I was born in 1978, part of an often-uncategorized generation born between the late 70s and early 80s. I grew up without the internet, like all of Gen X, but the world wide web debuted as I entered high school.
The Dave Matthews Band also debuted more widely at this time and their 2001 song, The Space Between, has been playing through my head for the past several weeks. About emotional space between two people, it also prompts contemplation of the many in-between spaces we inhabit. Having been born during a liminal time, perhaps I feel a sort of camaraderie with all things nebulous and peripheral.
As Alexandra steps away from her leadership role at Whole Mama Yoga, we thought you’d be curious to know what’s next for her & how to stay connected!
Keep reading to find out!
We want you to meet Melissa, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Melissa wears many hats! She is a Licensed Psychologist, a Holistic Integrative Wellness Coach, a Trauma-informed Mindfulness, Meditation, & Yoga Teacher, and an Ayurvedic Doula. Keep reading to learn more!
Although I do NOT support the idea of “bouncing back” after labor & delivery, I knew that returning to a few familiar parts of myself was important as gradually moved into motherhood. For me, one of those parts was my yoga practice. I had to figure out how to integrate yoga into a new version of my life. One that involved a seemingly permanent (albeit tiny) ride along (I’m referring to my infant son…). And even though I have a partnership that strives for parental & domestic equity, and I already had a well established at home yoga practice, and my baby napped really, really well…I still couldn’t figure out how to make time for this important part of my life.
Allow us to introduce you to Erin, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members & our Media Manager. Erin is a kids yoga & mindfulness instructor, a perinatal yoga teacher, a drama teaching artist, a freelance marketing professional & a mother. Erin is passionate about enabling children to stand tall, feel confident in their body and find their own unique voice, and she works most regularly with postpartum birthing folks in a weekly Baby & Me Yoga class and a weekly online class called Embodied Mothering Yoga. Keep reading to learn more!
What a ride y’all. Being pregnant, giving birth and coming into motherhood - all during a global pandemic. I’ve been trying to make meaning out of it all, and part of my way of doing that has been to plan and lead pandemic grief support groups and workshop series for fellow “pandeparents.”
I have learned a lot along the way. And it’s left me with more questions than answers. But that in itself is an answer.
Let me explain.
We want you to meet Jenna, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Jenna is a trauma-sensitive yoga teacher as well as a perinatal mental health and trauma therapist. Jenna recently opened her own private practice! Keep reading to learn more!
Breastfeeding is hard. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It can be both scary and gratifying. If you desire to breastfeed your child, my suggestion is to do your own research and find friends or other supportive individuals in your circle to share their experiences. Find out more about Rebecca’s breastfeeding journey here.
As a non-pregnant person, I’ve dealt with mental health concerns for most of my adult life. I was prepared for some postpartum depression and anxiety when I had both of my boys. I was not, in any way, prepared for postpartum rage. And I was definitely not prepared for the voice in my head that one night, while washing dishes, said, “they’d be better off without you.”
Allow us to introduce you to Rebecca, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Rebecca is a Public Health Practitioner with a specialization in Maternal and Child Health. She has been in public health for 10+ years & is especially passionate about developing innovative programs to address quality and equity in perinatal healthcare. She is also a pre & postnatal yoga teacher! Keep reading to learn more!
We want you to meet Stephanie, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Stephanie is a wife and Mama of 5. In addition to her work as a perinatal yoga teacher, Stephanie has been a breastfeeding peer counselor for 3 years with LLL USA where she also serves as a Board Member. Stephanie is also the Founder and President of Nourish & Thrive which is a non profit organization that focuses on breastfeeding equity. Keep reading to learn more!
Allow us to introduce you to Ellese, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Ellese is a pelvic floor physical therapist, a new mom & a yoga teacher. Looking for pelvic floor PT, wellness coaching or other perinatal services? Keep reading to learn more!
Congratulations! You’ve just seen those two little pink lines, or perhaps you are cradling your newborn baby. You want to continue your yoga practice. Or, your midwife told you yoga can be helpful. But what do you need? A group class, or private sessions? Keep reading to find out!
Molly had been dealing with some heavy stuff since the birth of her second baby. So, Molly booked 4 private sessions with Mary. Keep reading to find out more about Molly’s healing & work with Whole Mama Yoga Collective Teacher, Mary.
We want you to meet Mary, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Mary is a full-time private yoga teacher. She has been teaching private yoga for five years, since her initial 200-hour training in 2018. She loves working with students 1-1 because her students achieve their goals faster. Keep reading to learn more!
Allow us to introduce you to Laura, one of our Whole Mama Yoga Collective Members. Laura is a doula, placenta encapsulator, yoga teacher & perinatal behavioral activation therapist at UNC. Keep reading to learn more!
A reflection on female friendships & a celebration of International Women’s Day.
If you’re finding yourself struggling with the stress of the changing season, consider giving these simple practices and mantras a try.
Whole Mama Yoga Co-Founder & Lead Teacher Lauren discusses what it means to lean into winter by finding stillness. Our annual day-long Winter Retreat offers just that.
Our Co-Founders, Lauren & Alexandra, dive deep into what they love about leading our yoga teacher training, what they learn from our students & why they are SO excited to be returning to in-person learning this year!
What happens in a prenatal yoga teacher training is the same thing that happens in a prenatal yoga class. Connection happens. When people connect with one another, just as in ALL of life, we discover that differences don't make us better or worse. They MAKE us, sure. And that realization that our stories are all important is a point of connection that happens so easily in a space of self-discovery and disclosure and vulnerability and community, all of which is fostered in both prenatal yoga class and yoga teacher training.
When Lauren and I started co-teaching as Whole Mama Yoga nearly 7 years ago, my passion was teaching newly postpartum women and birth parents. That time period was so overwhelming for me personally, so coming out of early motherhood and back into "real life," I knew I wanted to serve women and parents in that same situation. I think that's why my favorite part of our Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga Teacher Training (PYTT) is facilitating the Postpartum portion of the training.
Let’s talk about a pose that always feels good to my spine: thread the needle. This pose is accessible to nearly everyone. (Even pregnant, I loved this, although I elevated my head and shoulders on a blanket to make more space.) It’s a pose that allows for little shifts and micro movements that result in big sensations.
Breathing isn’t as sexy-looking as the splits, or as bad-ass as an arm balance. But breathing is the foundation of your entire system- if you didn’t breathe, you would be dead. Breath doesn’t just keep you alive, though.
If you can identify a pose that you avoid at all costs just as easily as you can identify one that brings you an internal sigh of relief, well, you’re not alone. Camel (Ustrasana) is totally my asana nemesis. Pigeon is a different story.
There’s nothing easy about sitting or being quiet, in my opinion.
I’m writing this from a plane - both my husband and son are asleep. My nervous system is still in high gear after a 30-minute toddler meltdown. I’m not used to having much quiet time, and when I do get it I gravitate to my phone and scroll, check my work email, respond to that friend I’ve been meaning to respond to. My phone is full of to do’s.
What would it be like, to put it all down and just take a moment to be?
Looking to shop small this holiday season? We’ve got your back! Here is a list of a few of our favorites - no sponsorships, no kick-backs - just things & businesses we really love. We hope it supports you this holiday season!
Downward Facing Dog is one of my favorite poses. I teach this pose as both assessment and prescription. We can pause in downward facing dog and notice our baseline in each practice. Notice our energy, the tension we are holding in our bodies, the ways that we feel open. It is a pose that allows us to check in.
One of the most powerful of the “simple poses” to me is Upward Salute. I love how this pose makes me feel, physically, emotionally, and mentally! Upward Salute is similar to Mountain Pose/Tadasana in that you are a standing tall and grounded with both feet on the mat. But, that’s where’s the similarities end for me.
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