I've been practising Bikram for 2 years now. I love how it has mended my body and repaired my tar filled lungs, but most of all I love the sense of community it attracts.

With all you read in the papers, I was of the impression that getting pregnant in my 30's might not be very easy.. but lo and behold it took all of 4 weeks to conceive. As soon as my bump became visible, I was overwhelmed with the support and advice from other practitioners and teachers. Every class I learnt another useful fact about my rapidly changing body.

I found practising 2 or 3 times a week was fairly easy and managed to keep coming right up until my 8th month. I've heard it affects people in different ways, but I found the heat very soothing. The peace was welcoming and I felt myself becoming physically stronger as my due date loomed. Mandy gave good advice to modify my postures to help open my pelvis (eek!) and keep my pelvic floor muscles strong. I'd like to say it helped me with the pain, but I wouldn't know- I wimped out and had a full epidural! But the ability to master breathing techniques was invaluable and I was able to keep my epic moodswings in check, as I went overdue.

3 months after giving birth I started practising again once or twice a week, and it's taken me 6 months to lose 3 stone. I'm now able to perform postures I couldn't fathom before and I feel twice as strong.. even on half the sleep. Breastfeeding means I can't do Locust but i'm now able to hold a full minute of Standing Bow, when I could barely manage 20 seconds before.

Coming to the studio is like a haven. 90 minutes of uninterrupted peace -never thought I'd look at it like that. Makes those mummy meltdown moments so much easier to handle.

The main benefit of practising throughout pregnancy was the power it gave me to harness anxieties about childbirth and motherhood, whilst building the physical strength to carry and nourish a child for 9 months.

My little girl is 6 months old now and I'd highly recommend a bit of Bikram to anyone having a baby and Eagle pose for anyone trying to have one!