So here are the things that helped me in class last night with the round
ligament situation.

First is a sitting position called boddhakonasana (spelling is a bit
suspect there). You can sit on the floor, with your back against a wall
or not. You might want to sit with your hips on a blanket or towel
folded to about 2" thick. You pull your feel with soles facing each
other, heels pressing together, in as close to your crotch area as much
as you can comfortably. Your knees are bent and down on either side
towards the floor. Your back should be straight, your head balanced over
your spine, your hands should be able to comfortable hold your ankles or
toes. You can gently tip your pelvis forward, keeping your upper body
straight but it will tilt forward with your pelvis. You can also put a
yoga block on the floor in front of you and reach your hands forward
onto the block as you tilt forward. This is a great position to do often
during pregnancy. It helps open your pelvis and align your hips

The next thing is to simply squat. I'm more comfortable getting into a
squat from standing. Place your feet about hip width apart, toes turned
out comfortable, back straight, then lower yourself down into a squat.
You can rest your pelvis onto a yoga block, or put a towel or blanket
folded to 1 or 2" under your heels to help stabilize yourself. If it's
comfortable, bring your hands together in front of your chest and your
elbows pressing gently out on your knees/thighs. Again, do this as often
as you like. To further it, place a yoga block in front of you, put your
hands on it, and push your legs up straight while hands remain on block
and turning your toes in to a parallel position. Back is straight and
neck/head stay in line. Stay there for a while, go back down into squat
if you want.

Another thing we doin on the floor on hands and knees. Hands and arms
aligned directly below the shoulders, thighs and knees aligned directly
below the hips, knees hip width apart. Back is straight and neck/head
continue the straight line of the spine. Breathe in as you arch your
back like a cat and drop your head, breathe out as your back curves down
and belly drops and head lifts up. That's called the cow pose. And so
you repeat at your own rhythm of the breath, cat, cow, cat, cow, etc,
then come back to center to rest. Be careful with both to keep your hips
sort of in place, not to let them go to too far of an extreme in either
position, or you will hurt your lower back.

You can also do this cat/cow business when you press out of the squat
into the standing pose while leaning on the block. The kneeling on all
fours and the standing while supporting yourself bent over onto the
block help to take the weight of the baby off your back, internal
organs, and perineal area, which is where you get the relief from the
round ligaments. The squatting and sitting positions allow you to
gently stretch the perineal area.

I prefer and my prenatal class is based on Iyengar style hatha yoga,
hence the abundant use of props to help support the body and modify
poses to individual needs.

You mentioned you have a video (I wonder which one?) and there is a book
by Janet Balaskas, something about preparing for childbirth through
yoga, which has some of what I've described, and is stuff I remember
doing in a workshop during pg#1. My teacher recommends a video by
Colette Crawford, but it's proven pretty hard to find so far. I do
highly recommend a prenatal yoga class, especially if you've never taken
yoga before, both for the camraderie of being in a room with other
pregnant bodies of all shapes and sizes and for the the experience of a
hands on teacher to help you.

Please let me know if I can explain anything better!

-Karen, mom to Henry 3 1/2 and someone due 4/24/04-