Do you stop breathing whenever a pregnant woman comes to take your class?
Are you secretly afraid you tell a pregnant woman something that will hurt her or her baby?
Is pregnancy a mystery you pretend to understand (whether or not you've ever been pregnant)?
Is pregnancy triggering for you, and you're not sure why?
Are you secretly afraid you tell a pregnant woman something that will hurt her or her baby?
Is pregnancy a mystery you pretend to understand (whether or not you've ever been pregnant)?
Is pregnancy triggering for you, and you're not sure why?
The mystery of pregnancy has always captivated my heart.
In college, I studied medical anthropology - a variety of concepts of healing and wellness and how they are understood by different people - sometimes in the same culture. You have friends who see an acupuncturist or a physical therapist, and they both get better, right? But how does that work? How much does your belief about a healing technique affect how effective that technique is? My dad will tell you that acupuncture works because, "They stick needles into you until you quit complaining about whatever was ailing you in the first place." But I disagree. I think it's science, just not Western Science.
Why do some women birth at home, and others elect surgical births? How does it work in a dozen different ways? I didn't know. I took a class that asked these questions.
I distinctly remember standing in my dorm room with a book entitled Birth in Four Cultures and having a blinding moment of insight.
Welcome, darling. I'm your destiny. I've been waiting for you.
I ignored that flirt of the fairy fingers (I was studying to be a brain surgeon anyway... it was probably just gas).
Long story short, I broke a lot of glassware in organic chemistry and gave up on medical school. I became interested in how what we tell pregnant women about their bodies and their process affects their birth outcome. The power and dynamic of words and language. My thesis compared childbirth education techniques and how their philosophies affect how women describe their birth experiences. Snoozer, right?
Well. Now it's my career...
Over the years, I dove deeper into the study of birth despite the fact that I have no children of my own. I had always been a yoga teacher - since high school, I had been teaching yoga (you know, before there was a Yoga Alliance? Before 200 hours worth of training got you a badge to put on your website? Before the internet?!). Some people care about credentials, and sometimes they are important. I have since taken three 200 hour trainings and a 500 hour training. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I take the Seat of the Teacher very seriously, and I hope to earn my place there every time I teach.
First I took a prenatal yoga teacher training with Katie Wise and Kirsten Warner. Katie opened the circle by telling all of us, "You've all been a mother in another lifetime," and that was the salve I needed to heal my childless soul - the words I needed to hear to empower me to step back onto the path of pregnancy and birth. A year or so later, I studied to be a midwife's assistant at The Farm with the pioneering midwives written about in Ina May Gaskin's earth-shattering book Spiritual Midwifery, and worked to support a local home birth midwife. I opened a prenatal yoga studio with the amazing Bea, because it just had to happen - there had to be a place in our community for pregnant women and new mothers. Then, after ignoring the call to be a doula for years, I received two invitations I couldn't resist (within 12 hours of one another). One, from a friend who wrote me a poem about how she knew for certain that I was her doula, and second, an invitation from Katie Wise to join her inaugural birth doula training program.
The universe had spoken.
hello, darling...
And I became a doula.
I've been to 76 labors (77 births, because twinsies), at the time of this writing.
And the only things I know for sure are that:
Birth and pregnancy are miracles. Babies come out. Always. Even when you think they will not, that this time the baby will not come out, they do.
and
Intuition is the single most important aspect of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
If you are reading this, if there is a sparkle somewhere in your soul, if there is a feeling that might just be gas, but might be something bigger, then I have a few words for you:
Welcome, darling. I've been waiting for you...
In college, I studied medical anthropology - a variety of concepts of healing and wellness and how they are understood by different people - sometimes in the same culture. You have friends who see an acupuncturist or a physical therapist, and they both get better, right? But how does that work? How much does your belief about a healing technique affect how effective that technique is? My dad will tell you that acupuncture works because, "They stick needles into you until you quit complaining about whatever was ailing you in the first place." But I disagree. I think it's science, just not Western Science.
Why do some women birth at home, and others elect surgical births? How does it work in a dozen different ways? I didn't know. I took a class that asked these questions.
I distinctly remember standing in my dorm room with a book entitled Birth in Four Cultures and having a blinding moment of insight.
Welcome, darling. I'm your destiny. I've been waiting for you.
I ignored that flirt of the fairy fingers (I was studying to be a brain surgeon anyway... it was probably just gas).
Long story short, I broke a lot of glassware in organic chemistry and gave up on medical school. I became interested in how what we tell pregnant women about their bodies and their process affects their birth outcome. The power and dynamic of words and language. My thesis compared childbirth education techniques and how their philosophies affect how women describe their birth experiences. Snoozer, right?
Well. Now it's my career...
Over the years, I dove deeper into the study of birth despite the fact that I have no children of my own. I had always been a yoga teacher - since high school, I had been teaching yoga (you know, before there was a Yoga Alliance? Before 200 hours worth of training got you a badge to put on your website? Before the internet?!). Some people care about credentials, and sometimes they are important. I have since taken three 200 hour trainings and a 500 hour training. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that I take the Seat of the Teacher very seriously, and I hope to earn my place there every time I teach.
First I took a prenatal yoga teacher training with Katie Wise and Kirsten Warner. Katie opened the circle by telling all of us, "You've all been a mother in another lifetime," and that was the salve I needed to heal my childless soul - the words I needed to hear to empower me to step back onto the path of pregnancy and birth. A year or so later, I studied to be a midwife's assistant at The Farm with the pioneering midwives written about in Ina May Gaskin's earth-shattering book Spiritual Midwifery, and worked to support a local home birth midwife. I opened a prenatal yoga studio with the amazing Bea, because it just had to happen - there had to be a place in our community for pregnant women and new mothers. Then, after ignoring the call to be a doula for years, I received two invitations I couldn't resist (within 12 hours of one another). One, from a friend who wrote me a poem about how she knew for certain that I was her doula, and second, an invitation from Katie Wise to join her inaugural birth doula training program.
The universe had spoken.
hello, darling...
And I became a doula.
I've been to 76 labors (77 births, because twinsies), at the time of this writing.
And the only things I know for sure are that:
Birth and pregnancy are miracles. Babies come out. Always. Even when you think they will not, that this time the baby will not come out, they do.
and
Intuition is the single most important aspect of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
If you are reading this, if there is a sparkle somewhere in your soul, if there is a feeling that might just be gas, but might be something bigger, then I have a few words for you:
Welcome, darling. I've been waiting for you...
Upcoming Dates
None scheduled at this time - click the button below to receive notice as soon as I add another opportunity.
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PREREQUISITES
- Successful completion of a 200 hour yoga teacher training (for CEU's only) - All others are welcome to participate, whether instructors, birth workers or yogis - People of all genders are welcome to attend this training COURSE CURRICULUM Module 1: Where Life Begins - what science and yoga say about the origin of the body, mind, and soul Module 2: Western Prenatal Anatomy - what happens to the body Module 3: Prenatal Adaptations for Vinyasa - how and where to modify poses, breathing practices, and sequencing Module 4: Yoga Anatomy - understanding the five koshas and the 10 Bodies philosophies as applied to pregnancy Module 5: Prenatal Adaptations for Hot Yoga, Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga - how and where to modify poses, breathing practices, and when to skip it Module 6: Language - why what you say and how you say it matters Module 7: Subtle Anatomy - unpacking your pregnancy story Module 8: Birth - what actually happens (and how you can prepare your students for it) Module 9: Western Postpartum Anatomy - what changes happen after a woman gives birth Module 10: Postpartum Adaptations - when to return to what kind of yoga, and how to navigate this transition Module 11: The Great Beyond - who we call and how we say Mother Module 12: How to Say Things That Matter & Change Lives OUTCOMES
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Is this an RPYT training, or part of it?
No. This is not an 85 hour Yoga Alliance approved Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, nor will you be trained to teach prenatal yoga.
What is the difference between this training and a prenatal yoga teacher training?
This training is to help you learn about pregnancy, postpartum, and how to adapt your classes to support these women. This training is 25% content that you would likely receive in a PYTT, and 75% different.
No. This is not an 85 hour Yoga Alliance approved Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, nor will you be trained to teach prenatal yoga.
What is the difference between this training and a prenatal yoga teacher training?
This training is to help you learn about pregnancy, postpartum, and how to adapt your classes to support these women. This training is 25% content that you would likely receive in a PYTT, and 75% different.
