(by Gill Bann, Birthlight Baby Swimming Tutor) I have two passions in my life Yoga and Gardening and when teaching pregnancy yoga valuing the physical and emotional nurturing for pregnancy, birthing and beyond comes dear to my heart. In yoga Nidra practice we learn to sow the seed of change, […]
In the mid 1990’s, I was a children’s nurse in Birmingham, running a baby ward. Although I loved the children and families, I was disillusioned with the bureaucratic behemoth that was the NHS. I decided a change of direction was required. Having already developed a love of aromatherapy, I was […]
Mary Freedman spoke with Mara and Natalia about their experience of Birthlight Aquanatal Yoga classes with Birthlight’s founder Françoise Freedman. Mara attended sessions throughout her first pregnancy while Natalia, in her second pregnancy and hoping for a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean), joined them for two sessions towards the middle […]
In this post from our archives Françoise shares some of the experiences that led her to develop Aqua Yoga. As far as I can remember, water was where I felt happiest, carefree and connected to life in the most cosmic way. My very first Aqua Yoga move was rolling […]
Le baby yoga de Birthlight arrive en France! C’est avec un grand plaisir que nous annonçons l’arrivée de la formation Birthlight en Baby Yoga à Paris en juin 2023 Le baby yoga, c’est quoi? C’est une pratique douce et accessible inspirée des principes de yoga et de techniques corporelles et […]
25 years ago Françoise’s Baby Yoga classes were in full swing and in December that year The Daily Telegraph published an article introducing the public to the benefits and fun of this new type of class even if at the time “Baby Yoga classes may sound like something from the […]
Birthlight would like to announce it’s collaboration with Aqua Education Academy. Each member of the collaboration will bring together their experiences as qualified Therapists and Practicioners in the Early Years world to help transform the understanding and importance of the early water experiences for babies and their families. If you […]
Aquatic Nurture for Newborns. A long history of development since the 1990s. Training courses since 2018. Aquatic Nurture provides the missing bridge between Aquanatal Yoga and Baby Swimming classes. As befits the ‘Fourth Trimester’, the first twelve weeks after birth, the focus is on Nurture, welcoming and cherishing the newborn in the world as […]
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 […]
Birthlight Swimming classes aim to provide the optimum environment for not only learning to take place but to create deep emotional and loving connections between the parent and child. Water itself is a great conductor of emotions, it transmits both positive and negative intent and can set the tone of […]
Early Days My baby-swimming journey started with the birth of my eldest daughter in 1975. I had some time between her birth and returning with her to my work in the Amazon. I needed to get her used to being in the water, crossing rivers with me and playing in […]
The fertility journey can be an emotional roller coaster. When women come into the yoga space for a fertility workshop there is usually a mixed feel in the room. As a teacher I’m aware that fertility yoga is not a celebration, like pregnancy yoga can be, nor should it be […]
Baby massage has been around for hundreds of years, from ancient India, to China, Africa, South East Asia and around the globe. Indeed, I suspect that parents have been lovingly stroking their babies forever. Whilst baby massage classes are a relatively new trend for the western world (classes in the […]
I began my Perinatal Yoga Diploma with Birthlight in 2017 when I was in the 2nd trimester with my son and began teaching other pregnant women from my 7th month of pregnancy and was able to complete the full course work once my son was born and became a toddler. […]
“The more we do our yoga, our yoga, our yoga, the more we do our yoga the healthier we’ll be. We’re bendy and stretchy and peaceful and happy. The more we do our yoga, the healthier we’ll be.” I sing this song regularly in my Yoga Babies classes, but the […]
As a Swim teacher and a Yoga Teacher for the past 20+ yrs, when I found Birthlight it was like winning the lottery. Being a part of this community allows me to teach and tutor Aqua natal, and Baby Swim in the holistic Birthlight way. As a practice for preparation […]
In July 2020 I trained to teach Toddler Yoga with Birthlight. I have been teaching baby massage and baby yoga for the past 10 years and wanted to expand this valuable work to parents and young children. I have also worked as a Speech and Language Therapist for 18 years […]
‘Embodied Postpartum’.An essential Birthlight initiative for 2022 What is it? A package of our best selected practices for ‘holding and handling’ new babies, that we believe can make the most significant difference to the quality of care and attachment between parents and their newborns in the community. Why are we […]
Aquanatal Yoga. Women’s Body Empowerment. In the past year I had an amazing opportunity to expand my knowledge and become an Aquanatal Yoga Practitioner with Birthlight. Three years ago I became a teacher for baby and toddler swimming which I love and going down the antenatal route just felt right. […]
We send well wishes and a big congratulations to Becky Minihan, owner of Dolphin Academy Swim School, on the birth of her little girl. Just wanted to let you know that I had my baby girl on Saturday morning (October 16 th )Margot Jane Harrington She was born at home in […]
Cathy Welch shares how Well Woman Yoga supports women through all kinds of life transitions As an experienced childbirth educator it felt very natural to move into teaching first Pregnancy Yoga and then Postnatal Yoga – extending my relationship with the women on my courses and offering a gentle and […]
Spot interview with Liese van Dam Ayurveda Practitioner & Yoga teacher- Birthlight trained teacher for Perinatal, Postnatal, Baby Yoga and Well Woman YogaTeacher at Delight Academy of Ayurveda, Amsterdam Praktijk voor Yoga & Ayurvedawww.liesevandam.nl So Liese, like many of us in the beginning, you had pregnant women show up in your […]
What’s different about Aquanatal Yoga with Birthlight? There is now a great deal of research about the benefits of yoga during pregnancy: as a practice which targets body and mind together with a focus on the breath, it is not surprising that yoga has gone centre-stage with relaxation and anxiety […]
The Birthlight school first changed my perspective on teaching yoga to women in 2014-15, when I studied pre- and postnatal yoga with Kirsteen Ruffell. I had been teaching traditional hatha yoga and yoga nidra for seven years, and found the ‘Birthlight way’ to be a game changer – the micro-movements, […]
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 […]
Is it fair to say that my WW Yoga training has changed my life? I’m not someone prone to emotional outbursts, but in this case, the answer is most definitely YES! I first met Françoise in 2007 when I was pregnant with my 2nd son – I was part way […]
I first found Well Woman Yoga in 2011. I had been teaching yoga already for 22 years. In 2009 I donated a kidney to my son, aged 15. Needless to say, this was an enormous transition on all levels for me-not least because I was 51 and at the same […]
Baby Communication Week Day 7 14 – 21st June Soon after the birth of my first granddaughter Rosie, it became clear that Grandpa Gerry had a uniquely effective way of soothing her. Cradling her in his arms, he bounced left and right in small rhythmical steps, then forwards and back […]
Baby Communication Week Day 6 14 – 21st June Singing is one easy way to communicate and bond with your baby before birth, it doesn’t necessarily have to have words, you could just hum a melody to your baby in the womb when you feel happy and relaxed. Make sure […]
Baby Communication Week Day 5 14 – 21st June My name is Liz Thompson and I am a Birthlight baby massage, and mother & baby yoga instructor. A while back, I was asked to share my experience with you regarding our 2017-2018 yearlong audit at the Royal London Hospital, Barts […]