Yoga for Motherhood

Naomi Annand has been a yoga teacher for 20 years and a mother for seven of them. Naomi lives in east London with her family and runs her own yoga studio, Yoga on the Lane. She published Yoga: A Manual for Life in 2019 (Bloomsbury).

Directory of poses and techniques

Introduction
Yoga for motherhood
The whole mother
Yoga and motherhood
My story
Mother to mother
How to use this book
Yoga, motherhood and humility
Grace, power and creativity
Early motherhood
Getting started (including glossary)

Pose libraries
Restorative poses
Seated poses
Standing poses
Kneeling poses
Arm balances
Supine poses
Back bends

Three essential vinyasas
Half Sun Salutation
Sun Salutation
Moon Salutation

Sequences
Yoga for profound exhaustion
Yoga for compassion
Yoga for selfhood
Mum and baby yoga
Yoga for resilience
Restorative yoga for anxiety
Yoga to ride the high
Yoga for creativity
Family yoga

Final repose
Meditation for Now
Legs Bent on Chair
Meditation as a Self-hug
Bee Breath, seated
Breath Washing to clear and clarify
Body Scan
Seated Meditation ‘Inhale let, exhale go’
Seated Face Massage
Nesting and Resting

Micro-practices for mothers
A meditation to reclaim your body, your centre, your core
Self-massage
Yoga play
Journaling
Rituals
Lion’s Breath to release rage
A meditation when you’re losing focus
Rest well

Mini masterclasses
Wrist and tendon relief
The diaphragm
The shoulders
The vagus nerve
The pelvic floor
The core
The spine and posture
The feet

Mother to mother letters
Fourth trimester
Egg donation
Mothering without a mother
Mothering through grief
Twins
Preparing for what’s to come
Agony and ecstasy
Yoga for life
Mothering as a state of mind
Womanly curves
Raising boys and raising girls
Mothering through divorce
When they’ve left

Breath for motherhood
The Loving Kindness Meditation
Acknowledgements