Mish Mash and friends is a space where I speak to friends whose work is also with children or parents, getting the most important gems they’ve learned through their time working with young families.
Laura teaches Pregnancy Yoga and Post Natal yoga with baby massage at the Yoga Hall in the centre of St Albans. Ruth and Laura have been together as part of a team of women who hold women’s circles at the Yoga Hall for over 7 years.
Ruth: Tell me how you ended up working with babies and pregnant and post-natal mamas.
Laura: Finlay (my husband) and I set up the Yoga Hall in 2003.
When my eldest, Ottilie, was born 19 years ago, I wanted to have a baby yoga class to take her to, so I got my colleague and friend Helen to come along and run one at the Yoga Hall!
I trained 15 years ago in offering post-natal yoga and baby massage and have been running classes at The Yoga Hall ever since (Fridays 10-11.15am). It’s not common to offer the two together as they are quite separate and involved trainings. I love offering the combination, to serve both mother and baby, and to nurture the bond between them.
When my youngest daughter Agnes was the right age, Finlay would bring her to the classes whilst I taught them, until she got too old to come.
Ruth: What have you learned about babies and mums from teaching the classes?
Laura: Actually, I learned something about the order of how we care for ourselves as mothers.
My classes involve baby massage and post-natal yoga. I used to do the massage first – thinking that the babies would be more relaxed if they got what they needed first, and would allow the mums the space they needed to do the yoga. But it turned out it was the other way round:
What I’ve seen over and over is that when the mum does her yoga first she’s resourcing herself. And when she does that, something really important happens: When she touches her baby, she brings that sense of being more connected and more calm to the baby. The babies get to feel that connectedness.
You can see how that impacts the babies – I see them often ending up falling asleep because they feel so calm and supported. And that’s great, because then the mums have time to chat together and get that peer support they need to feel less alone.
It’s a positive cycle – support the mum, the mum supports the baby, the baby feels happier and the mum can get more support with the people around her.
Ruth: So it’s that piece about mums putting on their own metaphorical oxygen mask first?
Laura: Yes. For sure. I see mums and babies bonding, enjoying each other, feeling the joy of that connection, and the joy of knowing they are doing something that impacts their babies so positively.
Ruth: I’m grinning here! I know that too with my classes: how sharing a joyful experience brings us closer to our babies, and helps us see we’re having a positive impact on the life of our child! It feels good to do something meaningful and bonding together.
So much of parenting can feel like hard work (even though we’re meant to enjoy every minute of it!) So you and I are offering those babies and parents a way to put something in the tank, to feel nourished together!
Laura: Yes! We have all heard the theory that when a mum supports herself, really connects with what she needs, it leads to her baby feeling happier, and being able to receive more connection. In the Yoga Hall I get to see that happening, week on week.
It’s so common for mums to put themselves at the bottom of the list.
Ruth: And so easy to burn out!
What else would you want to share as wisdom you’ve picked up through the classes?
Laura: I often ask mums who come back to post-natal yoga with their second child, what wisdom they learned that they would want to pass on to first time mums. The thing I hear most often is: Stay connected to yourself, do what you think is right for your baby, and not what everyone tells you to do. Trust yourself and your own heart. Yoga helps people to do that!
Our Final thoughts:
Laura: I love that I get to support mums through the journey through pregnancy and beyond. This is such a huge transition and can be quite a journey for some women. When they come back from 6 weeks after the birth of their baby, they often tell me they are coming back to the space where they’d felt safe and supported. It’s so beautiful to be a part of that.
Ruth: I love that too! Seeing parents come back again and again to my classes with subsequent babies, I see them building on the beautiful memories they had bringing their other little ones to the classes. It’s beautiful to be part of what makes parents feel safe, supported, nurtured and connected. We’re so lucky to get to be a part of what makes life better for parents!
Laura: agreed!
Baby Massage and Post Natal Yoga classes happen at the Yoga Hall 10-11.15am Fridays for babies from 6 weeks old
Pregnancy Yoga happens on Wednesdays, 5:30-6:45pm and Sundays 10:30-11:45am. Tea and home-made cookies afterwards.
Yoga Hall contact details: yoga@theyogahall.co.uk, www.theyogahall.co.uk
Red Tent is a Not for Profit movement that supports women – our Red Tent runs one Saturday a month in the YH. To join the mailing list email redtentstalbans@gmail.com and/or join the Facebook Group: Red Tent St Albans.
Ruth’s baby and toddler music classes happen Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings in Verulamium Park, St Albans. Classes book termly with free trial taster sessions www.mishmashmusic.info