1. Ankle-to-Knee Pose

“For back pain, I always do hip openers,” Kristoffer says. In addition to creating space for your belly and opening up your back, this pose will help relieve tension in your glutes and the muscles under your glutes, like the piriformis, Conant says.

 

2. Seated Side Bend

 Any type of side bend will help a cranky back, Kristoffer says. Pick your favorite variation, with either crossed or open legs.

 

3. Standing Forward Bend

Another great move for relieving lower back tension, this simple forward bend, with your feet a little wider than usual, should feel relaxing, Kristoffer says. She also suggests adding a slight sway from left to right with loose knees to open your back.

 

4. Yoga Squat variation with a block

As your pregnancy progresses, your body produces the hormone relaxin, which may make you feel more flexible.Trusted Source “You do have to be careful that you don’t move beyond your range of flexibility,” Kristoffer says. With that in mind, a yoga squat — even if it didn’t feel great when you weren’t pregnant — will likely feel awesome now, she says.

 

5. Pigeon Pose

This hip opener is perfect for relieving lower-back tension. Plus, it’s super relaxing to sink into.

 

6. Low Lunge Twist Pose

 It’s a common misconception that pregnant women should avoid all twists. In reality, you need to skip only the ones that compress your body against your knees. The solution is to stick to open, easy twists. “If you’re just reaching across in an open manner, that’s fine,” Conant says. “There’s no compression to any of the joints or organs.”

 

7. Wide-Knee Child’s Pose

 If you’ve done yoga before, you already know the power of this restorative pose. “As you get bigger, because your belly is so heavy, anything that takes the pressure off of it is going to feel amazing,” Kristoffer says.

 

8. Cat-Cow Pose

 As with the previous pose, anything that takes pressure off your belly is going to feel great. Don’t worry about pushing too far into a deep back bend, Kristoffer says — just focus on moving easily with your breath.

 

9. Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend

Like some of the above poses, this one will help take some of the pressure off your low back and give you a break from the weight of your belly.

 

10. Dolphin Pose

 Hello, open shoulders! If Downward-Facing Dog is your usual fave, this pose can bring even more openness to your upper back and shoulders — and, let’s face it, we all hold plenty of tension there.