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When you’re pregnant, it’s important to focus on your health, both mentally and physically. Yoga is a fantastic tool to support pregnant women, and there are many benefits to practicing yoga throughout your pregnancy.

1. Improves circulation

Yoga is a fantastic way to improve circulation. During pregnancy it’s normal to have more blood volume and fluid. When you practice some gentle exercise this can help you to move your blood around the body, keeping you and your baby healthy. If you do not stay hydrated this can lead to discomfort and swelling during pregnancy. Those who experience swelling during their pregnancy will find that yoga can help to soothe the symptoms. After a few classes you’ll notice how much more relaxed you feel in body and mind.

2. Increase energy

When you're pregnant it’s not unusual to feel tired and sluggish. A lot of the time you won’t feel like doing exercise, but it’s important to do a little, to keep up your energy and mood. It’s advisable to take a pregnancy yoga class, or to practice a slower style such as Hatha or Yin. When you are only a few weeks into your pregnancy, it may be that you haven’t started to show yet. Ensure that you inform your yoga instructor of your pregnancy, so that you get the guidance and support that you need.

3 . To ease stress

When you’re going through a pregnancy, it’s normal to experience a wealth of different emotions. You’re bound to feel stressed about many different things, whether it’s the lifestyle change; the childbirth itself; or learning about parenting. Yoga is a fantastic exercise to ease stress, boost endorphins and help you to practice mindfulness.

4. Ease back pain

Back pain is pretty common throughout pregnancy, and you may also experience pain in your neck, and legs. In general, pregnancy can be tough on the body, and so it’s important to have some workable coping methods. Yoga can help you to build abdominal strength, and this will help to ease some of the pressure in your back and legs. As well as this, pregnancy yoga can help you to reduce pregnancy side effects such as headaches and nausea.

5. Sleep & breathing

It’s not unusual to experience trouble sleeping throughout pregnancy, and practicing yoga is one of the best ways to get a better night’s sleep. As well as this, you’ll learn relaxing breathing methods, which can be helpful for childbirth. You’ll learn how to cope when you feel short of breath, and to use your breath to calm your body. Techniques like these are perfect to help you through your contractions.

With a great yoga practice, you’ll ensure that your pregnancy is more relaxing and enjoyable. Did you know yoga isn’t just helpful for pregnancy itself? Some evidence shows that yoga is also useful to improve fertility in the first place. To learn more about improving fertility, take a look at Advanced Fertility.