Join Nadia Narain for her upcoming pregnancy partners workshop on Sunday the 25th September – a fun, light and experiential class for anyone, whether it’s your first or 4th baby and whether you have little or no yoga experience. This workshop is also great for soon-to-be parents to meet other couples! Read on to find out how this session can help you and your birthing partner.
I created this workshop after many of the women from my pregnancy yoga classes gave feedback that their partners were curious about these sessions too.
Pregnancy is an interesting time, because the woman is going through the experience and the partner can often feel left out – but they, too, will have their own excitements and fears that come with being a partner in pregnancy.
Often it’s the pregnant woman that reads the books or has the ideas about how she would like the birth to be and then expects the partner to show up and know what to do, but this is rarely the case for obvious reasons. You wouldn’t show up to an exam or a marathon without preparing mentally, physically and emotionally for it.
We are blessed in this country to have the NHS and that a free birth and healthcare is available to all. However the service has limitations, which means that often the partner is left to be the consistent support as midwives change shifts and don’t necessarily stay with the mother throughout the whole labour.
Consistency of care is one of the most important elements to a pregnant woman feeling safe, supported and heard when she’s experiencing labour – creating a feeling of strength and empowerment rather than one of fear.
In this workshop, I create a space which enables couples to connect, so that there is recognition of the love growing between them and the desire to hold the space for this human to come into the world.
Just as with the pregnancy class, it’s not a class about natural births necessarily, but more on educating and informing the partners so that they, too, feel supported at this very intense and transformational time in their lives
In the session, there is often a couple that comes in and talks about their experience, or a doula that may speak of the benefits of having another set of hands there to support both of them – not taking the experience away from the partner but very much creating the space so he or she feels very much a part of it.
I got this lovely email from a woman that had her baby at UCLH birthing centre:
‘We had the most amazing birth at the UCLH birth centre. Hypnobirthing and my yoga practice really helped me deal with the early stages and when we went to hospital I was 5 cm dilated and they couldn’t believe it as I didn’t really look like someone who was contracting every 2.5 minutes. I went from 5-10 cm in a couple of hours after using the birthing pool but had to get out as contractions slowed. I then took on every active birth position like squatting, hands and knees etc. I learned in your class with my husbands and midwives help and had to push actively for 2 hours finally delivering baby while lying in the strangest position on my side with husband supporting back and my leg on midwives shoulder. I took no pain relief at all and just breathed through everything (I still can’t believe it!). I want to really thank you as your classes were amazing and really helped me prepare for and achieve this birth.’
…and I was so pleased that her partner had the confidence to help and support her on a first time birth!
Nadia Narain teaches yoga to everyone: from professional athletes, to pregnant women, to absolute beginners, adapting the practice to the individual’s needs and ability. She has been teaching since 1996 and is one of triyoga’s original and best-loved teachers, having taught there since it first opened. Nadia continually expands her knowledge of yoga and pregnancy yoga, studying with world renowned teachers and experts including Gurmukh, Cyndi Lee, Erich Schiffmann and Ina May Gaskin. Nadia also created and leads the Pregnancy Teacher Training at triyoga. Read more about Nadia at https://www.nadianarain.com.
To purchase her Pregnancy DVD click here.
Join Nadia in Camden…
pregnancy partners: a workshop for couples
sunday 25 september
book now
