BABY YOGA? You must be joking, how on earth can babies do yoga? Surely this is unnatural and dangerous, one of these yoga fads that discredits yoga as a reputable ancient practice brought to the West by famous Gurus after years in their Himalayan caves. Babies are not on ascetics’ […]
From the start of Birthlight classes, the changing bodies of pregnant women who were mostly new to yoga called for a dynamic approach to stretching to make space for the growing babies inside. We used the breath, mostly the exhalation, to extend the muscles below, above and to the sides […]
The role of the mother’s biochemistry in foetal development is well known. Good nutrition and avoiding toxins are advocated in all maternity care programs. There is less awareness however about the information relayed by mothers to their unborn babies about their perceptions of the world around them, including their attitudes […]
Baby Communication Awareness Week Day 1 14 – 20th June 2021 After months of waiting, preparation and imagining, meeting a new baby unlocks an unexpected set of physiological, sensory and behavioural responses that parents can never fully anticipate. Many of these responses are mammalian traits, such as checking and exploring […]
Francoise Freedman talks to “Green Parent” magazine regarding what’s different about Birthlight Baby Swimming! Baby baths – every parent knows about baby baths. We do them on a regular basis! But Francoise Freedman in her article in “Green Parent” magazine shows us that bathtime can be more than just about […]
Françoise Freedman will be speaking at the BeYogaBeyond Symposium running from 23- 25th April 2021. The Symposium is organised by the European Yoga Federation and will be the first symposium held by them. The focus of the meeting, featuring over 25 speakers, 10 special guests and 10 musicians, is to […]
Together with 899 other people, I registered to hear the findings of the Report on the ‘Maternal Pandemic’ in an event jointly organised by the Centre for Mental Health and the Maternal Mental Health Alliance and funded by Comic Relief. A ‘bitter-sweet’ day, as the Chair of MMHA put it. […]
Network Yoga Therapy, founded by Anneke Sips who is a Birthlight teacher in the Netherlands trained in Perinatal Yoga, Postnatal Yoga and Well Woman Yoga. Yoga Therapy Network run by Anneke Sips recently hosted an online retreat around the theme of “a holistic approach towards mental wellness”. The catchline was […]
The art of teaching with dolls As Birthlight teachers, you probably recall falling in love with your doll as you named it and practised with it on your first courses. We all have funny stories about our dolls. I cannot forget the worried face of a passenger who thought I […]
Over the last few months Birthlight has been enjoying the benefits of online courses. Due to the lockdown Birthlight found itself in a position where it needed to offer courses but without the ability to meet face to face. For some courses this was easier than others. The land courses […]
Spot interview with Avni Trivedi Avni TrivediOsteopath & Zero BalancerConscious wellness in a Modern World@avnitouchwww.avni-touch.com07961 123 719 What motivated you to choose applications of osteopathy to the reproductive process, qualifying as a paediatric osteopath?I’ve always been interested in health in a preventative and holistic sense. When you’re treating a baby […]
In 2021, Birthlight will continue working with Amurtel, an NGO that uniquely focuses on the wellbeing of refugee pregnant women and mothers in Greece. Françoise gave a training there last year to empower community leaders in refugee camps to be able to support other women. Next year we would like […]
New Book “Hormonal Harmony” by Susanne Haegele “Hormonal Harmony – A Natural Guide to Women’s Wellbeing” by Susanne Haegele, Birthlight Wellwoman graduate. Puberty, fertility, maternity, menopause… these major phases of a woman’s life have something in common: the deep impact of hormonal changes. This book shows you how to be […]
Fear no more; integrate special babies into your Baby Yoga class with confidence Jay Ehrlich, “Yoga with special babies” tutor Fear … we all feel this from time to time -that is human nature – instinct, but it is what we do with this emotion that counts most.I have worked […]
Jiggles & cuddles help babies grow Baby Yoga is an ideal practice for creating the balance between stimulation and calm that helps babies grow. Finding this balance is of supreme importance during the time of COVID, as we go out less on shorter and rainy days. Our home environments are […]
Spot interview with Dr Stella Acquarone, founder of the Parent-Infant Centre www.infantmentalhealth.com. Stella Acquarone’s pioneering work with parents and infants is relevant to all that we do in Birthlight, but most particularly to Baby Massage/Baby Yoga teachers and Infant Aquatics teachers. Some Birthlight members may remember her inspiring presentation about […]
Francoise Freedman, founder and director of Birthlight, will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming “Birthing the New Humanity” conference. The organisers say … At this time of change and global uncertainty something new is being born within our global family! This positive movement for change: We call it Birthing The […]
‘Don’t you miss that ‘sleep’ at the end of class!?’ Vicky was asking the other mums about Yoga Nidra at the end of the Pregnancy Yoga session when she arrived for her first Baby Massage and Yoga session with young Oliver. She soon realised that indulging in such deep relaxation […]
A new, updated edition of the book “Yoga for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond” by Francoise Freedman will be coming out in December. This book gives you step-by-step yoga postures specially adapted for each trimester, and relaxation techniques and simple breathing exercises will show you how to adjust to the physical […]
Relaxing jointly with your baby triples benefits. You relax, (s)he relaxes,the two of you relax together. Relaxation is an essential part of all yogapractice: it integrates breath and movement and enlivens the subtle energiesof the body. It is a skill that your baby acquires for life, at a time when […]
The first episode of the ‘Bringing up Britain’ programme (Radio 4 Episode 13 October2020 ) explored various facets of the relentless micro-management and monitoring that are now part and parcel of being a parent. The Helicopter style of parenting, constantly hovering over babies and children, responds to a desire to […]
Liz Doherty Birthlight Pioneer As co-grandmothers, Liz and I started our conversation talking about our grandchildren. Liz has three, from baby to pre-school age. She has been very much involved in her two daughters’ pregnancies and with the babies from birth onwards. She looks after them two days a week […]
With the world’s health jeopardised by the twin threats of Covid-19 and the climate crisis, the range of how we deliver our teaching and training has to be expanded if we are to reach families and teachers effectively. Lockdown revealed a spectrum of approaches to online teaching; from the clammer […]
Kicki Hansard, author, educator, mother and founder of BirthBliss Academy (www.birthblissacademy.com) grew up in Swedish Lapland – the land of the Northern Lights and the midnight sun – on the shores of a lake, surrounded by deep forests. She trained as a doula in 2002 with BOND which was run […]
World Breastfeeding Week is definitely worth universally celebrating -and promoting! – as a key factor for human health and wellbeing The 2020 theme, ‘Breastfeeding for a Healthier Planet’, links infant feeding with ecology. Breastfeeding is linked to all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals not only because it […]
Dianne Garland is an international speaker having travelled and taught in all corners of the world, including India, China, America, Europe and the UK. In 2005 she launched her company Midwifeexpert.com. She can be contacted to book either classes or discuss availability via dianne@midwifeexpert.com Dianne Garland is an international speaker […]
Nurture: nourishing with care and love for growth and abundance. I was fortunate to share the lives of Amazonian indigenous people who showed me nurture in action with their babies and their plants. Daily splash baths for babies, a practice that many groups share in the Amazon basin, are not […]
Introducing new babies to water: the risks of chlorinated swimming pools and the benefits of home tubs In the UK, parents do not need to wait until their babies have completed their immunization. The NHS gives the go ahead for babies to go swimming before vaccinations that generally start at two months […]
The Science, Magic and Nurture of Planet-Wide Baby Holds I have only recently come across ‘The Hold’ promoted by Dr Hamilton, a paediatrician in Santa Monica, California. It has been seen by many people, but I missed it. The Hold is very similar to a practice I learnt from Amazonian […]
Are you thinking about training to be a Baby Swimming instructor or sending staff from your swim school to upgrade skills? Here are 5 reasons why you should go to Birthlight After enjoying having my four children swim like fishes before their fourth birthdays, each in their different styles, as a […]