Greetings and Welcome!
Thank you for visiting! We are a Collective of local and experienced mothers, Doulas, Childbirth Educators, Yoga instructors, and creative spirits. Specializing in Sacred Loving Birthing services toward the well being of you and your family!
Services we specialize in are: Labor Doulas and Postpartum Doulas, Birthing From Within/Birthing Again Childbirth Preparation, BirthWorks Childbirth preparation, Belly Casting, Placenta Printmaking, Reiki/qi healing sessions, Mendhi Body Art, Family Photography, Placenta Encapsulation, Prenatal/postnatal Yoga, Hatha Vinyasa fusion Yoga, Kids Yoga, and Blessingway Rites of Passage Celebrations.
Doula services
Labor/Birth Doula
A Doulas role is "mothering the mother". So there should be no worry about the doula replacing the fathers/partners role. Often times this is a team effort where the doula acts to help the father/partner assist the mother, and then be the back up when he/she needs a break. Doulas call ona variety of skills and methods, to assist with, a mother coping with labor and delivery. These are usually tailored to the family she is working with and their desire and level of comfort. The doula you choose will feel good to be around, will visit you as often as you need (established upon hire), will listen to you and offer feedback, and strive to protect the birthing environment for you and your family, no matter where you choose to birth:)
We know women's bodies are made to meet the challenges of labor and delivery. Birth is a most precious and time honored Right of passage into womanhood for many mothers, and that given the right "space and energy," the work of birthing can be done as women trust their bodies and surrender to the process.
We are here for you and your family during lifes' most challenging and precious times. We provide continuous support and encourage informed decision making and mindfulness as you navigate the wealth of information on pregnancy, childbirth, babies, and parenting. We support the challenging emotional work that may be necessary in order to connect with your intuition and your own wise voice. Trusting of your own body and its capacity to meet the demands of pregnancy, labor, and parenthood is powerful and satisfying. These challenges may be experienced as physical, Emotional, Psychic, Spiritual, and straight up confusion! Your unique experiences during this period in life, will prove a rich and empowering resource from which to forever draw from for strength and inspiration for years to come!
Postpartum Doula
As a Postpartum Doula, we can come to you as needed for help with household chores, personal assistance,breastfeeding help/referral, or whatever you might need after the arrival of your beautiful baby!
Childbirth Preparation Classes
Childbirth Preparation Classes/Workshops, and Private Sessions are offered on an ongoing basis.
Prenatal Yoga and ChildbirthEd. Workshop for Individuals and Couples..friday March 18, 2011, 6:30-8:30 &Sunday the 20th noon-2pm. To be held at Pureheart Yoga Studio! (see flyer) .....Check back for later dates of classes/workshops
BirthWorks! Is a process, not a method and seeks to facilitate a woman's and couple's personal process in childbearing, not to impart a preconceived method of labor and birth. Each birth is unique. This philosophy believes that the knowledge about how to give birth already exists inside every woman. Women's bodies were designed to give birth.
*the nutrition of a pregnant woman has a great impact on the health of her baby.Breast milk provides the optimum nutrition for the newborn baby.
*Love is the foundation upon which positive birthing begins, and that one must have love of oneself, before being able to love others.
*The emotions of a birthing woman have profound effects on the birth outcome. Women must be allowed to express all their birth related feelings.
*The practice of Human Values builds character and instills confidence in birth and in life.
You can meet with us to discuss your particular needs and preferred philosophy in natural childbirth preparation!
LaAmistad Yoga Services
La Amistad Means "Frienship" in Spanish. Our yoga services are designed to invite and encourage the nurturing of our individual relationships with ourselves. This love and devotion to the self translates over into more health, confidence, and stability that can then be applied to outside areas of our lives. Yoga Classes in: Vinyasa, HathaFlow, fusion, Kids, Prenatal/Postnatal
Here are just some of the areas in which a regular Yoga practice can benefit your overall health :
=healthier/deeper breathing(more oxygen means more vitality!)
= deep relaxation
= stress/anxiety relief
= Prevent/reduce symptoms of depression
= increase strength, flexibility, balance, and stamina
= rehabilitative for knees, shoulders, and back pain
= feel younger
= helps change bad habits
=Prepare for Pregnancy,Labor, Delivery, AND Postpartum Too!
ONGOING CLASSES- To resume in the fall 2012, at Pureheart Yoga studio, see schedule as pureheart transitions to a Non-profit yoga Center.
Using a dynamic and challenging flow of vinyasa style classes, in order to cultivate deep relaxation and inner stillness, while still moving through the physical postures, guided by breath. Learn to stabilize the breath, build heat in the body, foster balance and stability. Develop authentic core strength fostered in our bodies through a physically engaging asana practice. and spiritually soothing practice of deep breathing. Stoking the internal fires for life and living in the most blissful and whole ways; developing a relationship of love and devotion with self using a disciplined focused awareness of intention. The resulting gentle beauty radiates out energetically and eventually translates out and off the yoga mat into your everyday life....
If You are just starting out, or coming back to yoga, We would be honored to serve and facilitate your practice!
Body Art and More
We love to celebrate the joys of growing families!... we have the ability to help preserve your precious moments with:
Bellycasting,- Celebrate the shape of pregnancy with a cast of your bountiful and goddess like figure. This wonderful metamorphasis will be treasured in a keepsake that you can preserve and later decorate to savor the uniqueness of this time period in your lives. The process takes approximately 30 minutes and is fun, sexy, and neat!
Mendhi Belly/Body art, - The ancient practice of decorating the body to symbolize and celebrate sacred life transitions and passages with a special Henna mixture. Lovely intricate designs that can be customized to your taste and style. It is a fun and beautiful way to honor yourself while moving through the stages of pregnancy. Photos are fun afterward as well!
Family Photography- We can refer you to photographers that work with families and around pregnancy, labor, and postnatal.
Blessingway Gatherings- We can arrange and help host for you a Blessingway gathering party to welcome in the new baby. This can be integrated in with your baby shower, or simply be another celebration to add to the honoring of the life changes and rites of passage for mother, baby, father, and siblings. This includes rituals honoring mother and baby, within a circle of loving support of friends attending. Body art is fun to incorporate into this as well.
Placenta Encapsulation
In the postpartum period, placenta capsules can be used to
- Help Balance your hormones
-Enhance your milk supply
-Increase active energy
The Baby Blues and varying degrees of PostPartum Depression are common anymore of mothers experiences in the first days and weeks after giving birth. Placenta capsules are the natural alternative and natures prescription to remedy this. Pharmaceutical drugs such as anti-depressants, or anxiety medication are passed to the baby through breastmilk. This creates a risky and potentially unsafe situation for the newborn.
Mothers who choose not to expose their babies to these potentially harmful medications, while breastfeeding, don't have to feel helpless. More and more Women, even those with histories of PostPartum Depression(PPD), are singing the praises of how placenta pills can help dramatically alleviate symptoms of sadness, provide vital energy, and help with abundant milk supply! ...Having had experienced Postpartum Depression with 2 0f 3 pregnancies, I know, that had I known of placenta pills, I would have taken them, no doubt about it!......And why the heck not? ...i mean when the blues get really bad, the difference between placenta pills, or pharmaceutical drugs,....I'll take what my own body created. I know i can trust that!
It is a practical thing to do, especially if you already know that you have intense emotional swings when not pregnant, or have a history of Depression or Anxiety. You Can have the Placenta Encapsulated(made into pills-just like from the pharmacy!) and you can just have them there for a "just in case" or an "I changed my mind". From My perspectiv, it is better to have them than not. If it is a cost issue, let's talk about it and work something out.
