Who we are

YogaBirth is a professional organisation of highly experienced yoga teachers and birth “educators”. Our unique body of work is dedicated to the childbearing year. We fly the Gold Standard in our work and take what we do very seriously. Our teachers are the most highly trained pregnancy and postnatal yoga professionals in the UK. Our 300 hour teacher training is the longest and most in – depth training of its kind. It is accredited and endorsed by The Royal College of Midwives. We are hugely proud of it and of the extraordinary teachers who have been borne from it.

Through our exceptional classes women:

• Feel confident in their choices and what feels right for them
• Grow trust in their body’s wisdom, in its power and in themselves
• Are flexible, stronger and more resilient in meeting labour, in birth and in their mothering
• Feel calmer, more at ease and comfortable during pregnancy and after birth
• Gather knowledge; know their options, their rights
• Are informed to make the choices that are right for them
• Find support; meet other women, make friends, share experiences
• Feel empowered and powerful during pregnancy, birth and into motherhood
• Celebrate their unique and personal journey
• Take time to connect with their growing baby
• Approach labour with peace of mind
• Value themselves as people and as parents.
• Know that they can show up vulnerable and will find a non-judging, caring space.

What women are saying about us:

A Special Kind of Yoga Teacher Training

Our training is the longest and most in depth training in the UK. No quick fix for us! It provides a level, depth and breadth of knowledge, experience and professionalism, rooted in the most current research and best practice.

We’re always on the look-out for talented individuals, inspired by the Yogabirth Way, to join our team. When you study with YogaBirth, you become part of our vibrant and inspirational community and sisterhood. In community we work together to offer the best possible service to the women in our classes and grow our knowledge base through our wonderful CPD events.

Developed over 25 years, our Teacher Training Courses are unique. Taught by highly specialised yoga teachers and childbirth educators. We train only a very select number of people every year. If you feel curious and called to find out more, please do get in touch. We are very friendly and love meeting like-minded souls. Our next training starts in May 2021 but never fear, we take applications up until the last minute – one of our most recent teachers applied just the week before the course began!

What people are saying about our training:

If you’d like to enquire about training with YogaBirth, contact us by clicking the button below.

World Down Syndrome Day – Meet Aiden

By Zilla Bowell

What is Down Syndrome?

Down Syndrome is a naturally occurring chromosomal condition. 40,000 people in the UK live with it. And yet the care you receive when you are pregnant and you find out that your baby has it, or might have it, is poor, partial, and lacking many basic facts. I think this allows fear to take over, and I think that is partly why around 9 in 10 women in that position choose not to go ahead with their pregnancy.

21st March each year is World Down Syndrome Day, given that Down Syndrome means that a person has 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.

So what do I want you to be aware of, today? I would like you to be aware that if you are in the position of receiving a prenatal diagnosis of Down Syndrome for your baby, or a high chance screening result, there are organisations that you can speak to, to help you understand the condition, and what it could mean for you and your baby. The Down Syndrome Association and the Positive About Down Syndrome charity are two that I think are very good.

Second, that the life that you and your baby will have, will be as happy as you want to make it. Having a child with a learning disability and some degree of physical disability, because Down Syndrome is both, is sometimes different and sometimes absolutely the same. You just have a head start on knowing what some of your child’s challenges will be, whereas with a typical child you don’t.

Aiden, My Beautiful Boy

His Name Is Aiden. Down Syndrome Doesn’t Define Him.

I am being deliberate with my language. This is because inclusion and inclusive language is also something I want you to be aware of. Aiden is not abnormal. He is not a Downs baby. He is not slow, weak, floppy, behind, delayed and dysmorphic. These are not words I want him to repeatedly hear and be defined by. And all of these words have been used repeatedly by people and medical professionals, directly or by inference, in his presence.

His name is Aiden. He has a disability. He has Down Syndrome. He will achieve what he wants to, and it will sometimes be in a longer timeframe than for a typical child. That is fine. Being careless with your language and identifying Aiden only by his condition fails to put him first, and fails to recognise his individuality. This makes me angry, just as you might be angry if someone picked a physical characteristic that you or your child have, and called you only according to that. Most people realise that inclusive and non offensive language is important to use when it comes to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and many other characteristics. But sometimes with disability people seem to be stuck in the dark ages, and this needs to change.

So please do talk to us, if you’re in a shop and you see my beautiful baby cackling in his pram. If you are an occupational therapist, a nurse, a pharmacist, a parent doing a drop off at nursery or school, at the swings in the playground, or checking Aiden’s heart in hospital. But please be mindful of your language, and know that Aiden can hear you and understand you too. Some of my friends with children with Down Syndrome have had people ignore them because they don’t know what to say, and I find that incredibly sad. What I want for my child is for him to be included, and to have every opportunity to thrive, and that starts from now.

YogaBirth Yoga With Caroline

Moving onto the positive! And the reason I was asked to write this. I have done yoga with Caroline during both my pregnancies and post-natally. All of the circumstances I’ve described have created a lot of anxiety for me, and yoga is the time and the place in the week where I can calm down, breathe, quiet my mind, and focus on my health and peace. I find it hard to do that some of the time, and the relaxation and discipline from a Zoom session on a Tuesday morning is something I really enjoy. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the studio too.

Caroline has been my teacher for a few years, and her incredibly relaxed and understanding presence has guided me through lots of these times. She was very helpful whilst I was preparing for a Caesarean birth, and the inclusivity I mentioned that I find important, she has always extended to me. I used breathing and hypnobirthing techniques during both of my births, that she taught me, to enable me to walk myself into an operating theatre and have surgery while conscious, to ensure the safe delivery of my babies.

On a physical level being a mum can be hard! You are always holding your baby, feeding them, burping them. Dealing with your body that has changed a lot, with posture that can be uncomfortable, and Caroline always tailors what our class wants to focus on that week, to tackle our aching shoulders, backs, pelvises – or whatever it might be. The women I’ve met during her classes are friends now as well, which is an extra bonus, and I can’t recommend the classes enough.

How can I find out more?

If you’d like to find out more about Down Syndrome and what it can mean for new parents, head to https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/for-new-parents/.

Find out more about Caroline’s yoga classes, head to https://yogawithcaroline.co.uk/

YogaBirth pregnancy yoga classes lovingly support women through the joy and effort of labour and birthing, and the incredible journey of the birth of a mother

I’m pregnant….!!!

Your response is probably many questions and a colourful spectrum of emotions…happiness, excitement, anxiety and even fear. What will the experience of pregnancy, labour and birth look and feel like for me? Will everything be ok? Will I bond and love my baby? How will my body change and will being a mother change my relationships?

One of the things that I love about teaching YogaBirth prenatal yoga is the transformation of women as they settle week by week into the class. Early days some women are quite nervous, and as the weeks go by I see them with their eyes closed, following their breath during a posture – deeply present and connected to their body and their growing baby. A transformation starts to blossom, a quiet confidence begins to grow. Slowly they are able to accept their fears and look forward to excitement and joy in the effort of the journey.

When I was pregnant, I remember that my attention was constantly drawn to my baby. Some women might be hoping for a connection to their baby. But whether it is their first class, or yoga is already part of their life, the gaze begins to turns inward and they begin to build a connection to their changing body and the growing baby in their Uterus. They begin to develop a deeper awareness and start to develop trust in their innate ability to birth.

What is Scaravelli Yoga?

‘You have to learn how to listen to your body, going with it and not against it, avoiding all effort or strain…. You will be amazed to discover that, if you are kind to your body, it will respond in an incredible way’… Vanda Scaravelli

Vanda Scaravelli studied with many teachers including B.K Iyengar, and her yoga evolved through many years of self-practice, and is beautifully explained in her book ‘Awakening the Spine’. Scaravelli yoga is deeply intuitive yoga, rooted in the practice of connection with gravity to the earth, to gain support and stability.

It hinges around practising full awareness of the breath, experiencing an expanding and lengthening of the spine to the flow of the breath, creating freedom and lightness of movement. There is a wonderful strength in its gentleness, which the body responds to with a deep release.

Breath and movement synchronise. As a slow wave of breath creates space flowing up and down the spine, like the ebb and flow of waves on the shore…like night and day…the changing seasons, growing this new mother’s connection to Mother Earth.

Why Scaravelli yoga works so well during pregnancy?

Where does awareness begin? How do we learn to look inside and connect with our body? Like new life, it starts with the breath. By simple watching and staying with the breath, we become present, and begin to relax.

As the breath slows a physiological change takes place with the activation of the Parasympathetic Nervous system. Hormones release, relaxing mind and body, reducing anxiety and even strengthening the Immune System.

In YogaBirth classes, postures are adapted for pregnancy, and women are encouraged to listen to their body. Movements are connected to strengthen, making space for the baby. We explain and practise postures and movement for the optimal birthing position of the baby, encouraging women to be mindful of the movement of their body.

In a YogaBirth class

At the start of my classes we have a chat, and each mother takes a turn to share. They are encouraged to share how they feel, ask questions about appointments, or ask others for advice, sometimes even shedding a few tears, particularly through Covid-19. Last Monday one woman who had joined the week before, said that after the class she felt in a place she hadn’t experienced before – deep relaxation. She articulated so well. “That’s the feeling I want to take into labour and birth!” We know that the shy hormones of birth flow best when the body and mind are relaxed, helping labour to progress, and this practise throughout pregnancy strengthens that response.

The benefits

The benefits of a YogaBirth practise during pregnancy is perhaps deepening awareness, a growing understanding and confidence in the body, the breath and the mind. Letting go of self-doubt and judgement of how birth should be brings freedom through this regular practise, which can lead to an acceptance of her individual body and her needs during labour and birth. The tools that she has practised through YogaBirth yoga naturally become a part of her labour.

Birth is so different for every woman, there is no right way or right choices to make. For each woman, feeling safe is subjective; she is unique, her baby is unique and so it follows that her birth will be unique….

Why is what we offer mothers in our postnatal yoga classes so important?

Having a baby is life changing – it is different to any other experience a person has. It is hard which is why it is life changing for both parents.  It gives you a new perspective of life and relationships and new ways of understanding yourself – having a baby teaches you a new way to be. But how women react and respond to this huge change in their lives can give rise to problems and it can also bring great joy and a more creative approach to life.

Find your village in your postnatal yoga class

Running a postnatal class gives you an opportunity to see how the mother is responding to her baby and any issues she may be having, most commonly around feeding her baby. We are offering the women a support network – the village green. This can be where relationships between the women can develop and seeing other mums with their babies make women realise that what they are experiencing is normal.

These classes are for mothers and babies so there are certain practical as well as health and safety issues to consider.  The mother should feel that the baby is well accommodated for and that the class is ‘baby led’.  Easy access is essential as is a safe and clean environment for a new baby. We are creating a safe environment for women to come together as a group – where they will make life-long friendships.

A baby led approach

As teachers, we will explain at the beginning of the class that it is ‘baby led’. Sometimes they will achieve everything – sometimes all they will do is feed their baby. But that is okay. It can be really helpful when you have someone coming back who’s done it all before as they reassure everyone that the class can be chaotic.

Postnatal yoga

The yoga element of the postnatal class in part is the bringing together of the women and breathing. Just being there is so important. If they actually manage to do some yoga, that is even better! Much of the work is about giving something back to the mother. It may be the first time she has done something for herself since having her baby. Observing how her body feels post birth. Noticing where the areas of tension are. Noticing the changes in her body post birth, her posture, her core strength and beginning to engage the pelvic floor for essential recovery. Also finding time to relax in the class – a moment of time out.

It is a challenging class to teach but incredibly satisfying as you truly are supporting the women at this transitional time in their lives. I incorporate baby massage in my classes which I think works very effectively. It is a good opportunity to get the mothers to bond with the baby and the feedback I get is that it is wonderful to do a class that is for the ‘mother and the baby’.