Our Training Courses

Perinatal Yoga – Pregnancy, Birth, Postpartum & the Postnatal Year

Train to support all women journeying through pregnancy, birth and postnatal recovery with specially adapted Yoga that will enhance their health and wellbeing throughout their pregnancy, help them prepare mentally

Aqua Yoga for Women’s Health, Pre & Postnatal Aqua Yoga

The Aqua Yoga area consists of the following courses – Aqua Yoga for Women’s Health, Aquanatal Yoga and Aqua Yoga Therapy Days.

Why Train?
Birthlight Aqua Yoga for Women’s Heath

Baby Massage, Baby Yoga & Toddler Yoga

To digest and sleep well, to grow and develop their potential, babies need movement appropriate to their ages and/or developmental stages. Drawing on a wealth of teaching experience over three

Baby Swimming

Birthlight Baby Swimming Area consists of courses: “Baby Swimming Teacher Certification (Parts 1&2)” and “Aquatic Nurture for Newborns” (Short Course / CPD). Additionally, “Foundations of Swimming for Toddlers”, “Aquatic Nuture

Well Woman Yoga

Well Woman Yoga – Yoga for Women’s Health and Well-being

Why we need specialist Yoga for Women’s Health and Well being

Women transform through

In-house, Corporate, Community and Charity Sector Training

In the last 30 years, Birthlight has offered a wide range of in-house training courses for a wide range of providers. Birthlight can come to you for in-house, specialist services
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WELCOME TO Birthlight

Our Story

Birthlight, now worldwide, started with informal, small birth preparation classes taught by Francoise Freedman in Cambridge in the 1980’s. As an anthropologist at Cambridge University, Dr Françoise Freedman was asked to share parenting

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Our Team

Dr. Françoise Freedman

Dr Françoise Freedman is the Founder and Director of Birthlight. She is a pioneer, Senior Yoga Teacher, acclaimed writer and lecturer of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge. 

Françoise interlaces her academic research at Cambridge with Birthlight’s mission. She

Kirsteen Ruffell

Kirsteen Ruffell is the Co-ordinator for Birthlight’s land-based training courses and is one of our experienced Perinatal and Baby Yoga Tutors. She is a registered Senior Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance Professionals, has been teaching yoga since 1998 and began

Carol Anne Procter

Carol Anne is a Special Baby Swimming tutor and a Certified Aquatic Specialist with more than 10 years experience in warm water therapy for adults and children. Having one of her own daughters living with a disability from birth has

Collective Birthlight

The fourth team member is the collective, it is you and the common and related work that you do, maybe in related disciplines or maybe in the directions you take after coming on a training with us or attending
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LATEST NEWS

Grounding: the gateway to balance, calm and connection in pregnancy, the postnatal year and beyond (and for the changing season)
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Grounding: the gateway to balance, calm and connection in pregnancy, the postnatal year and beyond (and for the changing season)

At Birthlight we pay a lot of attention to ‘grounding’ practices in pregnancy and after birth as this opens the door to better postural awareness and more effective breathing practices that foster emotional and physical

Rebecca’s Story and Mama Blossom
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Rebecca’s Story and Mama Blossom

Hi, my name is Rebecca, the very lucky owner of Mama Blossom with now 4 teachers and 1 therapist helping me to support women and families on their journeys.

A very unusual start for a

Braving the Waves: The Ten-Year Journey of Sunny, Baby Swimming Instructor & Birthlight Tutor in China
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Braving the Waves: The Ten-Year Journey of Sunny, Baby Swimming Instructor & Birthlight Tutor in China

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, the baby swimming industry entered a deep winter— countless institutions quietly shut down. Yet one instructor chose to swim against the tide: Sunny, the first person to introduce

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