Postpartum Yoga: Poses & Tips for Weight Loss & Stress Relief Post Childbirth

Postpartum yoga is a specialized practice designed to help new mothers recover and regain strength after childbirth. It combines simple movements, restorative poses, and calming breathing techniques to support the body, mind, and emotions during this transformative stage of life.

Tailored to address the unique needs of new moms, postpartum yoga helps rebuild strength in the core and pelvic floor, improves posture, and eases the tension from pregnancy, labor, and childcare. Studies suggest that mindful breathing and relaxation practices also support emotional well-being, helping you feel calmer, more resilient, and self-compassionate as you adjust to the many changes of early motherhood.

Varsha Karamchandani, a certified postpartum yoga coach at MyYogaTeacher, emphasizes the importance of self-care during this time. “With challenges like stress, fatigue, weight gain, body aches, anxiety, and depression, yoga offers new mothers a space to heal, recover, and reconnect with themselves,” says Varsha. 

Keep reading to learn more about postpartum yoga—from safe, gentle poses you can start with, to the movements you should avoid, plus tips for creating a routine that fits your recovery and schedule.

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When Can I Start Yoga Postpartum?

The ideal time to start yoga after childbirth depends on: 

• Your delivery type (Vaginal or C-section)
• Doctor’s advice
• Recovery progress

Most women can begin gentle postpartum yoga around 6–8 weeks after delivery, with medical clearance.

General Timeline:

• Vaginal delivery (no complications): Light yoga and breathing exercises may be safe after 6 weeks, once your doctor confirms you’re healed.
• Cesarean (C-section) delivery: Wait at least 8–12 weeks before starting yoga to allow proper healing of your incision and abdominal muscles, and only after doctor approval.

In case you experience any of the following signs, it’s best to wait and consult your doctor before starting:

• Heavy bleeding or clotting
• Severe pelvic or abdominal pain
• Dizziness, shortness of breath, or chest pain
• Signs of infection (fever, swelling, unusual discharge)

With complications:

If you experienced:

• Severe tearing
• Diastasis recti
• Postpartum hemorrhage
• Pelvic floor issues

Your timeline may be longer. 

Consult your healthcare provider and start only with gentle breathing and stretching until you are fully cleared for more active poses.

Benefits of Postpartum Yoga

Postpartum yoga offers a holistic approach to recovery after childbirth, addressing physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Here’s how it can benefit you:

• Rebuilds Strength: New mothers often experience weakened muscles, especially in the core, back, and pelvic floor. Research suggests that postnatal yoga poses strengthen abdominal and pelvic floor muscles, improving stability and posture, and reducing discomfort from daily movements like lifting, feeding, and carrying the baby.
• Promotes Mental Well-Being: Hormonal changes, new responsibilities, and lack of personal time can lead to postpartum depression, a common challenge for many new mothers. Through mindful breathing, relaxation techniques, and gentle movements, yoga can help manage its symptoms. Research suggests that yoga reduces stress and anxiety, promotes emotional balance, and can prevent or alleviate symptoms of postpartum depression.
• Eases Stiffness and Improves Posture: Constantly holding and nursing a baby can cause stiffness in the back, shoulders, and neck, leading to slouching and poor posture. Postpartum yoga helps relieve this tension through gentle movements that strengthen the back, shoulders, and core while lengthening the spine. This helps realign the spine, improve posture, and reduce pain and stiffness.
• Prevents Fatigue and Sleeplessness: With new routines and sleepless nights, fatigue is inevitable. Yoga helps restore energy, making you feel more energetic and active. Gomati Woli, an experienced postpartum yoga coach at MyYogaTeacher, explains that “Yoga Nidra activates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing cortisol levels to promote deeper, more restful sleep.” 
• Aids Breastfeeding by Hormonal Regulation: Postpartum stress and lifestyle changes can cause hormonal imbalances, making breastfeeding challenging. According to studies, yoga reduces stress and restores hormonal balance, promoting effective breastfeeding and a better experience for you and your baby.

Best Postpartum Yoga Poses for Healing and Recovery

After delivery, recovery takes time. With the right yoga poses and breathing exercises, you can rebuild strength, ease tension, and enhance overall well-being. Some of the best postpartum yoga poses include:

1. Mountain Pose
2. Seated Spinal Twist
3. Legs Up The Wall Pose
4. Pelvic Tilts
5. Cobra Pose
6. Warrior Transitions
7. Goddess Pose
8. Bridge Pose
9. Plank Pose 
10. Reclined Butterfly Pose

1. Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

This pose improves posture by lengthening the spine and counteracts back and shoulder pain, which is common from breastfeeding. It also enhances balance and stability.

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, pressing evenly into the ground.
2. Engage your thighs and gently lift your kneecaps.
3. Keep your spine long, shoulders relaxed, and arms at your sides.
4. Breathe deeply, holding the pose for 5–10 breaths.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• If balance feels unsteady, stand with your back against a wall for support.
• Avoid locking your knees to prevent strain.
• Keep weight evenly distributed on both feet to protect pelvic alignment.

2. Seated Spinal Twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

This gentle twist is great for relieving back and shoulder tension, improving spinal flexibility, and stimulating digestion.

1. Sit cross-legged with a straight spine. 
2. If sitting on a mat feels uncomfortable, sit on a cushion or a bolster.
3. Place your right hand behind you and your left hand on your right knee.
4. Inhale to lengthen your spine, exhale, and gently twist to the right.
5. Hold for 5 breaths, then switch sides.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Avoid deep twisting to protect healing abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.
• If cross-legged is uncomfortable, extend legs forward with knees slightly bent.
• Avoid if you feel abdominal pulling or pain.

3. Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)

This restorative pose reduces swelling in the feet/ankles, relaxes the pelvic floor, and calms the nervous system.

1. Sit next to a wall and swing your legs up, resting them against the wall.
2. Place a folded blanket under your hips for added comfort.
3. Lie back with your arms relaxed by your sides.
4. Breathe deeply, holding for 5–10 minutes.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Avoid if you have high blood pressure or a risk of blood clots.
• If hamstrings feel tight, keep a slight bend in the knees.
• Use a pillow under the head for neck comfort.

4. Pelvic Tilts 

Pelvic tilts strengthen the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. They also improve pelvic alignment and posture, which can be disrupted during pregnancy and labor, causing back pain.

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart.
2. Inhale, and as you exhale, gently tilt your pelvis upward, pressing your lower back into the floor.
3. Hold for a moment, then release. 
4. Repeat 10-12 times.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Place a cushion under your lower back if lying flat feels uncomfortable.
• Avoid over-engaging abs if you have diastasis recti—focus on gentle movements.
• Stop if you feel pelvic or abdominal pain.

5. Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

This pose improves posture and alleviates back pain by strengthening the back, core, and abdominal muscles, which often weaken after pregnancy and childbirth.

1. Lie on your stomach with your hands under your shoulders.
2. Inhale, lift your chest using your back muscles while keeping your elbows slightly bent.
3. Hold for 5-8 deep breaths, then release.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Keep the lift low to avoid excessive lower back compression.
• Skip if lying on the belly is uncomfortable (especially after a C-section).
• Use a rolled blanket under the ribs for extra comfort.

6. Warrior Transitions (Virabhadrasana I–III)

Warrior Transitions builds strength in the legs and core while improving balance and stamina, helping new mothers regain stability and endurance.

1. Start with your feet hip-width apart, with your right foot forward and left foot back, with the hips facing the front of the mat. 
2. Bend your right knee and raise your arms overhead (Warrior I). 
3. To transition into Warrior II, open your hips to the sides, extending your arms sideways. 
4. Inhale, then exhale into Warrior III by lifting your back leg and extending your arms forward. Skip this pose if balancing on one leg feels difficult. 
5. Hold each position for a few breaths before switching sides.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Use a wall or chair for support in Warrior III.
• Avoid deep lunges if you feel pelvic instability.
• Shorten stance to reduce hip strain.

7. Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana)

Goddess Pose is an excellent way to strengthen the core and pelvic floor muscles, boost flexibility in the hips, and improve posture. It aids in overall postpartum recovery. 

1. Stand with feet wide apart, toes pointing slightly outward.
2. Bend your knees, lowering into a squat with thighs parallel to the ground.
3. Engage your core and keep your back straight.
4. Hold for 5–10 breaths.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

1. Use wall support if balance feels unsteady.
2. Avoid dropping hips too low to protect the pelvic floor in early recovery.
3. Keep knees aligned over ankles to avoid joint strain.

8. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana)

This pose strengthens the lower back, glutes, and pelvic floor while gently stretching the chest and shoulders, aiding postpartum recovery.

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart, flat on the floor.
2. Press through your heels and lift your hips while engaging your core and glutes.
3. Keep your shoulders relaxed and hands resting by your sides or clasped underneath your back.
4. Hold for a few breaths before lowering your hips back down.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Use a yoga block under the lower back for a supported version.
• Avoid pushing hips too high to protect abdominal healing.
• Keep your neck relaxed; do not turn your head while holding.

9. Plank Pose (Phalakasana)

Plank Pose is an excellent way to strengthen the core, shoulders, and arms while improving overall stability and endurance after childbirth.

1. Start on your hands and knees, then extend your legs back, coming onto your toes.
2. If that feels uncomfortable, perform the pose on your knees for less intensity.
3. Keep your wrists under your shoulders and engage your core, ensuring a straight line from head to heels.
4. Hold for 30-60 seconds, then slowly lower down.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Start on your knees to reduce pressure on your core and pelvic floor.
• Avoid if you have severe diastasis recti until cleared by a doctor.
• Keep hips in line with shoulders to avoid back strain.

10. Reclined Butterfly (Supta Baddha Konasana)

This pose gently stretches the inner thighs, groin, and hips, releasing tension in the pelvic floor muscles. It also encourages deep, calming breaths and can help reduce stress and anxiety.

1. Lie on your back and bring the soles of your feet together, letting your knees fall open. 
2. You can also place cushions under your knees for extra support.
3. Rest your arms by your sides and breathe deeply.
4. Hold for 2–3 minutes.

Safety Tips & Modifications:

• Use a bolster under your back for a gentle incline if lying flat feels uncomfortable.
• Avoid if hip or groin pain worsens in the pose.
• Keep movements passive; no pushing knees down.

Postpartum Yoga Poses to Avoid

Knowing which yoga poses to avoid during postpartum recovery is just as important as knowing which ones to practice. During the early stages of recovery, your body is still healing from pregnancy and childbirth. Some poses can strain weakened muscles, aggravate injuries, or slow your recovery.

Below are the main yoga poses and practices to avoid postpartum, along with safer modifications:

1. Deep Backbends (e.g., Full Wheel, Camel Pose)

Deep backbends place significant pressure on the abdominal wall and can overstretch the front body, which may worsen diastasis recti (abdominal separation) or strain a healing C-section scar. They can also create excessive lower back compression in bodies still regaining core stability.

Safer Modification: Choose gentle heart openers like the Supported Bridge Pose or the Sphinx Pose until your core and back muscles have fully recovered.

2. Inversions (e.g., Headstand, Shoulderstand, Handstand)

Inversions can increase intra-abdominal pressure, which may stress healing pelvic floor tissues and abdominal muscles. They can also temporarily raise blood pressure, which is a concern for mothers experiencing postpartum hypertension.

Safer Modification: Opt for gentle restorative inversions, such as Legs Up the Wall Pose, which elevates the legs without strain.

3. Core-Intensive Poses During Diastasis Recti Healing (e.g., Boat Pose, Sit-Ups, Double Leg Lifts)

Aggressive core work can worsen abdominal separation and delay healing. Movements that cause your belly to dome or bulge outward put stress on the linea alba (connective tissue between abdominal muscles).

Safer Modification: Focus on gentle core reactivation exercises like pelvic tilts, heel slides, or supported forearm planks with knees down until cleared for more intense work.

4. Hot Yoga 

Hot yoga can cause dehydration, dizziness, and overheating, which are risky during postpartum recovery, especially if you are breastfeeding (as it can affect milk supply). 

Safer Modification: Practice in a cool, well-ventilated space with plenty of water breaks.

If any pose causes pain, pressure, bulging at the abdomen, pelvic heaviness, or increased bleeding, stop immediately and consult your healthcare provider. Postpartum yoga is about supporting recovery, not rushing progress.

‍If you’re confused between what to do and what to avoid, book a free 1-on-1 session with an expert postnatal yoga coach!

Postpartum Yoga Breathing Exercises and Relaxation Techniques

Breathing exercises are just as important as gentle poses. Here are some simple and calming techniques:

1. Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana Pranayama)

This breathing exercise calms the nervous system, reduces stress and anxiety, and helps with emotional balance after childbirth.

1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight.
2. Close your right nostril with your right thumb and inhale deeply through your left nostril.
3. Close your left nostril with your ring finger, then release your right nostril and exhale.
4. Inhale through your right nostril, then close it, and exhale through the left.
5. Repeat for 8-10 rounds, focusing on deep, even breaths.

2. Victorious Breath (Ujjayi Pranayama)

This breathing technique promotes relaxation by calming the mind, reducing stress, and enhancing awareness. It also strengthens the lungs and aids in improving the quality of your breath postpartum.

1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight, and shoulders relaxed.
2. Close your mouth and begin to breathe deeply through your nose, creating a soft sound in the back of your throat (like the sound of ocean waves).
3. Inhale deeply and exhale slowly, focusing on the sound and rhythm of your breath.
4. Continue for 5–8 minutes, maintaining a steady, rhythmic breath.

3. Humming Bee Breath (Bhramari Pranayama)

The humming bee breath is a great way to soothe the nervous system, relieve stress, and calm anxiety. It’s especially helpful for new mothers who may be feeling overwhelmed or dealing with fatigue and symptoms of postpartum depression. 

1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight and shoulders relaxed.
2. Close your eyes and gently press your ears with your thumbs, while placing your index fingers above your eyebrows.
3. Take a deep breath in, then as you exhale, produce a gentle humming sound, like the buzz of a bee.
4. Continue humming with each exhalation for 5–10 rounds, focusing on the vibration and calming effect.

4. Sun-Piercing Breath (Surya Bhedna Pranayama)

This breathing technique helps you energize and increases clarity and focus. It can also help reduce stress and anxiety.

1. Sit comfortably with a straight spine, shoulders relaxed, and hands resting on your knees.
2. Use your right hand to close your left nostril with your ring finger.
3. Inhale deeply and slowly through your right nostril.
4. Close your right nostril with your thumb and exhale through your left nostril.
5. Repeat this cycle for 5-10 rounds, ensuring each breath is steady and controlled.
6. Focus on the warmth and energy rising in your body.

5. Diaphragmatic Breathing

This reduces stress and promotes relaxation, helping new mothers stay calm and energized while promoting pelvic floor recovery.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent or sit comfortably.
2. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen.
3. Inhale deeply through your nose, allowing your abdomen to rise as you fill your lungs.
4. Exhale slowly through your mouth, letting your belly fall.
5. Repeat for 5-8 rounds, focusing on expanding your diaphragm.

Safety Considerations for Postpartum Yoga Routine

Your body is still recovering after delivery, so it’s important to approach postpartum yoga gently. Here are a few expert-recommended safety tips to ensure you’re practicing safely:

• It’s safe to begin light stretching and exercises involving twists 10-15 days after delivery. 
• You can start with light exercises like yoga around 6 weeks postpartum, but always consult your doctor before starting any fitness routine.
• In case of a C-Section, start with an exercise routine only after 3-6 months, once you have consulted your doctor.
• Keep your yoga sessions short initially—around 20-30 minutes—and gradually increase as your body gets stronger. 
• If you feel any discomfort, dizziness, or excessive fatigue, stop immediately. Avoid pushing through pain or discomfort, especially in the pelvic area or abdominal muscles.
• If you experience any unusual symptoms like heavy bleeding, sharp pains, or severe fatigue, inform your coach, stop your practice, and consult your doctor.
• Begin with gentle poses and breathing exercises that focus on relaxing and restoring your body. Seek guidance from a certified postpartum yoga coach if possible.

It’s important to keep these precautions in mind to ensure a safe and effective postpartum yoga routine.

Complete Postpartum Yoga Routine for Beginners

A well-structured postpartum yoga routine can help you regain strength, improve posture, reduce stress, and reconnect with your body after childbirth. Whether you have just 15 minutes or a full half-hour, the key is to start gently, listen to your body, and progress gradually.

15-Minute Beginner Postpartum Yoga Routine

Timeline: Weeks 1-4 after clearance. 

Goal: Gentle recovery, reconnecting with breath, and improving circulation.

30-Minute Intermediate Postpartum Yoga Routine

Timeline: Weeks 5-8+ after clearance.

Goal: Build core and pelvic floor strength, restore flexibility, and boost stamina.

Weekly Progression Plan

If you don’t know where to start, book a free 1-on-1 session with a certified coach, and start your postpartum recovery journey safely!

Frequently Asked Questions

How soon after childbirth can you do postpartum yoga?

It’s generally recommended to wait at least 6 weeks after childbirth before starting postpartum yoga, but it’s crucial to consult your doctor first, especially if you had a C-section or experienced complications. Once you get the go-ahead from your doctor, you can connect with a dedicated yoga coach on MyYogaTeacher to begin your recovery journey. 

Can yoga help reduce pregnancy belly? 

Yes, yoga can help tone and strengthen the abdominal muscles after pregnancy. Certain yoga poses, like Planks and Boat Pose, can help strengthen the core and improve posture, contributing to a toned belly. 

Is postpartum yoga safe for new mothers?

Yes! Postpartum yoga is safe for new mothers, especially when done under the guidance of an experienced coach. However, it’s essential to listen to your body and start slowly, particularly if you had a C-section or vaginal delivery. Always consult with your doctor before beginning any new exercise routine postpartum.