In yoga practice we often say that each breath is a new beginning, a do-over. As 2020 gets closer to the finish line, I know we all feel like we could use a good do-over, something really different, not anything like this year, especially the things we didn’t like. Enough already. We want something truly different. Yet the temptation is great to keep doing whatever we have been doing exactly
Pandemic Fatigue
November 17, 2020
I’ve been reading about pandemic fatigue. I’m tired of the pandemic. It’s pretty easy to fall into complaining about the things I love, but can’t do until – when? I was talking with my doctor recently. She said that she asks her patients what new thing they have learned during the pandemic. For many of us, learning is a key to happiness. What new thing have you learned? Things I’ve
Questions to Ask Homebirth Midwives
October 27, 2020
With more people considering home birth or planned out of hospital birth these days it’s good to know what kinds of questions to ask while searching for your perfect birth attendant. I wrote and published these questions on my website years ago when I was a homebirth midwife. I’ll never forget the one time a pregnant couple who interviewed me pulled out my list of questions and asked them. It
Questions to Ask Obstetricians and Hospital-Based Midwives
October 20, 2020
We get lots of questions about pregnancy birth and postpartum care providers and hospitals. Our prenatal yoga students have so many choices to make – especially during the pandemic. In some hospitals laboring people can have only one support person. In others, they may have more than one. Some people are considering virtual doulas. In other situations they can be accompanied by an in-person doula. In some hospitals parents and
I Miss Teaching In-Person Prenatal Yoga Classes
September 29, 2020
As I stand in our old yoga studio, I prepare to begin again. I’ve rearranged this room – several times. In some ways it’s almost unrecognizable. I’ve moved shelving and props. I’ve hung blankets from the ceiling and walls to produce better sound quality for our yoga videos. I’ve hauled lighting and camera equipment up and down flights of stairs. I’ve spent hours on ladders changing lighting and installing special
Culturally-Relevant Care
September 15, 2020
Black Women Again Turn to Midwives, Some Fearing Coronavirus in Hospitals. I was so happy to read this headline. I’m sad that fear of contracting COVID-19 in the hospital and concern over no support people allowed to attend laboring people in the hospital is driving some of the change. Nonetheless, it’s change. We’re headed in the right direction. I’ve long known that Black parents are three to four times more
Responsibility
September 1, 2020
Many yoga studios around the world have reopened or are planning to reopen for in-person yoga classes. We aren’t (yet). At MamaSpace Yoga we serve a particular population – pregnant and postpartum people. It’s obvious to me that we can’t yet know what any long-term (or short term) effects of COVID-19 infection in the first trimester of pregnancy would be. People who have contracted this disease in the first trimester
