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Lolly Stirk moved to London from South Africa in 1969. Upon arrival, she immediately found herself drawn into the world of yoga and psychoanalysis. She developed her yoga practice under legendary teachers such as Donna Holleman and Vanda Scaravelli, nurturing an intimate connection to her body and breath – both foundational principals of active birth.
The joyful experience of giving birth to her daughter at home is what drove Lolly to start teaching yoga to pregnant women. Hers were among the very first pregnancy yoga classes in London in the early 1980s. Lolly has since dedicated her life to helping women give birth on their own terms. She is one of the pioneers of the active birth movement, a revolution that is changing the way women give birth in this country.
In this episode of triyoga talks, Lolly shares memories from the birth of her daughter and how this powerful experience changed her life. She speaks about why pregnancy yoga should be more than modified poses and how her classes and trainings are created to enhance and support the natural changes happening during pregnancy.
Lolly also discusses reasons why nurturing a close-knit community is so valuable for new mums and mums to be. She says, “This kind of building of community, particularly in a yoga studio is an incredible thing to do. It can become a bit anonymous if they don’t get that human factor of relating to each other and seeing the other person. It’s a wonderful thing.”
Listen to our other podcasts in the ‘triyoga talks’ series here.
