By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 I couldn’t fit everything I wanted to say about props for prenatal yoga into one post. You’ll have to wait for part 2 next week! In the mean time, I gotta say, we love our props at MamaSpace Yoga. When my students come in the door, I tell them, “Grab one mat, three blankets, three bolsters, one strap and two blocks. If you
Prenatal Yoga Safety
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 It’s amazing what turns up when you do a Google search for “Prenatal Yoga Safety”. Just for laughs (and some seriousness), here are 10 gems that fail the Truth-O-Meter test: 1. “Any challenging yoga poses could lead to nausea and dizziness” Any? Could lead to? Do they really expect us to believe that any “challenging” yoga pose could really cause nausea and dizziness?
Yoga Inversions for Pregnancy
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 Once again, people ask if it’s safe. This time, it’s about inversions during pregnancy. Once again, the short answer is yes. The Lineage Yoga practices (including the physical practices) were originally developed by men for men. At first, the “rules” and precautions surrounding yoga practice for women were developed by men for women to follow. While pregnancy can be a time of great
Go Ahead. Do It!
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 Is It Safe? It’s super common for people to ask me if it’s safe to practice twisting poses during prenatal yoga. The short answer is yes. Block-Bellies I remember my own 200-hour yoga teacher training years ago. We had a memorable lesson about pregnant people in our classes. Our teacher had us stuff blocks into our tank tops over our bellies and then
Nadi Shodhana
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.
Feeding The New Family
By Guest Blogger, Kimberly Bepler, IBCLC, CPD, CLE, CNPE Who has time to make nutritious food when you have a precious new baby? Real food takes time to prepare. Newborn families have little time to spare. As a postpartum doula I love creating food for hungry and tired parents. Over the years, I’ve developed a few winning approaches to help the families I serve get nourishing food into their bellies.
The MamaSpace Yoga Method
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
Interview With Carol Gray
We hope you enjoy this interview with Carol Gray on Born to Be Breastfed. It’s about Craniosacral Therapy and breastfeeding. 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 from attending births in order to focus
Finding Your Question
By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 Finding Your Question is a process I have been introducing to groups for over 20 years. I have lead this activity with more than a thousand people – usually in small groups. I never tire of it. I guide ALL of my Craniosacral Therapy students to find their deepest questions at the beginning of any class series. It has been a daily practice
Your Village Built By You
By Guest Blogger, Olivia Spitzer We have all heard the adage, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As new parents, a big piece of your work is identifying who will be included in your child’s village. During (and even before) pregnancy, you are already thinking about which grandparents will be available to you for support. You know which friends will serve as aunties or uncles. You find a