It’s been so great to partner with Ivory this month! Today she’s sharing the benefits of prenatal yoga and the community aspect. Being pregnant during a pandemic is the pits. That’s news to no one and Ivory lived that first-hand. Read below to see a big reason why she’s excited to offer her prenatal yoga series and cultivate a powerful community network in the process. (The series kicked off last night, but you can still sign up! You’d greatly benefit from the remaining six classes in the series or you can drop in for a session or two that fits into your schedule.)

When cultivating the flow and intention behind my prenatal yoga series, I really wanted to emphasize the value and power of community care throughout one's pregnancy journey. This intention was inspired by my own pregnancy and something I felt was missing. 

As someone who was pregnant during the height of the pandemic in 2021, I really felt like the aspect of community support was missing. Not only was I required to attend all of my doctor's appointments alone, many of my "community" experiences were virtual. Including my experience taking prenatal yoga. While I'm grateful that was the case due to the uncertainty of the times, I felt a strong desire to connect with other humans navigating the birth experience in a way that invited authenticity, warmth and reflective inquiry. I wanted to feel assured that the mixed emotions as well as the aches and pains I was feeling in my body was the norm for many pregnant people rather than the exception. I wanted to experience more than the physical benefits of my yoga practice on my pregnant body, I wanted to also experience the sense of belonging, support and safety that offered genuine community care. A practice rooted in cultivating a deeper connection to self and to the village of beings around me. 

So as I began to reimagine the possibilities of a prenatal yoga class that met those needs, I prioritized cultivating this space for my current prenatal series, Nurture. Through this series, community with self and others is emphasized through meditative inquiry, reflective dialogue, journaling and asana movement setup in a U shape facing one another. The class capacity is also intimate (maxed out at 10 people) to more easily foster community-building. After witnessing new relationships being formed after the first class yesterday + feedback received, it is clear that I was not the only one who desired a welcoming community-centered space. Over the next 7 weeks, I look forward to not only witnessing the growth + new tools folks learn from this course on how to regulate their emotions and ease their aching bodies, but also to the power of community and how the group inspires one another to better receive care. Something that many women and birthing parents are still learning today.