Pregnancy Yoga: a 2 day Immersion
for Yoga Teachers, Pregnancy Yoga Teachers, Midwives, Hypnobirthers, Childbirth Educators and Doulas.
23rd & 24th March
£240


A two-day educational immersion for birth workers looking to expand their physiological and experiential knowledge of pregnancy and birth.

 

Lolly Stirk will provide this knowledge and how to communicate it through the power of specialised yoga, breath awareness and pregnancy/childbirth physiology which she has developed and studied for over four decades.

Course Content

You will learn how to teach specialised yoga perfectly designed for the pregnant body on every level. Although very much included, the physical emphasis is on posture and alignment with gravity, rather than ‘the postures.’

 

We will take a dynamic approach to the breath and introduce ‘hypnobreathing,’ a simple and innovative way into the pregnant body mind.

 

Through this practise, you will learn how to lead pregnant women into a deeper level of consciousness by lowering adrenaline levels and encouraging the oxytocin/endorphin release that eradicates fear and creates trust. This approach moves beyond conventional group work and taps women into the state most conducive for a healthy and relaxed pregnancy and prepares them for labour and birth.

 

You will learn how to introduce childbirth education both physically and intellectually into your classes. On one level this involves combining gravity assisted positions with positive, repetitive, subliminal subtle suggestions as women tune into their own instinctive movement and discover how pregnancy can reveal the true depth and sensitivity of yoga. On the intellectual level, you will learn how to describe and pass on the clever design of the pelvis and how it adapts to pregnancy, labour, and birth through the magic of hormones.

 

On another level, we will be looking at the dynamic anatomy and physiology of the pelvis and pelvic floor and learning how to work with and manage pelvic girdle pain as well as how to improve strength and balance in this area.

 

You will learn how to identify and address many of the physical complaints commonly found in pregnancy from the ground up.

Learning Outcomes

This immersion will include:

 

Active Birth – History and philosophy – Lolly is a founder member of the Active Birth Movement which was born in the 1980’s in reaction to the extreme control the medical profession was exerting over birth. Lolly will recount some stories of this exciting time and the positive effect it has had on our understanding of birthing today.

 

Hormones – Mind/Body effect – We will look at the effect of hormones and how they change the way we work with pregnant women.

 

The principles of working with rather than against the body – Pregnancy is the perfect time to harness the body’s innate intelligence. By not imposing postures we work from the inside out.

 

Creating a forum for information and communication – Part of our work is to create and hold a safe space for women to share the extreme joy and fear that comes with pregnancy. We do this in the practise by tuning them into the calm mammalian part of the brain, and in discussion by offering clear, up to date. unbiased information.

 

The use of props to enhance posture, relaxation and sleep – Yoga is by definition restorative and there is no better time than pregnancy to learn how to support women physically during this important time.

 

The environment, water and other complimentary therapies for labour and birth – As well as understanding the innate hormonal assistance that comes from within the body, we will look at the importance of the environment surrounding the birthing woman, and how this effects the hormonal release.

 

Positions for labour and birth – Freedom of movement and gravity assisted positions have been proven to make birth, more efficient, comfortable and safe. We will be looking at this in depth.

 

Optimal Foetal Positioning – Most babies find their way through the pelvis given time and patience. We will examine how we can enhance their journey by highlighting our relationship to gravity and avoiding common postural bad habits.

 

Hypnobreathing – the power of the breath in pregnancy, labour, and birth.

‘When the breath flows all the systems of your body especially your nervous system is affected leading to a healthy energised and calm pregnancy. When the breath flows, it is like the conductor of the orchestra keeping rhythm and harmony. And when the time comes to dive into the waves, you simply take the next step. You have been there, touched on it during the practise. No technique, nothing added, it unfolds and you trust and follow.’

 

We will also spend time on how to lead women into their natural breathing rhythms and how to use this in pregnancy, labour and birth.

Your Teacher

Lolly Stirk
Lolly is a pioneer in her field. She began studying yoga in 1970 and with the birth of her daughter in the 70’s she was drawn into the world of birth. Her career has spanned over four decades and has been dedicated to creating the ideal practise for labour, birth and beyond. She trained as an NCT teacher, is a qualified hypnobirther of many years and has attended hundreds of births in the capacity of Doula. As a founding member of the Active Birth Movement in 1980, she trained scores of Active Birth Teachers and campaigned for the rights of women to move freely during the births of their babies. This contributed to a global movement towards natural births which resulted in changes in policy, establishing birth centres in many major hospitals.

 

Lolly has lectured to obstetricians, midwives and midwifery students in hospitals on physiological birth and breathwork. Lolly remains and has always been grateful for the safety net of modern medicine and technology when necessary. She also believes wholeheartedly in the capacity of women to give birth ‘on their own steam’ given the right environment and education, both physical and intellectual.

Schedule

The two day immersion will include a combination of physical practise and lectures. We will start on both days at 12.30pm and end at 7.30 pm. There will be two short comfort breaks and a longer break around 5.00pm

 

As part of the course, you will be invited to sit in on two of Lolly Stirk’s online yoga in pregnancy classes on the www.mother-time.co.uk platform where she and her colleague Claire Whitman run regular pregnancy yoga, postnatal yoga classes. You will be told closer to the time how to access these.

 

The immersion will include, a recommended book and website list, the latest guidelines for teaching pregnancy yoga and many other up to date information leaflets.