Yoga guide
Postnatal (postpartum) yoga is a gentle way back to movement after having a baby, and you don't have to wait for your 6-week check to start. Breathing and pelvic floor exercises can begin in the first days, and the UK's guidance on activity after childbirth now names yoga, with the advice to start gently, depending on your delivery. After a caesarean, go by comfort: it may take 6 weeks or so.
Yoga sits beside your midwife, health visitor, GP and, if you need one, a pelvic health physiotherapist, not in place of them. The trials of yoga after birth are few and small: they suggest a modest, uncertain lift in mood, while pelvic floor exercises, not poses, do the work for leaking, and no yoga closes a tummy gap.
This guide sets out the stages from the first days, what to change after a caesarean, your pelvic floor and tummy gap, mood and sleep, the warning signs to stop for, and a 20-minute class with 3D demos.
After a straightforward birth, the NHS says you can start gentle exercise, such as walking, gentle stretches and pelvic floor exercises, as soon as you feel up to it. UK pelvic health physiotherapists say breathing and pelvic floor exercises can start within the first few hours. Ask at your 6 to 8 week check before high-impact exercise. No trial has tested start times.
The UK's guidance on activity after childbirth lists yoga among moderate activities, says "There is no evidence of harm for post-partum women", and advises: "Depending on your delivery listen to your body and start gently." The NHS has a free prenatal and postnatal yoga video for after the birth, once you have the all-clear.
The NHS says to start exercising again when you feel able and it isn't uncomfortable: "This may not be for 6 weeks or so." Lift nothing heavier than your baby for at least 6 weeks. Start with breathing, pelvic floor exercises and short walks.
Pelvic floor training after birth cut the odds of leaking by 37% in a 2025 review. NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) says supervised exercise, "for example, yoga", may help alongside supervised pelvic floor training. Yoga doesn't replace the squeeze.
In 300 first-time mothers, 60% had a gap at 6 weeks and a third at a year. Exercise narrows it by a few millimetres. The only trial of yoga for the gap was retracted in 2023. See your GP if the gap is still obvious 8 weeks after the birth.
In 6 small trials, postnatal yoga lowered depression scores a little, with results that varied a great deal. Exercise after birth in general eased low mood by a moderate amount. Postnatal depression usually gets better with treatment, so talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor.
Pregnancy stretches the tummy wall, and the two long muscles down the middle often separate: the NHS says "usually about 2 finger widths", usually back to normal by about 8 weeks. About a third of women have some leaking of urine after childbirth, and up to a tenth leak poo.
The NHS: "Your ligaments and joints are also more supple and flexible for a few months after birth, so there's an increased risk of injury if you stretch or twist too much." Your lower back and deep tummy muscles may be weaker too. In yoga, that means stretching to a comfortable pull, not to the end of your range.
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Your GP surgery should offer a postnatal check 6 to 8 weeks after the birth, covering your mood, bleeding, stitches or scar, and any leaking or pain. NICE asks midwives, health visitors and GPs to talk about pelvic floor exercises and physical activity at every postnatal contact. The check isn't a fitness test.
The baby blues usually pass within 2 weeks. Postnatal depression can start in pregnancy or up to a year after the birth, and usually gets better with treatment, such as talking therapies or antidepressants, many of which are safe while breastfeeding. Postpartum psychosis is rare, about 1 in 1,000 mothers, and a medical emergency.
The NHS suggests postnatal classes, many of which let you bring your baby, and says to tell the teacher if a class isn't a postnatal one. Its 45-minute prenatal and postnatal yoga video is designed for beginners and needs 3 pillows or cushions, a mat and a blanket.
No trial has compared start times, so these stages come from the NHS, NICE and UK pelvic health physiotherapists, and the exact weeks are our suggestion: go by how you feel, not the calendar. Move on only if there's no pain, heaviness, leaking or increase in bleeding.
Breathing, pelvic floor squeezes, a gentle tummy draw-in lying on your side, a few gentle lying and seated moves, and short walks. UK pelvic health physiotherapists (POGP, in their Fit for the future booklet): start breathing and pelvic floor exercises within the first few hours (after a caesarean, once the catheter is out), and build up your exercise tolerance gradually over the first 6 to 8 weeks.
Add hands-and-knees moves (cat-cow, bird dog one limb at a time, child's pose with knees wide), small seated twists, gentle side stretches and slow standing poses with a short stance, once they feel comfortable (our suggestion). The NHS advises avoiding sit-ups, planks and high-impact exercise to start with.
A postnatal or beginners' class, downward dog with your hands on a wall or knees bent, low lunges and gentle bridges. The NHS: "After your 6- to 8-week postnatal check, you can start to do more intense activities if you feel you're able to. Vigorous activity is not recommended if you were inactive before pregnancy." After a caesarean, when it's comfortable.
Stronger flows, planks and jumps, if walking, hopping and jogging on the spot cause no pain, heaviness, dragging or leaking: the checks UK pelvic health physiotherapists use before running. Their booklet says most healing happens in the first 6 to 12 weeks.
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The UK guidance: build towards at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, muscle strengthening twice a week, and pelvic floor exercises daily. Across 18 guidelines the advice is 120 to 150 minutes a week; Canada's 2025 guideline asks for at least 120 minutes over 4 or more days, once wounds have healed and bleeding doesn't increase with activity.
The NHS lists driving, exercising and carrying anything heavier than your baby among the things to start again "when you feel able to do so and do not find them uncomfortable. This may not be for 6 weeks or so." NICE says you can resume formal exercise when you feel you have fully recovered, including from any pain. The grade is for the guidance: the exact timings are expert advice.
Gentle activities such as a daily walk lower the risk of blood clots. Start breathing and pelvic floor exercises once your catheter is out: pregnancy itself loads your pelvic floor, and the NHS lists leaking urine among the signs to report after a caesarean.
UK pelvic health physiotherapists: lift nothing heavier than your baby for at least 6 weeks, avoid activity that strains for the first few weeks, such as long standing, vacuuming or heavy bags, and support your wound with your hands, a pillow or a towel when you cough or laugh.
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Our suggestion, as in our yoga in pregnancy guide: breathing, pelvic floor and walks first; seated, side-lying and all-fours poses when they don't pull on the wound; deep backbends (camel, wheel, upward dog, bow), deep twists and strong core poses (boat, plank holds) once the scar is comfortable and you've had your check. Roll onto your side to get up from the floor. No trial has tested these timings.
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The UK guidance: "Start pelvic floor exercises as soon as you can and continue daily." NICE asks for pelvic floor exercises to be discussed at every postnatal contact, and suggests a supervised 3-month programme after a forceps or ventouse birth, a birth with your baby facing up, or a tear involving the anal sphincter.
In a 2025 review of 65 studies, pelvic floor training after birth cut the odds of leaking by 37% (7 trials, 1,930 women, moderate certainty) and of prolapse by 56% (1 trial). The Cochrane review is more cautious about training every new mother: the benefit was clearest when training started in pregnancy, and a 2026 analysis found leaking eased during training but not significantly more than in comparison groups.
NICE: for women doing supervised pelvic floor training who want to be active, "supervised exercise (for example, yoga) may help with their symptoms". In 240 women aged 45 to 90 with daily leaking, 12 weeks of pelvic yoga cut leaks by 2.3 a day against 1.9 with general stretching and strengthening, a difference that could have been chance. A Cochrane review found only 2 small trials of yoga for leaking. No trial has tested yoga for leaking after birth.
In 128 women after a vaginal birth, weekly yoga went with better pelvic floor measures on ultrasound at 3 months. But the two reports of this group of women describe how they were split differently (randomly in one, a prospective study in the other), and the same research group's two 2022 papers on yoga after birth were retracted in 2023. So we treat it as unreliable.
In small laboratory studies, a crunch widened the pelvic floor opening, while bird dog, plank and leg lifts acted much like a squeeze, and tightening the pelvic floor first reduced how far the bladder dropped during exercises. Use these as a reason to make a pose easier if it brings on leaking or heaviness, not to ban poses.
In one trial of 200 women, yoga from 13 to 20 weeks of pregnancy improved pelvic floor symptom scores in more women than usual care (24% against 8%).
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Steps 1 to 5 are from the NHS's post-pregnancy body page, as on our Pilates after birth guide; step 6 is our suggestion, as in our pelvic floor yoga guide. If you can't feel a squeeze, or you leak or feel heaviness, see a GP or pelvic health physiotherapist.
See the movement on the 3D figure: Pelvic floor exercise (Kegel)
In 300 first-time mothers, a gap of 2 finger widths or more was found in 60% at 6 weeks, 45% at 6 months and 33% at a year, and back and pelvic pain was no different with or without one. The NHS says to contact your GP if the gap is still obvious 8 weeks after the birth.
In 6 trials, tummy exercise narrowed the gap by about 4 mm (moderate certainty), which the authors judged too small to matter. In 9 trials of 450 women, it narrowed it by about 8 mm, more when started within 3 months, but disability scores were no different. Another review rated the evidence very low.
In 70 women 6 to 12 months after birth with a gap, head lifts and curl-ups 5 days a week for 12 weeks didn't widen it and built strength. The NHS still advises avoiding sit-ups, planks and high-impact exercise to start with, then building up.
The only randomised trial of yoga for the tummy gap, in 116 women, was retracted in 2023, and our search found no other. So no yoga pose can be said to close a gap.
If the middle of your tummy bulges or domes in a pose, make it easier: keep your head down, draw your lower tummy in gently and widely, and come out of strong core poses. No study shows doming harms recovery, as our diastasis recti guide explains; if it keeps happening, see a pelvic health physiotherapist.
Signs include low mood, finding it hard to enjoy anything, feeling hopeless or unable to cope, trouble sleeping even when you can, and difficult feelings about your baby. It usually gets better with treatment, and the NHS lists regular exercise, even a short daily walk, among the things that may help.
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Across 6 trials (443 women), postnatal yoga lowered depression scores by about 3 points, but the results varied a great deal between trials. In the best single trial, 57 women with postnatal depression who did 16 classes over 8 weeks improved more than women on a waiting list. A 2026 review found yoga's effect wasn't significant in women who already had symptoms, on low to very low certainty evidence.
Across 19 trials, exercise after birth eased depressive symptoms by a moderate amount (moderate certainty) and cut the odds of postnatal depression by 45% in 4 trials; about 80 minutes a week of moderate exercise went with a moderate effect. Mind-body activity such as yoga was among the better options in two large analyses.
Network analyses rank yoga or mind-body exercise highly, but on very low to moderate certainty, and a 2026 review found structured aerobic exercise better for treating postnatal depression. Pram walking did as well as yoga in one analysis. Choose what you'll do.
Exercise after birth eased tiredness in 10 studies, and relaxation exercises ranked highest for sleep quality across 23 trials of women in pregnancy and after birth, though the trials varied a lot. The NHS suggests resting when your baby sleeps, and says sleeplessness when your baby is asleep can be a sign of postnatal depression.
In 100 women in hospital after birth, eight 30-minute yoga nidra sessions went with lower depression scores than usual care, in a study that wasn't randomised. The NHS breathing exercise for stress is a simpler start: breathe in for a count of up to 5, out for up to 5, for at least 5 minutes.
Trials of yoga after birth are few and small, mostly unblinded, and one research group's papers were retracted. Treat the details as promising rather than proven.
The UK guidance says there is no evidence of harm from being active after birth. Across 94 trials of yoga in general, adverse events were no more common than with usual care or other exercise.
Exercise including trunk strengthening reduced back and pelvic pain after birth by about 2 points out of 10 (4 trials, moderate certainty), and stabilising exercise did best in 37 trials. No trial has tested yoga for back pain after birth: strength-first poses such as bridges, bird dog and chair pose fit this evidence best (our reading).
In small trials, weekly Dru yoga lowered stress in 32 first-time mothers, home yoga every weekday for 10 weeks raised quality of life in 160 mothers, and, not randomised, 8 weeks of yoga went with more breastfeeding confidence in 124 mothers.
"You can be active while breastfeeding." The NHS says regular, moderate exercise such as a brisk daily walk "will not affect the quality or quantity of your breast milk", and guidelines around the world agree.
No trial shows that yoga flattens the tummy or speeds weight loss after birth. One yoga and Pilates programme without a comparison group reported less weight and body fat in 23 women. Bodies change over months after a birth.
First weeks: breathing and pelvic floor exercises daily, and a few gentle moves once to three times a day when you feel like it. From about 4 to 6 weeks: our 20-minute class 2 or 3 times a week, with daily walks (our editorial starting point). From about 6 weeks, add strength work twice a week, as the UK guidance asks.
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Five minutes while your baby naps counts. Missed days and bad nights are normal; pick up where you left off rather than doing more to catch up (our suggestion).
Feed or express first, wear a supportive bra (the NHS suggests getting measured, as your size is likely to have changed), and use hands-and-knees versions instead of lying face down if your breasts are tender.
Lying on your side, seated, or on your back with your knees bent. Slow breathing: 2 minutes, in about 4 and out about 6, no holds (our editorial starting point; the move's page says at least 5 minutes on its own). Pelvic floor exercises: 8 slow holds of up to 10 seconds and 8 quick squeezes, three times a day, building towards 10 of each (the move's page). Pelvic floor relaxation: 5 to 10 slow breaths (the move's page). Side-lying tummy draw-in: up to 10 holds of up to 10 seconds (the move's page, the NHS's dose).
Pelvic tilts held for 3 seconds and heel slides, up to 10 each (the POGP booklet's doses, as in our postnatal exercises routine). Full bridges, 6 to 8 slow lifts, from about 6 weeks (our gentle yoga for beginners class). After a caesarean, start when they don't pull on the wound.
Cat-cow: 6 to 8 slow waves in a small range (our postnatal exercises routine). Bird dog one limb at a time: 5 each arm and leg, knees padded (our postnatal Pilates class). Child's pose: 30 to 60 seconds, knees wide, a cushion under your hips (our gentle yoga for beginners class); skip it if it presses on a caesarean scar. Gate pose: 2 holds of 20 seconds each side, kneeling on padding (our prenatal yoga workout).
For shoulders and necks tired from feeding and carrying. Thoracic rotation: 6 each side with the breath (the move's page). Side-lying open book: 6 each side (our postnatal Pilates class). Chin tuck: 5 slow reps, holding 3 seconds (our postnatal Pilates class). Breath reach: 5 breaths (the move's page).
Mountain pose: 5 to 10 slow breaths, 2 or 3 times (the move's page). Sit to stand: 8 to 10, breathing out and squeezing your pelvic floor as you stand (our postnatal exercises routine). Chair pose: 2 holds of 3 to 5 breaths, shallow (our gentle yoga for beginners class). Warrior II with a short stance, and tree pose with your heel at your ankle and a hand on a wall: 3 breaths each side (our prenatal yoga workout).
Reclining bound angle: 2 to 5 minutes with a cushion under each thigh and under your head and back (the move's page). Corpse pose: at least 5 minutes, up to 10 (the move's page), or lie on your side with a pillow between your knees.
The NHS advises avoiding sit-ups, planks and high-impact exercise to start with. Leave boat pose, full planks, chaturanga and jumping in sun salutations (step back instead) until there's no doming, leaking or heaviness, and jumps until about 3 months.
Camel, wheel, bow, upward dog and deep twists such as half lord of the fishes: to a comfortable range after any birth, and after a caesarean only once the scar is comfortable and you've had your check (our suggestion).
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Locust, sphinx and cobra can be uncomfortable when your breasts are full or tender: do back-strengthening moves on your hands and knees instead (our suggestion, as in our Pilates after birth guide).
Pigeon, wide-angle folds, a deep goddess pose and long yin holds: stay at a comfortable pull while your joints are more supple. With pelvic girdle pain, keep stances narrow and skip one-leg poses while they hurt (our pelvic girdle pain guide).
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Not needed: US health advice is for beginners to avoid headstands, shoulder stands and forceful breathing, and fast breathing such as kapalbhati raised blood pressure during practice in a lab study. Leave it out while you leak with effort, too.
We found no study of hot yoga after birth. Hot yoga carries risks of overheating and dehydration; our suggestion is to wait until your bleeding has stopped and you're back to regular classes.
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Our 20-minute postnatal yoga class goes from breathing and the pelvic floor to standing poses, with a stop point for the first weeks. The postnatal exercises routine is for the first days, the postnatal Pilates class is its Pilates twin, and the postnatal strength workout adds weights from about 6 weeks. From about 6 to 8 weeks, the pelvic floor yoga class suits too: narrow its wide stances, and swap locust for bird dog while your breasts are tender.
A gentle 20-minute yoga class for after a vaginal birth or a caesarean: breathing and your pelvic floor first, then lying, all-fours, seated and standing poses.
20 minBeginner18 movesA bench or box, Firm cushionA gentle 25-minute routine for the first weeks after birth: pelvic floor, breathing, tummy and hip exercises on the floor, sit-to-stands and a walk.
25 minBeginner12 movesA bench or box, Cardio machineA 20-minute postnatal Pilates class: breathing and pelvic floor, lying, side-lying and hands-and-knees moves, upper back work for feeding and a standing lift.
20 minBeginner16 movesA bench or boxA 5-minute daily pelvic floor workout for women and men: slow holds and quick squeezes, three times a day, with how to find the right muscles.
5 minBeginner2 movesNo equipmentAn 8-minute routine for a tight pelvic floor: slow breathing and comfortable positions to help the muscles let go, with no strengthening squeezes.
8 minBeginner5 movesFirm cushionA 25-minute strength workout from about 6 weeks after birth: sit-to-stands, deadlift practice, push-ups, rows, bridges and tummy work, with the knack.
25 minBeginner14 movesA bench or box, A kettlebellA 30-minute yoga class for your pelvic floor: poses from a trial programme, a gentle lift as you breathe out, a full release, and supported rest poses.
30 minBeginner17 movesA step, Firm cushionA 45-minute restorative yoga sequence: five fully supported poses held for 4 to 10 minutes each, with slow breathing and a long final rest.
45 minBeginner6 movesFirm cushion, A wallThe postpartum plan runs week by week from the first days, with a caesarean track.
These match our guides to exercise after birth and Pilates after birth. This is general information, not a diagnosis. A&E means accident and emergency; in the US, call 911 where this page says 999.
Call 999 or go to A&E if it feels like an emergency:
Stop exercising and get advice for:
Pre-eclampsia can start after the birth, most often within 48 hours, and the risk lasts for up to 6 weeks. The risk of a blood clot is higher in the 6 weeks after having a baby: the NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E if you have pain and swelling in a leg and feel short of breath or have chest pain. In the US, call 911 or go to an emergency room for sudden breathlessness or chest pain, which can be signs of a blood clot in the lung.
Contact your midwife or GP straight away if you have:
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Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby: the NHS says to call 999 or go to A&E if your life is at risk or you can't keep yourself safe, and for urgent help to call 111 and choose the mental health option, or ask for an urgent GP appointment. You can also call Samaritans on 116 123. In the US, call or text 988.
If you are thinking about suicide or can't keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E. For urgent help, call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, or in England call 111 and select the mental health option. In the US, call or text 988.
If you think you might have postnatal depression, speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor; you can also refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies.
In the NHS's words: "Postpartum psychosis is a serious mental illness that should be treated as a medical emergency." "See a GP immediately if you think you, or someone you know, may have developed symptoms of postpartum psychosis. You should request an urgent assessment on the same day." "Go to A&E or call 999 if you think you, or someone you know, may be in danger of imminent harm." Signs include hallucinations, strange beliefs, feeling very high or very low, and confusion, usually within 2 weeks of the birth.
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See your GP, health visitor or a pelvic health physiotherapist if you have:
If your bleeding turns red again, gets heavier or restarts after exercise, you've probably done too much. Drop back, and tell your midwife if it continues. This rule is ours, built from the Canadian and NICE guidance.
Call 999 if:
Call 999 or go to A&E (accident and emergency) straight away for severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get words out), a chest that feels tight or heavy, pain that spreads to your arms, back, neck and jaw, lips or skin turning very pale, blue or grey, or sudden confusion. If you're more short of breath than usual, or your heart is racing, fluttering or skipping beats, contact NHS 111.
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The NHS advises getting advice from a healthcare professional first if you have a health problem, an injury or symptoms, or have recently had a heart attack or an operation.
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Stop a pose that brings on leaking, heaviness, dragging, a bulge or pain, and make it smaller or leave it out (our pelvic floor yoga guide).
After a straightforward birth, gentle exercise can start as soon as you feel up to it, and breathing and pelvic floor exercises within hours. The 6 to 8 week check is the time to ask about high-impact exercise, not a gate for gentle yoga.
The check is about your recovery, not your fitness. Jumps and running wait for about 3 months and the readiness checks.
No trial shows it, and the only yoga trial on the tummy gap was retracted. Exercise narrows a gap by a few millimetres and builds strength; bodies change over months after a birth.
Neither. Curl-ups didn't widen the gap in a trial of 70 women and built strength. The NHS advises avoiding sit-ups and planks to start with, then building up.
Daily pelvic floor exercises do the work. NICE says supervised exercise such as yoga may help alongside supervised training, not instead, and pelvic yoga did no better than general conditioning for leaking.
Pregnancy itself loads your pelvic floor. Leaking urine is one of the signs the NHS lists after a caesarean, so do your pelvic floor exercises after any birth.
The NHS says joints are more supple for a few months after birth, so stretching or twisting too much raises the risk of injury. No study sets a time. Gentle stretching to a comfortable pull is fine.
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Yoga and other exercise lower symptoms by a small to moderate, uncertain amount. Postnatal depression usually gets better with treatment, so talk to your GP, midwife or health visitor.
"You can be active while breastfeeding", and moderate exercise doesn't affect the quality or quantity of your milk.
After a straightforward birth, gentle exercise such as walking, stretches and pelvic floor exercises can start as soon as you feel up to it, and breathing and pelvic floor exercises within hours. Build up gently, and ask at your 6 to 8 week check before high-impact exercise.
Start with breathing, pelvic floor exercises once your catheter is out, and short walks. Add seated, side-lying and all-fours poses when they don't pull on the wound, and return to classes when you feel able and it's comfortable, which may not be for 6 weeks or so. Lift nothing heavier than your baby for at least 6 weeks.
Not for gentle yoga, breathing and pelvic floor exercises. The check is a good time to ask about leaking, a tummy gap or harder exercise, but it isn't a fitness test.
For most people, yes: UK guidance says there's no evidence of harm from being active after birth, and names yoga as an option. Start gently depending on your delivery, and stop for the warning signs on this page.
Your pelvic floor exercises do the main work: training cut the odds of leaking by about a third. NICE says supervised exercise such as yoga may help alongside supervised training, so build the squeeze into your yoga, and see a GP or pelvic health physiotherapist for leaking, heaviness or a bulge.
No trial shows that, and the only yoga study was retracted. Exercise narrows a gap by a few millimetres on average and builds strength, and most gaps shrink over the first year. See your GP if it's still obvious 8 weeks after the birth.
At first, sit-ups, planks and jumping, deep twists and backbends after a caesarean, face-down poses if your breasts are tender, and pushing any stretch to its end while your joints are more supple. Bring them back gradually if there's no doming, leaking or heaviness.
It may lower symptoms a little, but the trials are small and their results vary a lot. Exercise in general helps alongside support and treatment, not instead of it. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, get help straight away: call 999, 111 or Samaritans on 116 123.
Exercise after birth eased tiredness and improved sleep quality in pooled trials, and relaxation practices ranked highest. Rest when your baby sleeps, and a short slow-breathing practice or a supported rest pose can help you wind down.
Yes: you can be active while breastfeeding, and exercise doesn't affect your milk. Feed or express first, wear a supportive bra, and use hands-and-knees versions instead of lying face down if your breasts are tender.
We found no study of hot yoga after birth. Our suggestion is to wait until your bleeding has stopped and you're back to regular classes, drink well, and leave at the first sign of dizziness, a headache or feeling sick.
Neither has been tested against the other after birth. Pilates focuses more on the trunk, and yoga more on breathing, balance and relaxation; both suit the early months, and both have a class on this site.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. If you are pregnant, have a health condition such as glaucoma, high blood pressure or osteoporosis, or have had recent surgery, check with a doctor, midwife or physiotherapist before starting, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
