The benefits of pranayama during pregnancy are many. Remember, you are now breathing for two!

Many breathing practices increase the amount of oxygen available; therefore, increasing the nourishment received by the vital organs and baby – with the placenta functioning as lungs for baby, taking and receiving blood and oxygen via the umbilical cord.

Some Pranayama practices can also help to reduce feeling of stress and anxiety, ‘when the breath is steady, the mind is steady’. Practices that lengthen the exhale works to slow the heart rate – helping to combat issues such as low mood, hypertension, insomnia and anxiety.

Connecting with the breath also works to create a bond with baby though both visualisation of share the breath and also as a means of communicating. We can communicate with baby through the breath with the knowledge that baby can not only hear our breathing can but can be comforted by the slow sound, feeling and the benefits from the positive hormones released.

Breathing practices additionally can be used to bring deep relaxation as well as inner strength. Different practices are able to calm and turn the focus of the breath inward – leaving outside distractions in the peripheral, and bringing balance and focus internally. Other practices bring a sense of empowerment and can support accessing inner strength. The breath can also be an aid in brining mindfulness to the body – allowing us to tune into the subtleties of what the body is telling us; in labour this tuning in also opens the door to awareness of using breath to create rhythm and movement that is useful to birthing.

Using the breath during pregnancy and labour plays a vital role in the practices of pregnancy yoga, and in line with the Birthlight philosophy is a part of all my classes with the aim of supporting women to find ease, strength, focus and connection.