Maybe you have seen yoga photos on magazine covers: slender, athletic-looking people twisting themselves into human pretzels while balancing in seemingly impossible positions. It leaves you wondering, if that is yoga, how could a pregnant woman possibly do it? The answer is prenatal yoga.

During yoga classes that are designed specifically for pregnancy, the focus of the postures is to support the mother's changing body. Prenatal yoga teachers employ many props, such as blankets, bolsters, chairs and blocks, to help pregnant mothers perform a variety poses.

By maintaining the integrity of the spine, movement and breathing become easier. For example, exercises that are "shoulder stretches and chest opening poses will help correct faulty posture by strengthening the muscles which pull the shoulder blades down and together, and stretching the muscles of the rib cage. As the chest expands, the lungs gain freedom and breathing deepens," according to Sandra Jordan, author of Yoga for Pregnancy (St. Martin's Press, 1987).

The strength building postures of yoga also increase endurance, giving mothers a boost during labor. Having endurance allows women to be active during labor so that they may walk, squat and change positions freely and further into the birthing process.

Because asana practice requires concentration of the mind on the body, yoga promotes turning off the rationalizing, judging mind and encourages listening instead to body wisdom; messages that the body sends, such as tension, fear, thirst, relaxation or euphoria. This aspect of practice is particularly useful during pregnancy, as we create the mindset that the body knows just what it needs to birth a baby.

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