A warm welcome to YogaBirth
By Amanda Edwards
Co-chair from 2016 ~ current
Becoming an Active Birth Teacher
I live in a wonderful village in the South of England which has quite a close knit community. When I first moved here my children were barely out of nappies, and on arrival I did my training to be an Active Birth Teacher before becoming a founder member of YogaBirth. Now 25yrs later and I still live in the same village, my children are now adults and many of the young mums who I taught when I first qualified are now mothers of young adults too. I often see these young adults and teenagers around the village, and I feel honored to have played some part in their birth into this world.
Supporting new mums during pregnancy
I started my journey in supporting parents in their pregnancies and births when I was still a young mum myself. Now I have the privilege of being more of a grandmother figure to the young parents who come to me during their pregnancies, and some may ask me to be a doula at the birth. I have supported many different births and have had the joy of being present at many beginnings of life.
YogaBirth Roots
I have many amazing women and men to thank for the incredible career I have in supporting parents in their journey of pregnancy and birth. If you read the history of YogaBirth on Our Roots page you will see what a rich history we have, and all the women and men who are instrumental in my training are mentioned there.
The women I trained with are mostly still teaching and for the past 25 years we have met at our annual study weekend to laugh and to share, to stretch with our yoga, and to listen to inspiring speakers and midwives on many different subjects pertaining to the work we do. That initial group of teachers started out with young children, and often babes in arms, and now so many of us are grandmothers watching the younger newly qualified teachers who join us, with their young children, knowing that they have joined an organisation that will nourish them as a community with life long friendships of support to be made. Those that decide to do our training and join the YogaBirth organisation are joining a community of like-minded individuals and the opportunity to have a career that will support them to meet the many beautiful, and sometimes challenging, stories of pregnancy and birth that they will encounter along the way.
The YogaBirth Sisterhood
YogaBirth is run very much as a sisterhood and community, with members being consulted on most decisions and the opportunity for anyone to step into a role on the committee. I have been Co Chair for the past 4 years now along with Ruth Polden. Together we have a vision of taking YogaBirth into new areas of growth, opening to a wider range of communities, and initiating awareness around all issues of pregnancy and birth through the work we do.
We have always required our members to do CPD and we want to share these events with other people involved in the birth world, which also enables collaboration with other individuals who aren’t necessarily YogaBirth members. You can get an idea of the quality of some of our events on our Development page.
YogaBirth Teacher Training
If you would like a rewarding career in supporting pregnancy and the wonder of birth please look at our Teacher Training Course. Do send us an email – we are a friendly group and we would love to hear from you and answer your questions. Or you may be interested in coming to one of our CPD events. We would love to welcome you and to learn from you as well. Let us share and exchange our skills and knowledge so we can all support those going through pregnancy in a loving and wholesome way as in The YogaBirth Way.
I love the work I do. It has brought so much to me and still continues to do so. I chose a training that not only gave me a strong and solid foundation to build on, but one that constantly evolves and grows. I love my changing role from being a young mum amongst other young mums to being more of an elder now. My work and me have grown and evolved together and I love seeing our new students qualify and start their own path, which can be a long and rewarding one if they so choose.
Come and join us and have the support of our community as you make a valuable difference to the world of Pregnancy and Birth and Beyond.