Prepare for the journey into parenthood together as a couple. Class includes lots of partnering yoga and meditation, and some discussion. We also cover specific yogic exercises which are useful for labor and ways of staying emotionally connected through the rigors of parenthood. Class end with a long, luxurious restorative pose.

Why do a birth rehearsal? If you want to know as a couple what to expect of normal labor, and how to engage with it, then this is probably the most practical workshop that you can take. Our birth rehearsals are not like other antenatal classes: they are a unique form of birth preparation which uses a ONE-OFF session (so you only have to come once) to ready expectant mothers and expectant fathers for labor, whether you are having a hospital birth, a water birth or a home birth.

There is a bit of theory and a lot of practice: enough theory so that you understand why it is that you do what you do in the workshop, and then a lot of practice so that you can experience it. We explore the techniques that give normal physiological labor a chance to work without intervention, doing what your body is designed to do.

The process of labor is explored in such a way that it makes sense to partners, so that instead of being scared, they can be empowered and confident that they can be useful. The workshop teaches when to be hands one, how to read the signals a laboring woman gives out, exploring pain : way it is there, and how you can utilize it to your advantage.

Traveling through labor from the first contraction to the baby’s first suckles, you learn how to move through contractions, how to rest effectively between them and how to move from one position to another, just as you would in a real labor. It’s like a ‘mock birth’. Birthing and laboring positions are covered, as well as how to deal with the unexpected.
No yoga experience is necessary. Dress comfortably- sweats or shorts and t-shirts are perfect. Bring a mat if you have one or just borrow ours.

Namaste _/\_ ♥

The double hip squeeze is a form of pressure massage that has many uses during childbirth. It can:
* relieve lower back pain;
* reposition a baby who is posterior;
* reposition a baby who is slow to descend; and/or
* reposition a baby whose head is not in an ideal position