Meet Rebecca
Meet Rebecca
MEET Rebecca Sink Smith, ONE OF OUR WHOLE MAMA YOGA COLLECTIVE MEMBERS
Rebecca Sink Smith, MSW, MPH, is a Public Health Practitioner with a specialization in Maternal and Child Health. She has been in public health for 10 years+ since obtaining her Masters in Social Work and Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has worked in program management for various perinatal health programs (government and non-profit) and is especially passionate about developing innovative programs to address quality and equity in perinatal healthcare.
Tell us about the work you do outside of teaching yoga?
I have worked in various public health settings mainly addressing public health needs at a programmatic level - whether that be specifically around maternal and child health, adolescent health, or rural health.
What draws you to work with birthing people?
Working with birthing people is something that sustains me and ignites my energy because birthing people need support, education, and often just someone to listen and validate the spectrum of their experience and feelings.
What brings you joy in your work?
It brings me joy to see patients/clients benefit from the various programs that I help to manage and support. Knowing that we are changing health outcomes for birthing persons and their babies is deeply rewarding.
What do you find challenging about your work?
The work I do is LONG work. It's a marathon. It takes years to see lasting change and to get everyone on board to raise the tide. Having to wait for incremental change is sometimes really hard.
Do you see any connections between your work in yoga? What are they?
In both areas, I am supporting birthing persons and their babies, and hopefully supporting their transition to the fullest life possible with a new baby. When I tell my students that I also work in maternal and child public health, they are like, "oh, that makes sense for you!" :-)
How can folks find out more about working with you?
I am on LinkedIn and would love to connect to like-minded folks in public health!
Practice with Rebecca
Join Rebecca in class at Bliss Body Yoga in Raleigh. She teaches Prenatal Yoga workshops, as well as Baby & Me Yoga classes.