Valentine's Day is just around the corner and is the perfect time to start toning up and feeling good about your body for all sorts of reasons (wink, wink).

Many believe that yoga can help spice up our sex life by improving our physical and mental wellbeing. In fact, ancient texts encourage the use of yoga in the treatment of various bodily ailments. It could be your answer to steamier action on Valentine's Day and beyond.

"Regular yoga practice helps you to develop a body that looks and feels amazing. Yoga is an intelligent exercise that keeps the physique lean, toned, flexible and strong. Through a series of well-designed postures and sequences, yoga offers a full body workout complete with cardio and stretching," Kate Ball, yoga instructor and owner of YogaSpirit, Constantia Village Courtyard, explains.

"Yoga is also a powerful means of reducing stress and anxiety. The practice promotes mindfulness and conscious breathing to quiet the mind. When you feel more peaceful, there's more room for creativity and happiness. People who feel content, come across as confident and attractive."

Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that yoga meditation can even reduce sexual dysfunction and improve libido in women.

The study found that those women who practised mindfulness (keeping their thoughts in the present) saw a significant improvement in their sexual arousal, while also reporting less pain during sex.

The results of the study helped prove what ayurvedic (Indian for "life" and "knowledge") teachings have been saying all along: that yoga can significantly benefit female sexuality.

"Yoga helps you to know your own body at a deeper level and feel comfortable in your skin," adds Ball.

"This can't help but translate into more fulfilling experiences beneath the sheets for both you and your bed-buddy. It's both a physical thing and a mental thing. A healthy body and contented spirit are very becoming in a lover."

"It's undeniable that yoga has a positive impact on health. Beyond fitness and sleek looks, starting yoga will filter into other aspects of your general health; for example, yoga helps to strengthen the immune system and heal old injuries. It will give you more energy and improve your performance in other activities."

When it comes to great yoga poses that might work to improve energy, Kate recommends inversions - handstands, shoulders stands or simply bending forward.

"These postures give you a lot of bang for your buck: they're super-fun, they offer a new perspective (quite literally!), and you can do them anywhere. Going upside-down is an immediate invigorator."