Sara Holliday's Prenatal Yoga - Second Trimester

This quiet, soothing video is a great choice for pregnant women who want a total body yoga routine that increases flexibility and releases tension. The workout is short and easy to follow and the movements range from dynamic, heat-building postures to static moves that soothe, stretch and relax. This is a great choice for all fitness levels.

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Sara Holliday's second prenatal video, for women in their second trimester of pregnancy, is even better than her first prenatal video. The setting is beautiful, with a lake, lush green grass and a clear blue sky as a backdrop. There's no music, just the sound of birds singing as you begin with a relaxing warm up of slow, steady breathing. After several minutes, you move into standing warm up postures that include arm circles, side bends for flexibility and abdominal strength, and sunflowers and plie squats to build heat and strength in the legs. After the warm up you move into other standing poses, many of which have been modified using blocks such as forward folds, lunges, pyramid pose and triangle pose. The workout ends with floor moves like cat stretch, a quadruped exercise to strengthen the core and soothing stretches for the entire body. What makes this workout a favorite of mine is it's well-choreographed mix of dynamic moves repeated several times and static moves you hold for several breaths. By moving between the different types of movement, you work on both strength and flexibility as well as relaxation. The workout flows very well and the lack of music allows you to focus on what you're doing without distractions. Overall, a great choice for pregnant women.

Updated: August 7, 2006