribs instead, front, back, and sides expanding together. It’s better for your abdominals, better for your pelvic floor, and gives your ribs and back the mobility they’re often missing. 🌬️

Want to build a breathing practice that actually supports your pelvic floor through pregnancy and beyond? Join a class at Prenatal Yoga Center either IN PERSON or VIRTUALLY.

08/26/2026

✨We take some unconventional approaches to yoga asana, especially when it comes to the pelvic floor and pelvic ligaments. Did you know that when the pelvic floor is tight (which is the case for many flexible bodies), it can make birth more difficult?

As the baby starts to descend into the pelvis, a tight or imbalanced pelvic floor can cause the baby’s head to shift, and progress to slow down or even halt.

A large part of the PYC methodology is using the yoga practice to create balance in the body prenatally so students may need less interventions during birth.

The first weekend of our two weekend intensive 85-hour Prenatal Teacher Training is dedicated to taking you on a journey to understand prenatal anatomy and physiology. You’ll learn how to use asana to explore coping skills for ANY type of birth, relieve common aches and pains of pregnancy, as well as find balance for a more easeful birth.

Our second weekend is a deep dive into understanding the current landscape of birth in the U.S. As prenatal yoga teachers, we can be a steady hand in offering evidence-based information to allow pregnant students to decide what is best for their pregnancy and birth. We also dabble in some postnatal yoga during this weekend too!

If you feel called to make a difference and you’re hungry to learn, check out the PYC 85-hour Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training.

✨ONLINE: Nov 5-8 & Dec 3-6
✨ONLINE: Jan 7-10 & Feb 4-7
✨IN PERSON/NYC : March 11-14 & April 8-11

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pregnancyyoga

08/24/2026

The lateral lunge works on a plane of movement most workouts skip entirely. And during pregnancy, that’s exactly what makes it so valuable! Most daily movement (walking, most cardio, most strength training) happens in the sagittal plane, meaning forward and backward. But your hips, inner thighs, and pelvic floor also need strength and mobility moving side to side, especially as your body prepares for the multi-directional demands of labor.

As pregnancy progresses, your adductors (inner thigh muscles) and the connective tissue around your hips gradually loosen due to relaxin, the hormone responsible for increasing pelvic flexibility ahead of birth. That increased laxity is useful for delivery, but it also means these muscles benefit from active strengthening (not just stretching) to stay stable and supportive through the wider range of motion your body is now capable of. A lateral lunge loads the inner thigh and glute of the bent leg while deeply stretching the opposite leg’s adductors, training strength and flexibility in the same movement.

Beginner (with blocks): Blocks bring the ground closer to you, letting you go deeper into the stretch and hold the position with better balance and less strain on your shoulders and low back (especially helpful as your center of gravity shifts). This modification lets you get the full benefit of the pose without over-reaching or compromising your form.

Intermediate (no blocks): Removing the blocks increases the range of motion required and challenges your balance and stability even further, building more strength through the standing leg and deeper engagement through the hips and core as you lower closer to the ground.

Want movement that meets you exactly where you are, beginner to advanced? Join a class at Prenatal Yoga Center either IN PERSON or VIRTUALLY!

08/18/2026

Here’s a simple rule: questions about someone’s birth plan, feeding choices, or parenting decisions aren’t small talk. In fact, they’re deeply personal medical and family decisions that are nobody’s business but the pregnant person’s and their partner.

Even asked with genuine curiosity, these kinds of questions put pressure on someone to justify choices they haven’t made yet, may still be deciding, or simply doesn’t owe anyone an explanation for.

The principle is easy: please keep your stories and opinions to yourself. If they want to hear from you, they’ll just ask!

This has been a lesson in: Etiquette When Talking to a Pregnant Person or a New Parent

Is that you? Come join our community where people get the code of conduct. We have classes available both IN PERSON or VIRTUALLY.

08/14/2026

I’ve never related to The Grinch so much! Food aversions and cravings aren’t random! They’re actually driven by real hormonal shifts (hi, hCG and progesterone) that change your sense of taste and smell, sometimes overnight.

That’s why something you loved last week can suddenly feel unbearable. It’s your body’s chemistry talking, not a lack of willpower. Eating small, frequent meals and leaning into whatever does sound good (within reason) is a totally valid strategy here.

You’re not alone! Want to join a community to navigate pregnancy with? Join a class at Prenatal Yoga Center either IN-PERSON or VIRTUALLY! We look forward to having you (and discussing what food aversions you have this week!)

08/11/2026

A cesarean birth is still your birth. And having a plan — even for a planned cesarean — can make a profound difference in how you experience it.

Here are some questions worth bringing to your care team ahead of time:

💛Can I have skin-to-skin with my baby right after birth?
💛 Can my partner do skin-to-skin if I’m not feeling well?
💛Can I begin breastfeeding while still in the OR?
💛The OR can have an intense smell — can my partner offer me whiffs of essential oils during the procedure?
💛Can I have my own music playing in the OR?
💛 Can the curtain be lowered so I can see my baby being lifted out?
💛 Can my partner be the one to announce the s*x of the baby?
💛 Can conversation in the OR be kept to a minimum so I can stay present in the moment?

Not every hospital or provider will say yes to every request — but many will say yes to more than you might expect. The key is asking ahead of time so your team knows what matters to you.

Your birth experience matters. Your preferences matter. And having these conversations before you’re in that OR gives you the best chance of having the birth you want — even if the path there looks different than you imagined.

Want to walk in feeling prepared and confident to advocate for yourself? Join one of our Childbirth Education classes at Prenatal Yoga Center! We have them both IN PERSON & VIRTUALLY!

08/07/2026

We talk a lot about internal rotation of the legs and pelvis being helpful for birth — especially during pushing. But here’s the part that often gets skipped:

So many pregnant bodies are actually prone to external rotation. Tight glutes. Tight piriformis. A tight posterior pelvic floor.

So how is your body supposed to access internal rotation when it needs to, if that range isn’t available to begin with?

When the hips are locked into external rotation with tight glutes and pelvic floor muscles, that internal range gets restricted right where you need it most — during the pushing stage, when your baby is navigating through the pelvis.

This is exactly why we build hip mobility work into every phase of prenatal yoga. Not just as a “labor prep” add-on at the end, but as an ongoing practice from the beginning.

In this video, we walk through our go-to poses for unlocking internal rotation:

* Knee on block — gently loads the hip into internal rotation without straining the joint
* Windshield wiper — dynamic movement through both internal and external rotation to build range in both directions
* 90/90 — a classic hip mobility position that isolates internal rotation on one side while stretching external rotators on the other
* Standing hip rotation lunge — this exercise targets hip internal rotation on the stationary leg while the pelvis rotates around the fixed foot and lower leg.
* Kickstand RDL — builds strength and control through the hip and glute in a rotated stance while also similar to the standing hip rotation lunge, creates internal rotation in the pelvis and helps lengthen the posterior pelvic floor muscles
* Deb’s Pyramid — a signature PYC sequence that layers several of these movements together for a full hip-opening flow. Focus on widening the sit bones to help lengthen the pelvic floor muscles
* Seated figure 4 — a grounded stretch that directly targets the piriformis and glutes, the exact muscles that tend to restrict internal rotation

Want to work through this full sequence with us in real time? Join us in the studio or virtually for a prenatal yoga class today!

08/04/2026

It’s 2am. You’ve been up since your fourth bathroom trip. You’re doing the pregnant-person death shuffle back to bed for what feels like the seventeenth time tonight. 😩🚽

If you know, you know.

Nobody warns you that “just growing a human” comes with a nightly cardio routine you never signed up for.

Here’s actually why it’s happening:

During pregnancy, progesterone — a key hormone — relaxes smooth muscle tissue throughout the body, including the bladder wall. A more relaxed bladder simply can’t hold as much before triggering the urge to go. And when you lie down to sleep, fluids that accumulated in your body during the day get reabsorbed into the bloodstream, processed by the kidneys, and sent straight to that already-overworked bladder. The result? A predictable 2am wake-up call. And a 3am one. And a 4am one.

But here’s the silver lining nobody mentions:

Those groggy, half-asleep shuffles to the bathroom are actually doing something for you. Staying upright and moving — even for 10 shuffling steps — uses gravity and gentle pelvic movement that your body will quietly thank you for during labor.

So next time you’re stumbling back to bed at 3am, know that your body is practicing for the big day.

One exhausted trip at a time. 🤍

Need a space to actually rest, connect, and laugh with other pregnant people who get it? Join us at PYC for our IN PERSON or VIRTUAL classes. We’ll see you there!

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