Why I love working with pregnant women + Sharing more pregnancy yoga in 2018

Something you might not know about me is that I’m one of 7 kids (and Mum and Dad are still married!) I’m the third child and the oldest daughter in my big, beautiful family. The first five of us born within a 5&1/2 year time span! All of my earliest memories are either of Mum pregnant or breast-feeding a younger sibling.  She has been an amazing role model for me these last 50+ years. Mum made being pregnant and raising a young brood look seamless and totally normal. Our home was filled with healthy meals, love and caring. How Mum managed to feed, bathe, wash and have a routine with so many kids just blows me away as a parent myself to 3 adults kids. I don’t recall Mum ever yelling or raising a hand to us until we became horrible teenagers and deserved it!  All this without the support of extended family. You see, Mum is Australian and Dad American and they settled their family, 1/2 way between their respective families on the California coast.  The point I’m trying to make is that either Mum is an absolute saint or parenthood has become a lot more stressful these days.

I relied heavily on Mum and Dad while we raised our little family of 3 children. They never said ‘no’ to requests to look after the littlies, and frequently invited the grandkids for weekends and sleepovers, even preparing meals for us at least once a week.  When I birthed my firstborn at home 29 years ago I had no idea how my life was about to change and I thank my lucky starts for the support of Mum and Dad and all my siblings. It really does take a village to raise a child. Mum supported me with my decision to breast-feed which I never questioned, after-all, Mum breastfed 7 of us. And when I returned to work full time 6 weeks after becoming a mum, there was Mum and Dad looking after my little fellow, feeding him the breastmilk I had expressed before, during and after work. I would arrive on my lunchbreak for another feeding session and Mum would put a sandwich in front of me. Then I would arrive after work and there would be dinner on the table for me. This beautiful gift of ‘Mothering the Mother’ is not lost on me today.

Fast forward to 2011 and I decided to study yoga teacher training, not because I wanted to teach, but because I wanted to understand a bit more about yoga. I had always wanted to become a midwife, delivering babies, but life got in the way. Suddenly, I realised the potential of combining my desire to support women during the most incredible transition of their lives with the gift of yoga. I could hold space for pregnant women in a community where what they are experiencing can be normalised, where they can learn from one another and lean into each other for support whilst learning to breath, sit in optimal foetal position, build strength and stability to birth their babies actively. I have never looked back, but only become more proud of my work supporting mums to be and new mums. So many couples are living on the Sunshine Coast, away from their extended families often with a fly-in, fly-out partner. I am passionate about filling the gap through my beautifully crafted Pregnancy Yoga program.

I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be adding a second weekly Pregnancy Yoga class to my timetable in 2018. The Universe has spoken and I am listening with open ears and open arms. From January 7 I will be offering a Sunday afternoon 4pm-5:30pm Pregnancy Yoga Program in addition to my existing Thursday evening 7pm-8:30pm Pregnancy Yoga Program. These programs are taught in 5 week blocks with bookings being essential to guarantee space. For those ladies keen to practice twice per week, I am offering both the Sunday and Thursday Sessions combined in a 5 week block with a massive $50 savings. Nearly half price for the 5 additional sessions.  My website will be updated soon with a link to purchase this fantastic offer but meanwhile you may contact me direct to book in via phone, text or email. 0423 393 668

Much love,

Dani

Yours truly on the bottom right