There's something profoundly different about stepping into a Well Woman Yoga class. Perhaps it's the way the room feels – less about achievement, more about Read more
Here we welcome Nicola Moberg as a new Birthlight tutor for Perinatal Yoga. Who would’ve thought I’d end up running a yoga studio in Helsinki—not Read more
Driving through the lush green fields of Antrim in Northern Ireland a couple of weeks to tutor our Perinatal Yoga training for Maternity Professionals felt Read more
I’ve been called many things in my time, all lovingly earned through the work. Let’s keep it clean and professionally related….Yoga Julie, Vagina Julie, Holistic Read more
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 Read more
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that when I was pregnant with my son, working full-time as a manager in the insurance industry, my life would take such a dramatic and meaningful turn. At the time, my world revolved around spreadsheets, targets, and team meetings. I had a clear career path in front of me, or so I thought. Fast-forward ten years, and not only have I left that world behind, but I now own and run a successful aquanatal business..something I could never have pictured back then, yet something that feels so completely and naturally “me.”
The turning point came during my maternity leave. Like many new mothers, I was attempting to balance the excitement of having a newborn with the uncertainty of what life would look like going forward. Then, unexpectedly, I was made redundant. Although at first it was a shock, that moment became a blessing in disguise. Losing my position forced me to step away from the corporate routine I had outgrown and opened the door for me to explore something entirely new. I took the leap into teaching swimming. A space that felt refreshing, purposeful, and far more aligned with my values than I ever anticipated.
In 2019, I decided to take the plunge and completed my first aquanatal qualification. I was eager and enthusiastic, but something wasn’t quite right. The style of the classes I had been trained to deliver didn’t feel authentic to me. I taught them, yes, but I didn’t feel fully grounded or confident. I knew there was more to this practice than what I had been taught – more depth, more gentleness, more connection. It wasn’t until I discovered and signed up to the Birthlight aquanatal yoga course in early 2025 that everything changed. From the very first session, I felt as though I had come home. The movements, the breathing, the philosophy, and the nurturing energy of the approach spoke to me on a level I hadn’t expected. I finally felt the confidence I had been searching for, not just as an instructor but within myself.
Unexpectedly, the practices benefitted my own mental health as much as they helped my mums-to-be. I’m no stranger to anxiety and depression and teaching became not just a job, but a form of grounding. A space where I could be present, calm, and fully myself. How lucky am I to have a career that not only empowers others but also gives me my own “me time” in the process?
Today, you’ll find me teaching up to 30 expectant mothers each week between my venues in Maldon and Rayleigh, Essex. Every session is filled with warmth, support, and a sense of community. My classes are designed to be a safe, judgement-free haven where these incredible women can let go of the day’s stresses and reconnect with both their bodies and their babies. It’s a space where they can build strength and flexibility, soothe their minds, and bond with the tiny lives growing within them, all while feeling held and supported by the water and by one another.
One of the most beautiful parts of this journey is watching these mums return after their babies are born. I first see them cradling their bumps during aquanatal yoga, and before long, they’re back in the pool for parent and child classes, now cradling their little ones in their arms. Witnessing that transition, from pregnancy to parenthood is genuinely heart-warming. It reminds me every time of how precious, powerful, and transformative this chapter of life is.
Since introducing aquanatal yoga into my teaching, I’ve supported an incredible variety of women, many of whom have been experiencing physical or emotional discomfort during pregnancy. Being able to help ease these challenges has become one of my biggest passions. For anxious mums-to-be, we use gentle breathwork and mindful stretches to calm both the mind and the nervous system. For those with backache, we focus on spinal alignment, core engagement, and movements that also bring elasticity to the pelvic floor. For women struggling with pelvic girdle pain, we adapt and personalise practices to reduce strain and create more ease. I always do my upmost to tailor my classes to everyone’s needs.
If I had to choose a favourite part of the class, I would honestly say I love it all, but the relaxation at the end holds a special kind of magic and I think most of my ladies would agree! During my own Birthlight training, my tutor, Katy, invited me to experience a floating relaxation.. resting on my back, supported by noodles, allowing my ears to dip just beneath the surface. I’ll admit, I was hesitant at first – there’s something strangely vulnerable about submerging your ears! But once I allowed myself to relax, the sensation was out of this world. The muffled sounds, the gentle support of the water, the weightlessness… it was pure bliss. Now, I always recommend this experience in my own sessions, and recently I had an entire class drifting peacefully around the pool, listening to the quietness of the water around them. Seeing their faces afterwards, calm, and content is priceless – it’s worth getting your hair wet for!
Choosing to complete the Birthlight aquanatal course was genuinely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not only has it shaped my business, but it has also allowed me to connect with so many incredible women.. first-time mums, mums of many, IVF mums, twin mums, midwives, doctors, physiotherapists to name a few, some who have stayed with me from as early as 12 weeks right up until their due dates. Their feedback has been heart-warming, encouraging, and at times even emotional. Hearing how the classes have helped them physically, mentally, or both is the greatest reward I could ask for. Just recently one review read, ‘I can safely and happily say that every Wednesday coming to class helped with that bonding time and I felt nothing but hope and escapism for those moments in the water.’
At the end of the day, if I know that even one mum-to-be leaves my class feeling lighter, stronger, calmer, or more connected to herself and her baby, then I know I’ve done my job. And to think that all of this grew from redundancy, uncertainty, and a leap into the unknown – it just goes to show how beautifully life can unfold when we’re willing to embrace change.
Find information about Hayley’s Aquanatal Yoga classes in Rayleigh Essex SS6 9BZ and Maldon CM9 6JN https://www.lotus-aqua.co.uk
Forest Babies classes were born in Covid times. And like all babies at that time, things were a little bit different.
“it’s important to let our babies enjoy the wonders of nature from a very young age”
At the start of 2020, my infant massage and baby yoga business was 3.5 years old and thriving with a busy timetable of classes in various community centres around Midlothian, Scotland. We all know what happened to parent and baby classes when Covid hit the UK.
However, one of the silver linings was online training opportunities and I leapt at the chance to upskill my Birthlight Baby Yoga training. Having travelled to Belfast in 2019 to complete Level 1, it was time to study Level 2 and complete my Birthlight Baby Yoga diploma as we emerged from the first lockdown.
By late summer 2020, classes were resuming – but not as they once looked. Tape measures, face masks, spraying everyone with hand sanitiser every 5 seconds, and even taking my classes to the local pub when pubs could open but restrictions meant the community centres could not. New parents were worried. Was it really safe to take your baby to a hall filled with other potentially germ-ridden people? But simultaneously a real concern that babies had never seen another baby. Wellbeing was low. And for a class provider, keeping everyone safe and happy was a constant challenge.
This time forced me to think about what parents really needed from a baby class; gorgeous shared movement and joyful communication to support bonding, love and affection with their baby through baby yoga, yes, but also real-life connection, fresh air, exercise and a hefty dose of nature to recharge those batteries.
In September, I took my first Forest Babies class in historic and beautiful Roslin Glen. Just three baby-wearing parents joined me for a short forest walk; some forest bathing (I’ll come back this); nature art; baby yoga; and relaxation. Word soon spread and classes proved popular – a literal breath of fresh air as we all tried to navigate these challenging times.
January 2021 brought snow and another lockdown, but this time, the Scottish Government said outdoor classes could continue. So, we wrapped the babies in their snowsuits and did our very best baby yoga wearing wellies and mittens. I don’t know if it was madness or bravery or necessity, but every week we just kept going (not before a very long conversation with my insurance provider of course!).
I write this now as my 6th Forest Babies season has recently come to an end. Yes, when there are indoor options, outdoor baby classes in the cold Scottish drizzle aren’t quite so appealing and so my outdoor classes run April to September these days. But they are as popular as ever and I’ve even broadened out to Beach Babies (no restrictions on travelling outside Midlothian to reach the sea anymore!).
So what actually happens in a Forest Babies or Beach Babies class? Each hour long session is similar but different and always begins with a short walk through the forest or along the beach to a quiet spot with yoga mats set out. In Forest Babies, we “forest bathe”. This is based on the Japanese Shinrin-yoku in which one tries to soak up as much of nature as possible by being present and mindful amongst the trees. Sometimes we even give a tree a hug. There’s research to suggest that spending time with trees relieves feelings of fatigue. In Roslin Glen, some of the trees are really ancient and it is wonderfully atmospheric.
In Beach Babies, we can’t forest bathe, but we free our feet from our shoes, feel the sand between our toes, engage those proprio-receptors and feel grounded. Research also shows that walking barefoot stimulates the cardio-vascular system, lowers blood pressure and boosts the immune system. Next up we start collecting bits and pieces for our nature art – sometimes we create a group mandala of concentric circles (then pop each baby at the centre for a quick photo op!); sometimes we make individual creations; and other times we pick up pebbles from the beach or river to write positive affirmations on them and leave for others to find. When Forest Babies coincided with the Coronation, we made the babies nature crowns and I have included a crown-making session every few weeks ever since.
Finally, it’s time for our baby yoga, adapted to the conditions, for example we don’t do walks in the forest as the ground is uneven, and if it’s very wet, we won’t sit down for too long or the damp soaks through our yoga mats! Lifts and swings always feature, and of course, we sing – a lot. I sometimes wonder what the local dog-walkers must think! The class closes with a few minutes of quiet relaxation, listening to the sound of the babies and the sounds of nature around us. And then we paddle or play pooh sticks because connecting with our inner child is also important!
“Forest babies is my favourite class”
“something totally different that I wouldn’t normally make time to do”
“very relaxing and soothing”
Forest Babies are in Roslin Glen, Midlothian and Beach Babies are at Longniddry Bents No 3, East Lothian on Wednesdays, 10.30-11.30, throughout April, May, June, August and September.
We’re cheering on our Tutor Jane Collins as she embarks on a new challenge!
If you know me, you’ll know that running has never been my thing. I’ve always preferred the pace of a yoga practice. The quiet breath, the grounding, the gentle flow that reconnects body and mind. But, in August ’26, I’m swapping my yoga mat for a pair of running shoes. I’ve signed up for a 10km run in support of IDAS (Independent Domestic Abuse Services) and yes, it’s definitely outside my comfort zone!
Why I’m Running
Alongside my work as a pregnancy, postnatal, and fertility yoga teacher trainer with Birthlight, I also work for IDAS, (Independent Domestic Abuse Services), delivering training on understanding and responding to domestic abuse. Through this work, I’m mindful of the pain that abuse causes and the need for caring support to help people subjected to abuse rebuild their lives.
Running this 10k feels like a small but powerful way to raise awareness and to support IDAS in continuing their life-changing work. This run will be for the individuals and families finding safety, recovery, and empowerment through the support of IDAS.
The Common Thread
At first glance, yoga and domestic abuse training might seem worlds apart. But to me, they share a common thread: connection and empowerment.
In my work with Birthlight, I teach yoga that supports women through fertility, pregnancy, and the postnatal period, times of great change. Yoga offers tools for self-awareness, compassion, and healing; it helps people reconnect with their bodies and their sense of self.
Similarly, in my work with IDAS, I see how connection, to safety, support, and community, can help survivors rebuild trust in themselves and others. Both roles remind me daily of the importance of kindness, understanding, and the quiet strength we all carry.
Training Mindfully
As I’ve started training for this 10k, I’ve tried to bring yoga’s principles with me: breathing through discomfort, staying present, and finding balance between effort and ease. Some days the run feels good; other days it’s a challenge. But I’m learning to be present and accepting regardless, just as I would teach my yoga students.
How You Can Help
I’d love your support as I take on this challenge for IDAS. Every donation, no matter the size, will go directly towards their vital work supporting people affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence.
If you can, please donate, or simply share the link and help spread the word. Together, we can make a difference.
Thank you for cheering me on, for believing in the power of community, and for helping me turn a (very non-runner’s!) run into something truly meaningful.
Hi my name is Taz. I am the founder of my charity called The H Foundation.
The H stands for: Humanity, Hope, Help, Heal, Home and Health We are a non-profit community charity which I launched in Sept 2023. We run FREE services for families in our borough in East London. We are a multiple Award Winning charity.
When I first trained with Birthlight, I had no idea just how deeply it would shape my teaching – and my understanding of connection between parent and child. I’ve completed both the Baby Yoga and Toddler Yoga training courses, and they have become the foundation of my teaching practice.
These courses beautifully compliment the other strands of my work with families. Birthlight’s gentle, holistic approach sits perfectly alongside the ethos I try to bring to every session – fostering bonding, confidence, and joy in movement rather than focusing on achievement or perfection.
Whether I’m working with new parents, facilitating early years play, or guiding a group of toddlers through creative movement, the Birthlight principles of nurture, safety, and shared enjoyment flow through it all.
I run Baby Yoga Classes in my local children’s centre.
My teaching week consists of running baby yoga for a term and then a Toddler Yoga class..
When I first began, my focus was mainly on Baby Yoga – those quiet, early months where movement and touch feel like new languages between parent and baby. Over time, as some of those babies grew into confident, curious toddlers, I found myself wanting to expand into Toddler Yoga to keep journeying alongside them.
Now, my week often moves in rhythm with this progression – from gentle morning sessions with tiny babies to lively, laughter-filled Toddler Yoga classes where the focus shifts toward independence, play, and imagination. It’s been wonderful to see families return as their children grow, maintaining that thread of connection we first began weaving in Baby Yoga.
There are so many moments that stand out, but what brings a smile to my face is knowing that families have benefited mentally, emotionally and physically by attending the classes.
Also, what touches me most is how often parents tell me they’ve carried these moments home – that a song, a stretch, or a calming breath becomes part of their everyday rhythm. That’s the magic of Birthlight’s approach: it doesn’t end in the class; it ripples into family life.There are so many moments that stand out, but what brings a smile to my face is knowing that families have benefited mentally, emotionally and physically by attending the classes.
Also, what touches me most is how often parents tell me they’ve carried these moments home – that a song, a stretch, or a calming breath becomes part of their everyday rhythm. That’s the magic of Birthlight’s approach: it doesn’t end in the class; it ripples into family life.
Each course and each group of families reminds me why I began this journey. Birthlight has given me tools that are as much about relationship as they are about movement. Whether I’m teaching babies, toddlers, or parents, the essence is the same: creating space for connection, confidence, and joy.
As my classes continue to grow, I’m so grateful to be part of the Birthlight community – learning, sharing, and celebrating the small, beautiful steps that build strong foundations for life.
There’s something profoundly different about stepping into a Well Woman Yoga class. Perhaps it’s the way the room feels – less about achievement, more about arrival. Or maybe it’s the gentle recognition that this practice honours exactly where you are, in this body, at this moment in your life.
At Birthlight, Françoise developed Well Woman Yoga around six core principles that create a practice designed specifically for female bodies and experiences. This isn’t yoga adapted from other traditions – it’s yoga that begins with understanding female anatomy, physiology, and the unique rhythms of women’s lives.
1. Nurture and Self-Nurture: Creating Space to Simply Be
In our busy lives, how often do we give ourselves permission to simply be? Not to do, not to achieve, just to exist in a state of gentle awareness?
Well Woman Yoga creates this precious space. Through practices that emphasise letting go and non-doing, we allow the body and mind to renew. This isn’t passive – it’s deeply restorative. Think of it as pressing pause on the relentless forward momentum of daily life, giving your nervous system permission to soften and reset. Gentle self awareness opens up our connection to our intuition and compassionate self-enquiry known as Svadhyaya.
This approach nourishes all five layers of our being – what yogic philosophy calls the koshas. From our physical body (annamaya kosha) to our energetic body (pranamaya kosha), mental body (manomaya kosha), wisdom body (vijnanamaya kosha), and ultimately our bliss body (anandamaya kosha), each layer is held and supported through nurturing practice.
2. Grounding: Your Foundation for Everything
Before we move, we ground. When we lose balance we re-ground. This fundamental principle runs through every aspect of Well Woman Yoga practice.
Whether you’re standing on your feet, sitting on your sit bones, or balancing on hands and knees, we always begin by finding our connection to the earth. This grounding helps to neutralise stress and creates a stable base for alignment and balanced, easeful movement. It’s not just a physical principle – when we’re grounded, everything shifts. Our breath deepens, our minds settle, and movement becomes more effortless rather than effortful.
3. Pelvic Awareness: Honouring Your Centre
The pelvis is home to our centre of gravity – a principle recognised across many Asian traditions. In yoga, this area relates to important energy centres and the seat of the creative life force (Shakti). The health of the pelvis and lumbosacral area is fundamental to female wellbeing, and in Well Woman Yoga, we recognise that all movement originates from this powerful centre.
Through gentle micromovements, we awaken awareness in the deeper muscles and fascia in and around the pelvis, including the pelvic floor. This isn’t about endless exercises or forcing strength. It’s about discovering the natural intelligence of this area, finding both strength and release, both stability and flow.
This pelvic awareness also directly supports the flow of apana vayu – the downward-moving energy current responsible for elimination, menstruation, and grounding. When apana vayu flows freely, we feel more stable, more rooted, and better able to release what no longer serves us.
4. Alignment Without Strain: Finding Your Zero Balance
It may sound revolutionary but proper alignment should feel easy.
We seek what’s called ‘Sthira Sukha Asanam’ – steadiness and ease in every position. Robert Svoboda states that this directly translates as “resolutely abide in a good space.”¹ (See link below for his eloquent article) This means finding a neutral position, a place of ‘zero balance’ where no strain is required to maintain the posture. When you find this sweet spot, something magical happens – your breath flows freely, your muscles can work optimally, and the practice becomes genuinely therapeutic.
We pay precise attention to transitions too, because life isn’t lived in static poses. This can also serve a therapeutic purpose for when we need extra support during hormonal fluctuations or recovery from illness or surgery. How we move from one position to another matters, both on the mat and in daily life. These mindful transitions support samana vayu, the balancing energy that integrates and harmonises all the other energy currents in the body.
5. The Breath-Movement Dance: Vinyasa for Deep Release
When movement synchronises with our breath, we can access the deeper layers of our being. In Well Woman Yoga, we practise relaxed stretching on the exhalation – sustained, gentle lengthening that reaches not just the superficial muscles but the fascia, the connective tissue that holds everything together.
We work on gradually, gently extending the exhalation, which naturally increases breathing capacity and activates the vagus nerve – your body’s built-in relaxation response. The vagus nerve is like an internal reset button, running from the brainstem down through the neck, chest, and abdomen. When we stimulate it through deep, relaxed breathing and gentle movement, we shift from the stressed “fight or flight” state into “rest and digest” mode. This vagal tone is crucial for releasing accumulated tension that might have been held in the body for years.
This breath practice nourishes all the vayus – the five energy currents that govern different aspects of our physical and mental functioning:
Prana vayu (inward and upward movement) brings in fresh energy with each inhalation
Apana vayu (downward movement) supports grounding and release with exhalation
Samana vayu (digestive fire at the navel) helps us assimilate both nutrients and experiences
Udana vayu (upward movement in throat and head) relates to expression and growth
Vyana vayu (circulation throughout) distributes energy to every cell
When these currents flow harmoniously, we experience vitality on every level – physical, energetic, mental, and emotional.
6. Joy, Play and Pleasure: Reawakening the Song in Your Body
This might be the most important principle of all. Well Woman Yoga isn’t grim determination or pushing through discomfort. It includes elements that are genuinely fun, playful and joyful. It is not common to smile or laugh or yawn or sigh in most yoga classes but here they can serve to enliven the heart and signal to body and mind that in this space we can also connect in a shared practice circle with other women.
Many women arrive at these classes feeling depleted, depressed or just disappointed that their previous yoga practice is feeling off or just doesn’t fit them at this time. Modern life can be exhausting, and for women navigating hormonal changes, stress, or simply the accumulated weight of caring for others, the idea of pleasure can feel distant, almost forgotten.
Well Woman Yoga aims to reawaken the desire for pleasure – in both body and mind. Because when we move in ways that feel good, when we laugh, when we remember what joy feels like in our bodies, something fundamental shifts. We begin to access that most subtle layer of our being – the anandamaya kosha, the bliss body. We remember that we’re not just machines to be maintained, but living, feeling beings worthy of care and delight.
The Golden Thread: Relaxation
Running through all these principles is one essential element – relaxation. Not just the final resting pose, though that’s important too. We mean relaxation woven through the whole practice that spills off the mat and into daily life!
Many of us have patterns of holding in our body that we’re barely aware of. The residues of injury, repetitive habits and patterns of protection that our body and mind used to try to keep us safe that may no longer be needed. Any bracing or gripping, anywhere in the body, can be invited to dissolve through the therapeutic benefits of yoga. So we create multiple pathways to relaxation: a supportive atmosphere, ease of movement, relaxed stretches, ways to access free and deep breathing, instant relaxation practices, and time for deeper restoration.
Together, these create what we call ‘the space to be’ – a space of non-doing that allows you to renew and regenerate. This deep relaxation allows the pranamaya kosha – the energetic body – to rebalance and restore, supporting the free flow of prana throughout the system.
A Practice That Meets You Where You Are
Well Woman Yoga recognises that women’s bodies are not smaller versions of men’s bodies. Our anatomy, our hormonal rhythms, our experiences are unique. This practice honours common themes but in your own uniqueness at every level.
For Every Stage and Transition
Women’s lives are marked by profound transitions – menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, and beyond. Each of these passages brings its own challenges and a potential gateway to deeper wisdom. Well Woman Yoga provides support through all these transitions, helping you navigate hormonal shifts, physical changes, and the emotional landscapes that accompany them.
Maybe your usual yoga practice feels off or the activity that makes you tick just isn’t doing it for you right now. This may be an invitation to practice yoga differently, even alongside your usual practice or to dive into something offering a different perspective.
Maybe you want to nourish your fertility, better honour your menstrual cycle or have more support traversing perimenopause or even to prepare for it.
Perhaps you’re recovering from illness or surgery, needing a practice that rebuilds strength gently whilst honouring your body’s need for time and space to heal. Or maybe you’re juggling the demands of caring for children whilst also supporting elderly parents – that sandwich generation experience that leaves little time or energy for yourself.
Many women come to Well Woman Yoga seeking respite from demanding careers, where the pressure to perform, to be always “on”, has left them disconnected from their bodies and depleted on every level. Sometimes they have had a health scare or life event that nudges them to reappraise. This practice offers a space to step out of achieving mode and into being mode, to tend to the wellspring of their vitality.
Honouring the Whole You
Well Woman Yoga aims to offer a truly holistic approach to wellbeing. We’re not just stretching muscles or building strength (though we do that too). We’re nourishing every layer of our being, from the dense physical body to the subtle realms of energy, mind, wisdom, and bliss.
Whether you’re navigating a major life transition, recovering your strength after illness, carving out essential time for yourself amidst caring responsibilities, seeking balance in a high-pressure career, dealing with pelvic health issues, or simply wanting a yoga practice that feels right for your body, Well Woman Yoga offers a welcoming space where all of you – body, breath, mind, and spirit – can be held, honoured, and restored.
Learn to Teach Well Woman Yoga
For yoga teachers who feel called to this work, our Birthlight training in Well Woman Yoga with electives in Yoga for a Holistic Menopause or Yoga for Fertility offers comprehensive preparation to guide others in this transformative practice. You’ll learn not just the what and how, but the why – the deep understanding of female anatomy and physiology, along with the subtle body wisdom of the koshas and vayus, that makes this practice so effective. We also interweave insights from the wisdom of Ayurveda, Yoga’s sister science.
Ready to experience Well Woman Yoga for yourself, or to bring this practice to others? Explore our classes and teacher training opportunities at Birthlight.
If you’re interested in bringing these principles to your teaching, we’d love to welcome you into our training community, let us know you’re interested: https://birthlight.com/contact/
¹ Svoboda, Robert. “Sthira and Sukha: Steadiness and Ease.” Yoga International. https://yogainternational.com/article/view/sthira-and-sukha-steadiness-and-ease/
Here we welcome Nicola Moberg as a new Birthlight tutor for Perinatal Yoga.
Who would’ve thought I’d end up running a yoga studio in Helsinki—not me.
I’m Nicola, a yoga teacher and guardian of Purna Yoga Helsinki. I’m passionate about helping women connect with themselves, especially during pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.
I grew up in the Austrian Alps, surrounded by skis, snowboards, and the tourist life. But at 18 I started traveling the world in search of something deeper. In Guatemala, at a meditation retreat, I realised what I really wanted was simple: to be happy.
When a friend suggested yoga teacher training, I thought: “Me? Never.” Yet intuition pushed me to try—and I soon discovered how much joy teaching brings.
My first pregnancy changed everything again. After a difficult labour, I felt called to study more deeply, and discovered Birthlight through Francoise Freedman. Her anthropological background and Amazonian experience resonated with me, and I knew I wanted to support women through this natural, powerful stage of life. My home birth in Spain confirmed this trust in women’s innate ability.
That’s when I became a Birthlight teacher, and not long after, I moved to Helsinki. Today I still teach weekly prenatal and postnatal yoga as well as monthly birth preparation for couples. Over the years I have also trained in Purna Yoga, taken over the Purna Yoga Helsinki studio (2017), and started leading 200-hour teacher trainings.
What began with Birthlight grew into my life’s work: guiding women—whether pregnant, new mothers, seniors, or anywhere in between—to find strength, confidence, and joy. Now, I feel called to share this knowledge further by training yoga teachers for pregnancy.
Pregnancy is such a fleeting, sacred time. My wish is to help both women and teachers cherish it fully, with trust and compassion.
Nicola is offering Birthlight Perinatal Yoga training starting in January – read all the details here. Learn more about Purna Yoga at www.purnayoga.fi
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Nicola is offering Birthlight Perinatal Yoga training starting in January – read all the details here.
Driving through the lush green fields of Antrim in Northern Ireland a couple of weeks to tutor our Perinatal Yoga training for Maternity Professionals felt refreshing to the eye in contrast to the still brown grass at home.
The landscape itself seemed to embody the heart warming energy we inevitably explore whilst being in a circle of midwives diving into how yoga for pregnancy can be accessible and effective in helping those in their care. The emerald fields rolled by as we drove, thanks to my generous lifts, taking me to the Sure Start centre in Ballymena where we were holding the training. Verdant, nurturing and life-sustaining, like the symbolism of the heart chakra.
In the Ayurvedic tradition, a pregnant woman is reverently called “she who carries two hearts.” This ancient wisdom speaks to something far deeper than the obvious physical reality of two beating hearts within one body – or more than 2 at times. It acknowledges the sacred responsibility of nurturing two distinct yet intimately connected beings, where breathing, emotions, movement – the mother’s experience becomes the foundation for another’s emerging life.
It is thanks to keen thinkers and researchers like Michel Odent and his concept of womb ecology, and Vivette Glover’s research on how maternal emotions directly shape fetal development that we know that when a mother experiences chronic stress her elevated cortisol levels impact baby development and later health. The emotional landscape of the womb becomes the baby’s first template for how the world feels.
In Yoga we have the concept of Prana- energy or life force being a ‘divine guest’ in the body that should be treated with respect. During pregnancy mums use a lot of energy nourishing and nurturing their baby as it grows. This is where the heart chakra’s compassionate energy becomes more than metaphor. The fourth chakra, located at the center of our being, represents love, compassion, and connection. It’s the bridge between our physical and spiritual selves. Whereas our physical heart rides the ups and downs of our joys and sorrows the heart chakra, Anahata (In Sanskrit, “anahata” means unhurt, unstruck and unbeaten) is the energy of unblemished joy and unconditional love.
Heart To Womb Meditation
This practice can be done anywhere at any time and in any position. However, the breath will flow more easily and fully if you sit with your hips a little higher than your knees and let your spine grow tall. With your eyes open or closed, soften your gaze, place one hand at the heart centre and one hand on your baby. Take a few slow deep breaths being aware of the movement in your chest and belly as your breath slows and deepens Turn your attention inwards to feel the deep love connection radiating between you, cultivate this bond by being in the present moment with your baby. If you like you can silently greet your baby with words or just an inward smile.
When we inevitably work with the heart centre during pregnancy, we’re not just opening space for a growing belly or practicing calming breathing techniques. We’re consciously supporting womb ecology in which babies and mums can flourish.
When we modify poses for someone who needs to practice on a chair, we’re not diluting the practice – we’re honouring these two hearts and what is most beneficial now. When we welcome mums who have never done yoga before, who feel awkward or uncertain, we create welcoming inclusive spaces for their nervous systems to remember the capacity for ease. When Health Trusts and midwives can offer free or accessible classes in hospital or clinic settings they make the benefits more widely available to more Mams and their babies in the womb. As Pregnancy Yoga teachers, when we can offer the benefits of sliding scale pricing, free places or teach in community spaces rather than only yoga studios, we’re acknowledging that we’re collectively doing our best to support optimal womb ecology that is every baby’s birthright.
The green of the fields will stay with me as will the laughter and shared practice of our group in Antrim. Both reminding me that just as landscapes and communities hold and nurture life, our work as yoga teachers, midwives, and birth supporters is to create the optimal conditions for consciousness to manifest into form. We are gardeners of the heart chakra, cultivators of oxytocin, guardians of the space where two hearts learn to beat as one while remaining beautifully, distinctly themselves.
There are plenty of “what if” type worries during pregnancy, often exacerbated by the general rise in anxiety in society since COVID. Perhaps our most radical response is to remember that every pregnant woman and pregnant person is “one who carries two hearts” – and that both hearts deserve our most thoughtful, inclusive, scientifically-grounded, and spiritually-honouring care.
Kirsteen ~ Tutor
With special thanks to midwives Shauna, Cherith, Rachael, Jenny, Gemma, Caitlin, Enya, Nora, Helen, Lou, and Karolina – it was a pleasure to spend these days with you!
References
Odent, M. (2002). Primal Health: Understanding the Critical Period Between Conception and the First Birthday. Clairview Books.
I’ve been called many things in my time, all lovingly earned through the work.
Let’s keep it clean and professionally related….Yoga Julie, Vagina Julie, Holistic Maven, Magic Hands, The Baby Whisperer…. Those are a few that I can remember.
I’m now officially a crone and proud of it. Wise, weathered, and still wildly passionate about women’s wellbeing.
Back in 2010(ish), I began my journey with Birthlight. My son Beau was two, I was living on a boat, and working as a mobile holistic therapist. One of my first roles as a baby massage instructor began when I walked into the local Surestart Children’s Centre, babe in arms, and asked if they needed a teacher. They did. (How lucky is that?!)
As Beau grew, so did I. Shifting from using him as my baby massage model to having him join me in toddler yoga classes, which later evolved into my much-loved Feral Family Yogasessions.
Like many women, I’ve experienced breakdowns, rebirths, rebrands. I’ve grown, evolved, learned, unlearned. Birthlight has been a thread throughout it all – not just in my work, but in my life.
I had a thriving baby business in Stamford for many years. I say “had” because the baby world changed, and so did I. My Well Woman training marked a turning point, deepening my focus on women’s health and wellbeing, work that draws on decades of experience in holistic therapy.
My beautiful, aging body now calls for a gentler, more intuitive approach. I’ve embraced practices like yoga, dance, and more recently, qigong, a meditative movement that has brought calm and clarity to my classes and to myself.
I’ve also rekindled the joy of working with little ones — teaching massage and movement at a local nursery twice a week. Whether I’m guiding chair yoga for elders or holding space for mothers and babies in a local park, the Spiral of Joy at the heart of Birthlight continues to guide my path.
I swim wild with the Wild Women of the Waters, sing with a natural voice choir, and dance daily (often with a kitchen implements in hand on Instagram).
This is my life’s work: gathering people, creating connection, holding space for women through life’s great transitions, from maiden to mother to crone and celebrating the sacred messiness of it all!
Julie Bickerton offers classes and therapies in Stamford.
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 balance during these times of great transformation. Practices that ground us physically and emotionally can help to balance our feelings, increase our willingness to accept where we are, adapt, move on and transform. Being grounded helps us feel secure, able to extend and open physically and emotionally.
Literally becoming more aware of our physical connection to the surface we are standing or sitting on through our feet or sit bones can shift us into a state of better stability in our yoga practice and daily postural habits. It also helps us feel supported and safe so we can relax and let go of tension. Being grounded then allows us to centre our weight, find better alignment and develop awareness of good posture.
As the centre of gravity changes week by week during pregnancy, ‘Sthira Sukha Asanam’ -a woman’s steady comfortable pose will be changing too. Coming back to a sense of balance and equilibrium again and again in sitting and standing, aids postural and emotional adaptation to these changes. It may also bring greater clarity as it teaches us to be present for whatever we are feeling and experiencing right now.
We like to use the imagery of bamboo growing in the forest. Bamboo symbolises much that is valued in Yoga. Its network of rhizomes (type of root) that store food and energy enable bamboo to grow strong and tall, and crucially, sway in the wind rather than resisting it. Bamboo springs back after being laden with snow when the snow melts and embodies the ability to spring back after adversity. The ‘hollow’ interior of bamboo symbolises the virtue of being humble, openness to the new, acknowledging that we don’t know everything and can always find new insights in life and on the spiritual path.
‘Bamboo Mama’ Practice for Pregnancy and after Birth
In standing:
Take the feet hip width apart or a little wider if you are in late pregnancy. Have the knees slightly bent to release the lower back. If you like you can close your eyes or peek through your eyelashes. You may like to place your hands on your belly and connect with your baby. After birth you may like to also place your hands on your belly that was your baby’s home in your womb re-owning this space.
Bring awareness fully into your feet and the contact with the floor. Lean slightly forwards and back and feel the weight shift backwards and forwards into your heels and balls of feet and toes. Shift your weight side to side and feel the weight shifting more into one foot and the other. Then circle the weight around in circles in one direction and then the other.
Feel how you are strong and rooted through your feet and how you are able to adapt to change like the quality of bamboo responding to a gentle wind blowing through the forest. Feel how being rooted through your feet enables your body to respond and still balance although the centre of gravity is changing. Taking time to literally ground yourself regularly can you deal more easily with daily events and the change happening in your body as your baby grows.
Let the circling movement become gradually smaller and smaller until it is invisible and then finally reach a point of stillness with even weight spread between left and right side and between the toes and heels.
Sense how you are now in your body, breath, mind, emotions and how you are in relation to your baby and yourself growing into motherhood. Be an observer of what is present without judging.
Acknowledge your baby’s presence with an inward smile. Take some full, deep slow breaths. Smile inwardly to yourself and all that is present for you now. Notice how taking time to check in with yourself and your baby can bring calm and greater clarity through connection to yourself and your baby.
To come back gently slowly open the eyes fully and have a stretch in whichever direction feels good. Release the legs and feet with a loose shake out.
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 perinatal yoga teacher, I am a qualified engineer and spent 21 years working in management jobs in a large manufacturing company. It was highly pressured and long hours. I have four children and when pregnant with my third I went to a pregnancy yoga class about 30 minutes away and loved the feel of the classes, so began my journey to train and set up my own class, closer and alongside my day job, it was just going to be something for me……but as it grew, in 2017 I took voluntary redundancy and gave myself the year (whilst having my 4th child of course lol) to see if it could work…
I started out by training and joining a Franchise in 2016, alongside this I had my first experience of Birthlight with the Aquanatal Yoga training later that year. The sense of community, warmth and welcoming from Birthlight in that first course warmed and inspired me. The Birthlight training was well laid out, but at the same time gave me the freedom to run classes in a way that was personal to me.
My franchise journey with the other company was the opposite of this, teachers weren’t working together, the classes were restrictive in what we could do with them and just didn’t allow me to deliver what my local mums needed at that time. So in early 2019 I took the leap, moved out of the franchise, set up Mama Blossom and began my training with Birthlight, where my heart belonged.
Having already completed Aquanatal with Birthlight in 2017, I started next with Pregnancy Yoga training with them in 2019. Again the course was relaxed, friendly with like minded women supporting each other, content was as always a really good mix of practical and theory. What do I love the most? The freedom to use my training as I wished, no franchise, no control over content, no restrictions on what I charge. Just a joined up approach to supporting women through pregnancy in a way that no other training providers seem to understand. I love Francoise’s story, her approach and how her tutors are almost like a family, how they have reached so many parts of the world and continue to do so. Being a part of this felt like I wasn’t alone.
As the mums that started out with me in pregnancy wanted to involve their partners, there was a call for antenatal workshops…… as they had their babies, there was a call for baby classes….. as they wanted time out, a call for postnatal classes…..when they were looking to conceive again, there was a call for fertility……moving all the way through to menopause support. So Mama Blossom grew…
Birthlight was perfect to support this journey, as they have supported so many other women and families. Since 2017 I have now trained with Birthlight in Pregnancy Yoga, Couples Antenatal Preparation, Fertility Yoga, Caesarean Scar Recovery, Baby Swimming, Aquatic Nurture, Baby Massage, Baby Yoga, Postnatal Yoga, Menopause Yoga, Aquanatal Yoga. Outside of Birthlight, I have complemented the offerings with Closing the Bones and Hypnobirthing. And with so many great CPD offerings too!
Why do so many offerings work?
As Birthlight recommends, we have small class sizes and run classes in circles (where space is restricted, in a semi circle), no rows! They are small, friendly, we set up WhatsApp groups to keep in touch and create that feeling of finding their village, a space to come into each week to relax, recharge and be with others following the same journey. After experiencing this in pregnancy, they now have a safe space, a familiar face, a knowledge of what to expect, and they can return again to this with their partner, baby, when trying to conceive again…. For their journey, their village.
But, with just me trying to run all of these classes, in multiple places it was just impossible to keep up with the business, to deliver quality and spend time with the family. In 2021 I reached out to my mum community for interest in teaching some pregnancy yoga for Mama Blossom, we had 4 ladies that had experienced Mama Blossom classes and wanted to help me reach more ladies with the classes, that teaching classes for Mama Blossom would be something for them, this was just perfect!
With all Mama Blossom classes based on Birthlight training, with the Birthlight vision aligned with integrated care and support for pregnancy, birth, early years plus their welcoming ability to create community and bring together differences in culture, social background and personalities it was the obvious choice for me. Training was set up with a combination of online and face to face training and they were very accommodating and organised their training locally to us all which made it so much easier with some teachers having very little ones or pregnant themselves.
2025, what does the Mama Blossom team look like now?
Few changes with 3 of the original teachers that have taught so many more women than I could have done on my own and empowering them in ways they never imagined. They too have gained so much more as teachers and built their confidence to move away from home with their families and take on life changing opportunities, have excelled in their main jobs with promotions and had some family challenges that mean they can dip in an out of teaching to support this. Becoming teachers gave them so much more.
We now have one of these teachers running pregnancy yoga classes for Mama Blossom and launching Blossom Sister alongside to bring in new offerings. We now have our own treatment room with another team member offering postnatal and pregnancy massage. Then in September my sister will be joining and offering women’s reflexology. Plus we have one and soon to be two now ex NCT teachers joining us to support with classes.
What do we do in Mama Blossom?
Fertility Yoga, Pregnancy Yoga, Baby Massage, Mum & Baby Yoga, Pregnancy Relaxation Workshops, Antenatal Workshops, Hypnobirthing, Postnatal Yoga, Caesarean Recovery Workshop and when we find time in our timetable, hoping to restart Yoga for Menopause, Women’s Circles and when we find a new facility, hoping to have Aquanatal Yoga back, I really miss it and there is a big demand for it.
Why does Mama Blossom work?
Small classes, friendly faces, finding your village, continuity and familiarity.
What makes our pregnancy yoga classes different to standard pregnancy yoga classes?
We teach in a circle, classes are small and friendly, we run in 6 week blocks and every class is different over a 12 week period (most mums will continue classes right up to having their baby).
We create community, at the start of class everyone introduces themselves, how their week has been (if they wish). Sometimes this may open up a topic of conversation. We also set up a WhatsApp group for everyone to keep in touch during the block and after, a space for them to support each other, share their stories and meet up.
Classes are 1.5hr long and we incorporate yoga with education, breathing techniques and relaxation. Each week has a theme and the education is just 15 minutes, it’s a small snippet of antenatal education, just enough and then they can choose if they take it further with videos and links shared, reading books or antenatal classes if they want to know more. We all approach birth differently and this gives them freedom to do this, we give them the confidence to make choices to achieve their positive birth, however they birth.
We use part guided breathing in class, as most women that attend our classes haven’t really practised yoga before, this works well in helping them build muscle memory and the ability to move and breathe at the same time in birth. Feedback is often how effective the breathing techniques are in labour, by coming to classes they have anchored to the movement, breath work and confidence to make choices in a deep relaxed state. The first 10 minutes of yoga and breath work in class is the same every week, it’s our program into a relaxed state that the body recognises.
The main part of the yoga class changes each week. We adapt to the mum’s needs in class and build on the techniques over the 6 weeks. We also have themed weeks with chair yoga, rebozo scarf, birth ball, wall work…..giving mums the confidence to move and listen to their bodies is key with tools they can use in labour, the birth ball class is often a favourite.
Relaxation to finish is a guided relaxation, with scripts created by myself using the hypnobirthing techniques. They work through a 6 week course specifically for mums to prepare the body for birth. Giving mums the much needed relaxation they need as well as them having access to pre recorded relaxation tracks they can use at home and during labour and birth.
As not all mums want to book 6 weeks if they have a holiday planned and may miss a class, we often give them an option to do an extra class elsewhere with us having a few classes on, but often they are just happy to miss the week and catch up with our online content. We have yoga videos, education videos and relaxation recordings for them. For insurance reasons this access is only given to mums that have attended a class and know all the safety recommendations.
The magic? Mums join class for pregnancy yoga, but find they get so much more than they expected, it’s the why, the whole package. And then they can join again for baby classes…
Don’t get me wrong, it’s tough and it’s tougher than ever before with more interventions occurring in local hospitals with less positive outcomes. I love what I do, where else do you get such amazing feedback, see friendships being formed, women becoming empowered and we are seeing much more positive birth outcomes for mums attending classes xx
Rebecca Louis
Rebecca Louis and her team offer classes across Staffordshire & Derbyshire.
Birthlight Training Director Kirsteen recommends you find a Birthlight trained Baby or Toddler Swimming teacher near you, look on the Find-a-Class Directory here:https://birthlight.com/directory
