Practicing Yoga While Pregnant

Practicing yoga throughout pregnancy kept me feeling physically strong and flexible and extra aware of the changes happening in my physical body. That said, one of the biggest benefits of practicing yoga while pregnant was that I learned some mental tools that really helped me through labor. I went into labor with my first child 5 weeks early, so I missed the childbirth class I was supposed to attend the following weekend. The only thing that kept me from panicking during an unmedicated labor was the thought that everything is temporary. It had to end at some point, and I would get through it, so I used what I had learned in yoga and kept repeating that mantra in my head, and it empowered me to stay calm and feel strong.