Yoga for Birth

Congratulations on your pregnancy!  This course is designed to give you the best possible preparation for giving birth.

It is based on over 20 years of experience running prenatal yoga classes and Active Birth Workshops together with feedback from women and their partners post birth

Giving birth can be an incredible experience, yet for too many women it is traumatic, disempowering, or far more challenging than expected.  It is vital, therefore,  to prepare on all levels of your being for an Active and empowered birth. 

This includes strengthening and gently stretching your body, focusing on mindfulness, and calming your mind as well as embracing the possibility of birth being a life-changing, as well as a life-giving event for you and your partner

This programme will give you that preparation.

Short, easy to follow yoga practices will provide you with both physical postures as well as breathing practices.  Each section is divided into  themes such as Trust and Surrender, Strength and Flexibility, Breath and Flow, Movement and Freedom, Mindfulness and Focus, Love and Support,  Wisdom and Knowledge, and finally Courage and Transformation.  The information in these sections will give you all the empowering birth education need to birth skillfully and confidently.

Practicing yoga regularly during pregnancy improves your mood, increases your strength both physically and mentally, helps you to understand and work with your amazing body, and to develop trust and faith in the birth process. I’m passionate about sharing yoga birthing skills that can significantly help you to embrace labour and feel more confident.

“I feel more empowered to take on labour/birthing with what I have learned. There are definitely many useful tips I have brought home with me that made me more prepared.”

You can experience all the benefits of a prenatal class and antenatal education in the comfort of your own home with the on-line programme. 

Join our growing tribe of women who say yes to taking responsibility for themselves, their babies, and their births.

“I absolutely love the online course. It is so great to be able to practice at home and seeing the familiar postures and sequences. Your voice is so calm and your explanations are great. My daughter often joins in and is very excited to see the other pregnant women!“  - Carolin  (Read Carolin and other Birth Stories here)

About the Course:

You will learn:

• Active Birth positions and how they can influence your baby's position, help you to manage contractions, and increase the likelihood of your labour progressing well. 
• Empowering Birth Education - helping you to make informed choices and understand how your attitude and state of mind influence birth outcomes
• Safe and appropriate prenatal yoga practices to increase both your strength and flexibility as well as helping you to manage stress and fear
• Yoga breathing  to use during pregnancy, labour, and birth
• Mindfulness - the key to staying present, accepting things just as they are, managing strong physical sensations with more ease, calming the "busy mind" and reducing stress and fear - 6 short mindfulness practices are included.
• How to relax deeply with guided relaxations, visualizations (including two hypnosis tracks).  These are specifically designed to prepare you for a more positive birth experience
• Birthing Skills - Researched based ways to interrupt pain signals and manage 60 seconds of contractions - using the breath, movement, touch, mental focus, affirmations, visualizations,  spiky balls, and much more. 

By practicing yoga you are priming both your body and mind for giving birth more naturally and learning ways to cope with the intensity and unknown aspects more effectively. Many of these skills are invaluable for mothering too!

"Julia instills a love of yoga in her students with her skill, passion, and compassion. Her teachings helped me throughout pregnancy and at birth. Yoga has changed my life for the better and I have Julia to thank for that." - Brooke

"We had such an amazing birth! I was able to get through with ease and my son was born with no pain relief.
Your classes were a great way to relax and get in tune with my body leading up to the birth. Thank you!" - Liz

"Despite my labour not going to 'plan' I felt as in control as I could be at all times and did not panic. Thanks so much for your yoga classes, I feel my birth experience would have been very different if it wasn't for them." - Emma

I hope you can join me on this in-depth programme and be part of a movement of women transforming the face of birth through knowledge, courage, and empowerment

Warmly

Julia Willoughby

Childbirth Educator, Pre and Post Natal Yoga Teacher, Prenatal Yoga Teacher and Trainer, Hypnotherapist

Yoga for Birth and Beyond
www.yogaforbirthandbeyond.com.au

Acknowledgements

The yoga presented here is a blend of wonderful Dru Yoga and traditional Hatha Yoga. 

I would like to warmly thank the women who were filmed - Brooke, Petra, Sarah, Jac, Katelijne, Mignon, Cybelle, and Narelle women for their time and dedication to this project! As well as  Patricia Brown, Director of Dru Yoga Australia, my special first prenatal yoga teacher, and mentor.

I would also like to thank amazing John Kovaks and his team for the professional filming of the yoga practices