By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 A True Story We were about halfway through a typical Thursday 9:30 AM prenatal yoga class when it happened. The fire alarm went off in the building. It was LOUD! I told my students to get up, walk toward the door, leave their yoga mats behind, put on their shoes, grab their belongings and walk down the stairs where we would meet outside.
All About Squatting
March 2, 2021
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 Is squatting OK to do during pregnancy? Yes! This is one of the most beneficial poses to do during pregnancy. Do some version of this every day! When you were a toddler, you could squat. Easily. When we use Western-style toilets to eliminate, we have fewer daily opportunities to squat. In many parts of the world, squatting is a position of rest. With
The MamaSpace Yoga Method
February 16, 2021
This week’s post is a video. We hope you enjoy it. It’s all about the MamaSpace Yoga Method. Yes, it’s a method. It promotes optimal fetal positioning. Carol has dedicated her professional life to supporting expectant and new families by promoting gentle aware birth. She has attended births for over 35 years – at first as a doula and from 2000 to 2012 as a midwife. She has since retired
The Truth About Epidurals
October 13, 2020
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 The Truth About Birth First a word or two about birth physiology: Labor is almost universally painful for birthing parents and sometimes painful for babies. One of the ways we cope with pain is to produce beta-endorphin. Beta-endorphin is an opiate-like brain chemical – the same one responsible for the so-called runner’s high. It reduces pain. What Happens as Labor Progresses? In a
I Miss Teaching In-Person Prenatal Yoga Classes
September 29, 2020
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 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
Culturally-Relevant Care
September 15, 2020
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 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. Sobering Statistics for Black Parents
Inanna’s Journery
September 8, 2020
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, was a goddess revered by the ancient Sumerians. I love her story of descent into and return from the Underworld. It’s a wonderful analog for the process of preparing for, moving through and returning from birth. Inanna undertook a perilous journey to the underworld – a place from which nobody had ever returned alive. She prepared, she
Responsibility
September 1, 2020
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 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
Caleb’s Birth
October 19, 2019
It all started with a bowl of spicy Baby A’s copycat Tortilla soup… There is an old wives’ tale that spicy food induces labor. Well, in this case it proved to be true. Your Daddy and Mommy had indulged in some spicy tortilla soup for dinner on the evening of September 17th. After dinner and a few of their favorite TV shows, it was bedtime. Your Daddy easily fell asleep
