Birth Partner Workshop

With the belief that creating positive birthing experiences for women and their families is important for a thriving community, my husband Bradlee and I offer a fun and informative workshop to share beneficial tools that will guide you through a healthful pregnancy, inspired birth, and prepared post-partum period.  We weave in techniques used during our 3 natural child births that are drawn from yoga, massage, TCM, and role playing.  We have no agenda beyond helping you discover your ideal birthing experience and how to manifest it.  Ideal for any stage of pregnancy.  I am grateful for kind students who have shared what they got out of the class we teach.  

Jenna from Yelp! ..."I also took a workshop with my husband for expecting couples to help them through Labor & Delivery.  My husband is very supportive but has almost no yoga experience.  Jennifer and Bradlee made him comfortable and validated his role as labor coach with various supportive positions and massage techniques.  We left the workshop feeling much more prepared and confident for the upcoming birth of our first baby.  The techniques we learned in this class seem more useful than any of the birth prep classes we sat through or books we've read."

Emily from Yelp! ... Because of these classes, I feel ready and excited about labor.  I also attended one of their labor workshops one weekend, which was very empowering and positive; a different viewpoint then the classes I am taking through the hospital;  I definitely recommend! 

Pregnant with our 1st circa 2009

HIPMamaYoga Teacher Training

Empower Women to have positive birthing experiences.
No yoga experience required.
If you work with women; doula, midwife, acupuncturist, chiropractor, holistic health practitioner, psychologist, fitness professional etc... this training is for you!
Join me on a journey of positive energy and continuing education.  Contact me for further details.

Breastfeeding

Mama's Milk

This post is dedicated to last August in honor of National Breastfeeding month.  I was so busy doing it I ran out of time to blog about it!!!  Breastfeeding is one of my all time favorite activities, I love it, find it super cozy and very special.  I feel lucky that breastfeeding came easy for me with all three of our babes.  When I'm nursing, the rush of feel good hormones (oxytocin) sometimes causes me to let out a giddy little laugh, because I feel such a deep plug into the cosmic love that rushes through me and into my baby.  This significant cuddle time is a highlight of my day, which is great because I have been nursing for almost 5 years straight!  To be honest, I did not realize that it was possible but yup, I breastfed through my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies.  I have been pregnant or nursing since 2008.  The body is magic, it intuitively supports you and your baby, I never cease to be amazed by the marvelous nature of our bodies, we are so rad!  As a mama there are times I feel a bit frumpy and run down, soaked in sticky sweet milk and it really helps to have attractive under garments.  Word from the frontline, invest in a pretty nursing bra, to help you get through those dowdy days.  Three of my favorite companies that make high quality and beautiful bras are
Bravado! http://www.bravadodesigns.com
 Le Mystere http://www.lemystere.com
 and You! Lingerie http://www.you-lingerie.com
  With all the exclamation points in brand names you can see I am not the only one excited about these lines of intimate apparel.
Every mama has to decide what is the best for her and her baby when it comes to feeding.  If you are experiencing some challenges and have the desire to breastfeed seek help through support groups and lactation consultants.  Try to stick with nursing to see if it can become an enjoyable part of your mama world.  I wish you all the support and understanding you need to feel confident and comfortable in your decisions, whatever they may be. 

I'm Back...

I can hardly believe my newborn is now 7 months old and that I have not been to this blog since ahem..
July!
I am back from my "maternity leave" and ready to share, the Full Moon on Wednesday stirred my soul and I tried all day yesterday to access this blog but I had 2 accounts and mixed up passwords!  Pregnancy brain and postpartum multi-tasking in full effect!!  Well peeps, cheers to a full plate and the joyful chaos of being dedicated to doing too many things at once.  Why I love yoga so much?  Because it is the time in my day when I am required to be present, still, mindful, and am allowed to be engaged with a beautiful dance of my body, breath, and spirit.  Om Shanti

Om Namah Shivaya

Practice yoga with your baby! 

Ohana and I will be teaching this class which focuses on helping mama
get back in shape physically and mentally. 

Babies will be indulged with infant massage and incorporated
into some of the asanas, when they're not sleeping! 

You will get used to feeling your body as a vital and powerful stream
that supports your family while enjoying taking care of YOU!! 
Be prepared to sweat and feel great. 

Rest, feed and diaper as needed : )

Use link below for registration.

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/home.asp?studioid=26858

Birth Story

3rd Time is a Charm

Our 3rd Baby arrived 10 days early after 3 glorious, powerful pushes, she left my body and entered the warm water of the birthing tub.  I loved giving birth to our daughter!!!  The Perfect Grand Finale.

I was 38 weeks and feeling subtle surges, some shifting discomfort in my pelvis, I knew the time was near but accepted that near could be 2 or 4 more weeks.  We had an active Saturday, morning yoga classes, a birthday party for a 2 year old friend, and a dinner with a mixed group of adults and children in the evening.

That night maybe around midnight I went on a bathroom trip and got a sudden rush of shakes, hormone shakes, they occur sometime in labor you might be hot but get sudden bursts of shivver shakes.  I climbed back in bed cuddled up next to my husband and knew something was starting to happen.  Around 3am I started timing the contractions, they were very consistently 10 mins apart.  Getting into the 4 o clock hour I woke Bradlee and said we have to call the Birth Center and my Mom in AZ, the baby is coming today.  He was very tired and asked me if I wanted to go back to bed and wait until the morning, NO!  The Baby is Coming!!!  The Birth Center told me to call back when contractions were 7 minutes apart and my mom booked the first flight of the morning, she would arrive at 8a.m.  I continued to breath through the contractions, taking rest in bed between them.

The kids had woken at some point and everyone was now in our bed.  At 7a.m. I decided to get up and shower thinking we could pick my mom up and drop her and the kids to get a rental car before heading to the Birth Center (always multi-tasking I am).  Once I was up moving and got in the shower, boom the surges were closer and stronger, 3 mins apart, 4, 5, I wasn't sure but they were right on top of each other.  I found great comfort in chanting the vibrations of the chakras, this really allowed me to relax and surrender into the passing waves.  I got out of the shower and decided a nutritious smoothie would be a good idea.  Surges still coming fast, took one drink of smoothie, had to throw up.  At this point my husband and 2 year old son had gotten up and were pressing on my low back and encouraging me with loving words.  Soon after my mom had landed but I knew we did not have time to pick her up, we had to get going, our baby was near.

Our dear friend came to be with the kids while they waited for grandma to get a rental car then pick them up to join us.  I had called the Birth Center and told them we were heading in, we arrived around 9:30a.m. and our daughter was born at 10:07a.m.  The easiest of my 3 babies, the smallest, the earliest.
I felt so amazed and empowered by the whole experience.  Such joy, love, and connection to a Greater Power, mystical, magical, mama energy.  I was in slight shock after the 2nd push when they told me the   head was out and that with 1 more push our baby would be out.  I felt strong, intuitive, and so happy I wasn't exhausted by hours of labor.

Having a newborn in the house is such a delight!  We are all so in Love with her.  I can watch her for hours, amazed that she was alive inside of me and now here she is looking around her new world.  Our family has been very blessed with an outpouring of support in the form of meals, gifts, time, and friendship.  We are deeply grateful to everyone that has contributed to the health and happiness of our growing family and made it possible for me to the recovery time needed and the bonding time we are enjoying.

The Perineum & The Placenta

37 Weeks!!!

I know our Love Child will come soon, I can feel my bones starting to shift and my body wants to slow down.  Within the next few weeks we will have a new Baby in our home.  So delightfully exciting!

I am preparing myself the best I know how and that involves my perineum and my placenta.  Perineal massage worked for me with our first 2 children, no rips or tearing, thank goodness!   Karin Rose, a mother and "kitchen witch" blends an amazing almond oil, solar infused with calendula, chamomile and rose petals, created just for the sensitive yet powerful massage that can help your baby pass through you while you stay intact.  A dear friend of mine, Joanna Papatsani of Golden Wings Wellness, gifted me a coconut oil blend infused with essential oils for perenium massage and stress relief. I have been using them both, starting around 34-35 weeks to allow ample time to make sure the delicate tissue is as supple as possible.  Massaging yourself is a great alternative to a painful tear or episiotomy that can leave uncomfortable scar tissue.  During labor make sure you have your doctor/ midwife/ or birth partner help you with this and remember you can use any edible oil including castor oil.  You do not need a fancy infusion, but it is a nice treat if you have the option and you can make your own blend.

Along with taking care of my body I know first hand how important it is to take care of my mental well-being.  I had post-partum anxiety with our 2nd, which was really awkward for me as a "yoga teacher".  Honestly I had never experienced anxiety before and it really took me for surprise and on an unpleasant journey.  I loved my baby boy from the moment I delivered him but I was grumpy and irritable with my husband and 2 year old daughter.  I felt weird, something was off.  Finally with the help of acupuncture and positive life-coaching I was able to ground and find peace.  I plan to avoid that huge hormonal crash this time by having my placenta encapsulated.  In fact I plan to take a little piece and make a placenta smoothie to really boost the positive hormone balancing effects.  Sometimes I hear or read comments that express encapsulating your placenta as yucky or gross.  For me being an un-fun, moody, wigged out, mama is yucky and gross.  If ingesting my placenta like most land mammals do can avoid a mood disorder, sign me up!  My go to girl for placenta encapsulation in the San Diego area is Trisha Olow at Zoe Bella Birth Service, check her out http://zoebellabirth.com

With a Belly full of Love,

Jen