A Pregnancy Disclosure Before a Hot Class

Thank her, lock the confidence, and separate two questions she's merged.

Say plainly: "Thank you for telling me. This stays with me - I won't share it with anyone."

Then the honest distinction: "Your OB cleared yoga. That's not automatically the same as a 105-degree room with rapid breathing. I'm not the person who clears you for heat - but I'd ask specifically about hot rooms and breath work before you decide."

What I can do, as her teacher:

• Position her near the door at the back, tell her she can leave at any point without explaining herself, and that I won't comment if she does.
• Offer to drop the kapalabhati for her (retention and rapid breathing are the parts I'd least want her doing on a general clearance).
• Point out the unheated class on the schedule as a genuinely good option tonight.

What I do not say: "You'll be fine." "It's safe." Any due-date talk, any belly talk, any joke about being the pregnant lady. No public props delivered to her mat, no modified demo aimed at her.

Reasoning: she asked for privacy and for normality. Both are satisfiable while still not pretending I can clear her for heat.

Same answer to both, and no partial confirmation.

• Front desk: "I can't talk about a student's health or why they came or went. If she wants you to know, she'll tell you." Do not confirm the topic, don't say "she's fine, just pregnant stuff," don't hint.
• Covering teacher: "Anything she's shared with me isn't mine to pass on. If she wants you to know, she needs to tell you herself." If the sub has a genuine safety concern, that's a reason for the student to speak to the sub - not for me to brief the sub.
• Nothing goes on the shared sign-in sheet, the roster, or a group chat.
• If I keep private notes at all, they stay minimal and secured - better still, I don't record health information I don't need.

The exception to sit with: imminent risk. If a student were in immediate danger and couldn't consent, that calculus changes. A pregnancy at 11 weeks in a hot class is not that; she is an adult making her own decision with her own doctor.

If she later waives it - "you can tell the Thursday teacher" - get that specifically, and only that far. Blanket permission now isn't permission for whatever comes up later.

Inside your scope:

• Pose variations, prop options, where to stand, when to rest, how to leave.
• Pointing her to the cooler class.
• Telling her honestly what you are not qualified to answer.
• Running the studio's emergency protocol if something happens - and not playing clinician.

Outside your scope:

• Clearing her for a 105°F room, a target heart rate, or breath retention.
• Interpreting what her OB meant by "yoga is fine."
• Any statement about what is or isn't safe for her pregnancy.

Language to use: "I'm not the right person to clear you for a 105-degree room. That's a question for your OB, and I'd ask it specifically - heat, heart rate, breath work. What I can do is give you options in here tonight and tell you about the unheated class on Thursday."

One more thing: the liability waiver she signed is not ethical cover. It protects the studio; it doesn't make a decision wise.

Reasoning: the failure mode isn't usually a dramatic emergency - it's a teacher offering a confident reassurance she had no basis for, which the student then relies on.