Yoga | Birth | Babies

Today we have one of my favorite type of episodes, a community birth story. Truly one of my favorite things is hearing the experience of someone going over the threshold into parenthood. I got to know my guest for today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies Sophie Stalton, through 2 pregnancies. Her first as she crossed that threshold into parenthood and then coming back, seeing how she’s a different person and how she’s now navigating her 2nd pregnancy. At PYC we’ve had that honor for so many people, second, third, fourth, sometimes even fifth and sixth pregnancies. It’s incredible watching how that person continues to evolve so it’s really wonderful having Sophie back.  One really special thing that we talk about, people often say to me “How far can I practice prenatal yoga in my pregnancy?” and I say as long as you want. Something that happened during Sophie’s first pregnancy, I got an email in the morning right before I was about to teach one of my 10am classes, and she said “My water broke, can I come to clas

If you’re pregnant you may find yourself scrolling through Tik Tok or instagram, happening upon a video or post and thinking “I want my birth to look like that.” Whether you’re thinking about the music you’d like to hear during birth or figuring out what type of pain management you’d like these preferences are often referred to as a birth plan.  In today’s episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies we’re going to talk about birth plans or maybe you want to call them birth preferences or fluid birth ideas (my guest Liesel and I say fluid birth plans a lot!). To have this conversation, I invited Liesel Teen RN and founder of Mommy Labor Nurse on the podcast. It was such a fun conversation. Liesel covers so much practical and helpful information! From how to make a birth plan, when to make a birth plan, the concept of a fluid birth plan, to how to work with the hospital and nursing staff from presenting your birth plans to supporting you throughout your birth experience. You might have thought birth plans are only for vag

Mothers are everywhere, in every country all over the world. While our cultures might be different, I wondered if the lessons we impart on our children were similarly different or actually rather similar.  To answer this question, I have Ana Tajder as my guest on Yoga| Birth| Babies today. Ana is an award winning international journalist, author, and host of Thank You Mama, a podcast in which she interviews women from all around the world about the most important lessons they learned from their mothers. I will say I had the honor to be a guest on her podcast. She has interviewed over 100 parents so a lot of today’s conversation comes from her experience as a journalist and speaking with all of these people on her podcast. Additionally Ana has lived in multiple countries and has a very international family.  It was really a lovely conversation, we dive into what some of the universal lessons and traits of parenting from different cultures, some of the biggest differences, as well as her own experience living i

It’s not uncommon for partners to feel uncertain, out of place, or even helpless during pregnancy and birth. This can lead to misunderstandings in our relationships, from thinking our partner doesn’t want to be involved or isn’t excited about the baby. More often than not, this isn’ true. What’s true for many partners is that they just aren’t sure what their role is, how they can help, and they often deeply undervalue the importance of their presence.  In today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies we’re going to talk about how partners can help support during pregnancy and birth. To have this conversation, I invited Ben and Jessica Lagrone, a husband and wife team and co-founders of Balanced Families. It’s a fantastic conversation. Ben and Jessica give amazing takeaways about how to be involved in pregnancy and the actual birth. We also talk about the feelings of helplessness and fear partners may experience. You’re going to walk away with solid information and tools so that you and your partner can be prepared m

Maybe this has happened to you, you’re late in your pregnancy (or you just had a baby), you walk into a room and think, why did I even come in here? Or possibly you’ve walked out the door with two different shoes on (no, not the left and right but different pairs of shoes). Instances like this are often attributed to “Mommy Brain”. No, you haven’ lost intelligence, but yes there can be a little forgetfulness. However Mommy Brain is actually a super power! Instead of thinking about it in the negative, let’s look at some of the amazing things Mommy Brain can do. To learn about our superpowers, I’ve brought Dr. Jodi Pawluski a behavioral neuroscientist and therapist onto Yoga| Birth| Babies today. Jodi and I have a really great conversation about what’s happening with the brain late in pregnancy, after baby, the environment that we’re dealing with, the chaos, as well as the impact of having a baby and parenting decades later. Once a parent, always a parent. I think you’re really going to enjoy this conversation

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while you know I love the community birth stories, so that’s what we have today. We have one of our community members sharing her birth story.   In this episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I am delighted to chat with Anna Greenberg. Not only is she a member of our community having gone through her pregnancy with us but she also did our teacher training back in 2020.    Anna has been teaching yoga and meditation in New York City for the past twelve years (including pre and postnatal for the past few), she’s been a staple in the Peloton teaching team for the past four years.   I’m very picky about whose classes I take and she absolutely is up there! She offers wonderful information and I just love taking her class.   Now before she had her baby, while she was pregnant, I asked if she would she come on the podcast and share her birth story, she said absolutely. Then as she was getting closer to her birth there was some turbulence. Please note there is mention of stillbir

Today’s episode is a bit of a departure from what we typically talk about, pregnancy, birth, lactation, and interventions. Today we’re talking about what your astrological chart can tell you about yourself, your parenting, and your child. I found this conversation fascinating, I love astrology, I think it’s really interesting. Both my kids as a gift were given their birth charts and my mom had me have my birth chart done when I graduated the conservatory, so it’s something that I always have in the back of my mind, so when it was presented to me that I could interview someone about natal charts and parenting I jumped on it.  To have this conversation on Yoga| Birth| Babies I spoke with Tara Vogel, a certified parenting astrologer helping us learn about how we can stay connected with our kids and ourselves using astrology. I think you’re going to have a really fun time listening to this episode. While you likely know your baby’s sun sign, this episode may inspire you to start to look at what your child’s char

Are you working with a doula for your birth? If you are or you’re curious about hiring one, what do you expect from a labor support doula? Today on Yoga| Birth| Babies I welcome back my friend, my mentor, my doula, Terry Richmond. This is her fourth episode, clearly I enjoy talking with her. In today’s episode Terry and I talk about what you should expect from your doula and how the role of doula has changed in recent times. Terry has been a doula and childbirth educator for over twenty years. She has seen the landscape of birth change, hospital protocols change, and the birth culture. This all has led to a shift in the role and expectations of the doula. We’re going pretty deep into what shifts she’s observed, how she’s adapted, how she’s seen others adapt. It’s a really fun and interesting conversation. I think this is going to benefit both those that are pregnant as well as birth workers. Terry has some really wonderful insight that I’m very excited for you to hear. Get the most out of each episode by c

What can you do if labor seems to be, well, stuck? Most birthing people I know (including myself) want to move labor along! So how can we help that happen and avoid “stalled” labor?  On today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies doula and exercise physiologist Lindsey McCoy, gives us tools and tips to help balance the body, help baby find space, and to help baby move seamlessly through the pelvis so that labor doesn’t stall. Lindsey shares things we can do prenatally to prepare our body for birth as well as tools that you can take into your labor. She also talks about common signs parents can see that birth is a little delayed and how we can start to make room for baby and to rebalance the body. This conversation is packed full of information that can give you confidence heading into your birth. When you feel confident, you can more easily roll with your labor and any obstacles that may occur. I’m really excited for you to hear this conversation. Get the most out of each episode by checking out the show notes w

Today we’re talking about something very near and dear to my heart. We’re talking about how you take parental leave when you’re a small business owner or an entrepreneur. Crossing the threshold into parenthood is a huge emotional as well as physical experience. If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur, it is a huge responsibility to shoulder that business and help it continue to move forward even as you are becoming a parent. So how do you have one foot in keeping your business going and one giant foot investing in being a new parent?  To have this conversation I welcomed Arianna Taboada founder of The Expecting Entrepreneur onto Yoga| Birth| Babies. She tells us how we can set ourselves up for parental leave as a small business owner. It’s a really great conversation and she gives very concrete tools for those that will be facing having a baby while still shouldering the responsibility of owning a business. Get the most out of each episode by checking out the show notes with links, resources and ot

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while you know that anytime I can talk about the pelvic floor, it puts a smile on my face. Today’s conversation does exactly that. We’re talking about pelvic organ prolapse and the role the pelvic floor plays in supporting those organs or maybe not supporting those organs so well.  To have this conversation, I welcomed Jeanice Mitchell to Yoga| Birth| Babies. She’s a physical therapist with advanced training and certifications in women’s health, biofeedback, and pelvic health and founder of the popular instagram @mypelvicfloormuscles and nonprofit myPFM.  Jeanice has the best enthusiasm for this topic! She goes over so much information about what pelvic organ prolapse is and makes it so understandable. You’re going to be shocked to find out how prevalent pelvic organ prolapse is. We talk about the symptoms, go over how to check for it, how to talk to your care provider about it, what rehab and the healing process are like, as well as things that might worsen prola

Today we’re talking about Spinning Babies® and Birthing from Within®, two of my favorite birth methodologies. I’m currently doing my parent educator certification with Spinning Babies® and several years ago I embarked on the Birthing from Within® mentor program so they’re both near and dear to my heart. I truly believe in these two methodologies. To discuss how we can use these two seemingly different methodologies that actually have a lot of underlying similarities as we approach childbirth education and how parents can use a lot of this thinking a lot of these principles and apply it to their birth I invited doula, bodyworker, and educator Jamie Mossay onto Yoga| Birth| Babies. It’s really exciting how process focused instead of outcome focused these two methodologies are so Jamie has a lot to say about this and I’m really excited for you to hear it.  Jamie is a delight to talk to, she has such in depth knowledge about both these methodologies and how they can serve and support you as a pregnant person but

Today on Yoga| Birth| Babies we have a birth story. I love our community birth stories but there are two things I particularly love about this birth story. One being that I got to know Ali quite well in PYC’s prenatal yoga teacher training. She also came to classes online through her second pregnancy. It means so much to me when I get to know people and watch their journey through pregnancy and into parenthood, it’s particularly special when I can hear their birth story.  Ali’s birth story is absolutely beautiful. As I was listening my mouth was agape, I just couldn’t get enough of hearing it. It was a peaceful, confident birth where she used mantras that we often talk about in class like “I trust my body, I trust my baby.” It is so important to find that inner trust during birth. She also used one of the other mantras we often say in classes and that’s “Squeeze knees, birth with ease.” The relationship Ali had with her midwife and how her midwife held space for her was just stunning. I’m really excited for y

Where will you be giving birth? Did you know there are options? Today we’re going to be talking about where to give birth, because if you don’t know your options, you don’t have them. From hospital births, to birth centers, and home births these different locations all have pros and cons and honestly, not everyone is a good candidate for all of these places. What’s important is that you find the place you’re drawn to and a place that will support you and your vision of where to give birth.  To have this conversation on today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies, I have my friend, labor support doula, and childbirth educator Catherine Stewart Lindley. She has attended thousands of births in the last 20 years and is very passionate about supporting unique and personalized care for each family. I love speaking with Catherine, she has her facts, years of experience in a truly wide variety of births and birth locations, and she’s really wonderful. I think our conversation will be helpful for people who aren’t quite su

If you could choose between a functional efficient labor or a dysfunctional and inefficient labor I’m guessing you would choose functional and efficient labor. I have been to many births as a doula and I’ve had 2 kids of my own. While the body may need time to open to let the baby descend and rotate, it can be a lot on the parents and support team to go through the experience of a long labor.  Today on Yoga| Birth| Babies I have midwife Gail Tully of Spinning Babies back on the podcast. This is her 3rd episode with us and I have to say I absolutely adore speaking with Gail. Today, we talk about how to use Spinning Babies for a smoother, more balanced, more efficient birth. Gail offers us techniques and methodologies to help babies navigate more seamlessly through the pelvis. She talks a lot about the different parts of the pelvis and different techniques to utilize to help the baby through, depending on where the baby is in the pelvis.  You’re going to get so much out of this conversation, Gail’s a delight

For many sex is a very different experience while pregnant and newly postpartum. From wondering if you might hurt your baby to the physical discomfort one may experience, a lot of questions come to mind. Today we’re going to talk about sex during pregnancy and after baby. I gathered some of the students together from the prenatal and postnatal classes and asked what their questions were. Questions I heard included: concerns about sex during pregnancy and will it hurt the baby? If the vagina changes forever after birth? How postpartum hormones change sex? And what can you do if sex hurts? So, to have this conversation I invited Dr. Sabrina Baxter, a doctor of physical therapy specializing in Pelvic Floor dysfunction onto this week’s episode of Yoga | Birth | Babies. I love that she talks about individualized treatment because while we’re answering these questions in somewhat broad strokes it is such an individualized experience what is going on with your body. I hope this just gives you some insight into your

Today I have a unique podcast episode for you. I’m calling it birth not required. Many times people make the assumption that unless you’ve had a baby you should not be supporting pregnant folks. They wonder how someone could possibly relate to what a person feels when they’re going through birth. Personally, I had Prenatal Yoga Center for many years before I had my first child. I was a labor support doula, prenatal yoga teacher, and a lamaze teacher. Sometimes people would say to me “but you’re not going to understand what I’m going through.” And it was true. I might not have had their experience or know exactly what they were going through. However, even after I had two kids, I could only relate to what my experience was which may not be what they will experience.  For today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I have Jessica Lorion the host of Mamas In Training Podcast. Jessica has not had her own kids yet and she’s very much a mama in training. She’s learning about all the options that she’s excited to perhaps

Today we have one of my favorite kinds of podcast episodes, we have a community birth story. I love hearing from the community and hearing your birth stories. Today’s story is special for a few reasons. A big reason I wanted to share this story is that it’s about an amazing and empowering hospital birth. Many times when we think about hospital births, we think that you have to come in super defensive, have your walls up, and be ready to fight for your choices. But today’s guest Arlynn shares that for her, that was not the case.  In today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I speak with new mother and prenatal yoga teacher Arlynn Villanueva. I had the pleasure of getting to know Arlynn in my prenatal yoga teacher training and then again a few years later in prenatal yoga classes. Between prenatal yoga teacher training, prenatal yoga classes, and Arlynn’s preparations for birth, it’s safe to say went into her birth with a lot of education. This led to her opening discussion with her care provider early on in pregn

What is Fertility Awareness Method also known as FAM? Well, it’s a method you can use to help you know the window in which you can conceive or the window in which if you don’t want to conceive you can abstain. There’s so much more to it. I’m just giving you the tip of the iceberg. And I have to say in full disclosure, that years ago when I was getting pregnant with my first child I used a book called Taking Charge of Your Fertility which is very similar to the FAM method. I found it really really helpful so that I could better understand my body. As a yoga teacher, I appreciate learning to listen and really explore what’s happening in my body. This methodology gives you insight into your body in a very deep way. I think you’re going to enjoy that.  To talk about FAM, I invited Chloe Skerlak, Holistic Reproductive Health Practitioner and Full Spectrum Fertility Awareness Educator to join me on today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies. She has some really great information. We talk all about cervical fluid and th

Taking medication while breastfeeding, even taking something as common as Tylenol can be controversial. So what about parents on or who need to start taking medicine like Zoloft, Prozac or other psychotropic medications? Is it safe for both parent and new baby? Today we’re going to talk all about postpartum anxiety and postpartum depression medication and breastfeeding. There are lots of thoughts, stigmas, and fears about this, so I wanted to get to the bottom of breastfeeding your child while taking any sort of mood stabilizing medication.  In today’s episode of Yoga| Birth| Babies I invited Heather ONeal and Maureen Farrel both midwives, lactation professionals, and hosts of an amazing podcast called The Milk Minute (which I am so excited that I got to be on, so make sure you listen to that)! These ladies have so much amazing information and we get into the nitty gritty. They talk about different types of medication, more popular brands for perinatal folks, how these medicines come into breastmilk, and all