Origin and purpose

Poppy Perinatal Yoga, while not a style of yoga, is an approach that is founded on a set of principles that can be woven into any style of yoga.

The bottom-line goal of the Poppy approach is to:

  • help pregnant people prepare emotionally and physically for birth
  • help postpartum people adjust to their transformation with more ease and support

While brainstorming for a name, it was natural to gravitate toward names that alluded to motherhood and womanhood. However, not all birth-givers identify as a woman or mother. Hence, the name Poppy was chosen. Poppy is considered a gender-neutral and gender-inclusive term for parent. The goal isn’t to erase womanhood or motherhood or take that away from anyone, but it is to acknowledge and honor all identities, including non-binary persons.

The manuals and curriculum in the Poppy trainings use gender-inclusive and gender-neutral language.

The principles: B.A.S.S.

The combination of these principles can foster more physical and emotional ease in pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery — no matter what birth plan or outcome.

  1. BreatheExpand the whole ribcage — more room for organs, baby, and breath, and less pressure driving down on the pelvic floor.
  2. AlignFind the alignment that lets soft tissue release excess tension and strengthen where there is excess slack.
  3. SupportFeet, legs, and core — the pillars that steady you through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery.
  4. SoftenMeet intensity without hardening against it, so you can respond with intelligence and resourcefulness.

Each principle, a little deeper

Breathe

Many of us have chronically tight and constricted ribs, so Poppy teaches specific exercises to tone and elasticize them. A responsive ribcage makes more room for internal organs and baby during pregnancy and can also help prevent excess pressure from pushing down onto the pelvic floor — pressure that often leads to back pain, pelvic pain, and pelvic floor problems during pregnancy and post-birth.

Align

We look at the relationship between feet, hips, and ribs and help each pregnant or postpartum person feel for the alignment that is appropriate for them — the framework for better internal balance and adaptability throughout the physical changes of pregnancy and postpartum.

Support

Feel the feet, legs, and core respond to your poses and movements. This is not about rock-hard, sculpted 6-pack abs: well-integrated legs and core steady you better through the spectacular physical, emotional, and spiritual changes that occur during pregnancy, labor, and post-birth.

Soften

Labor, post-birth, and parenthood are challenging and intense — and the more we harden against them, the more we stagnate. The Poppy approach advocates softening during both up-regulating and down-regulating practices: expand a softening breath within the intensity of Warrior 2 or Chair, and feel tension dissolve in meditation, myofascial release, and relaxation poses. These practices increase pelvic space for the baby to rotate and descend through, and soft-tissue suppleness is essential to the core resiliency that supports postpartum restoration.

The integration of these 4 principles can help optimize internal conditions for better fetal positioning, reduced stress, improved digestion, increased comfort in pregnancy, more ease in labor and postpartum recovery, and a deeper bond between parent and baby.

I love the Poppy approach because it teaches that if you learn to move with ease through the challenges and intensity of your yoga practice, it will help you move through childbirth and parenthood with more ease.

Alissa Sylvester, graduate

Teaching the approach

The track to teaching

The approach is learned in the body, in an experiential training room — then taught. Two levels take you from practicing it to certified in it.

  1. Foundation3-, 4-, or 5-day training
  2. Deepen and certify6- or 7-day training
  3. The 85-hour immersion9-day training · 10-day in a retreat setting

Graduation and certification

Please know that there is no certifying body that regulates prenatal or postnatal yoga teachers. You can designate yourself as a “Certified Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga Teacher” or “Prenatal/Postnatal Yoga Teacher” at any level of your training in Poppy Perinatal Yoga. To become a “Certified Poppy Perinatal Yoga Integration Teacher” or a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT) with Yoga Alliance, you must complete Level 2 training plus written assignments. The main difference between Level 1 and Level 2 is knowledge and skill level in the Poppy Perinatal Yoga approach. Poppy Perinatal Yoga doesn’t require Yoga Alliance registration.

See the full training