I’m Amy.
And I’m a doula, hypnobirthing teacher and pregnancy and post-natal yoga specialist.
But here’s the thing you might not guess:
I think hypnobirthing is a shit name for a really great thing and as a busy mother of two young children, I am often not very zen at all.
Hypnobirthing and Antenatal classes with me are about as far from the images of vaginas opening like flowers and gory birth videos as you can get.
In fact, it was that exact misconception that had me running for the hills in my first pregnancy. I shunned classes and any form of preparation, and as for a doula – I thought that was just a person to stroke your hair, and say nice things, but isn’t that what your birth partner is for anyway?!
I thought that if I could go with the flow it would all be OK. After all, as I put on my very vague birth plan, I would just “do what the doctors told me to.”
The problem with that, as it turned out, is that just “going with the flow” doesn’t always go the way you imagine.
What I know now, is that if you want to feel relaxed and confident about your birth, you do actually need to take ownership of the decisions you make. Because outsourcing the decisions is ultimately outsourcing your agency in the most intense and transformative moment of your life.
If you’re here, reading this now, chances are you’re either pregnant, or you’ve recently had a baby.
And I’d bet my house that by now you have already received a bucket-load of unsolicited advice, comments and “in my day…..” stories.
And the people that you thought would be able to help you – the midwives, the doctors and the health visitors give you conflicting information that doesn’t make sense – if you get an answer at all.
I’m not here to add to that noise.
That’s not my style… I’m here to empower you with the knowledge you need to make your own decisions, not to tell you what to do.
I’m actually here to put the power firmly back in your hands at a point in your life where you’re probably feeling quite vulnerable and possibly quite power-less.
I’m not a midwife or obstetrician.
But knowing how the system works, but not answering to it or being a part of it, gives me freedom to tell you like it truly is.
My style of pregnancy yoga blends my birth knowledge with body biomechanics and tried and tested relaxation techniques. People love these classes so much that I have to remind them that conceiving a baby just to come back to pregnancy yoga is not a good idea.
As your doula my role is never to tell you what to do, but to support you in your choices and provide reassurance by my presence. Think of me as your birth wing-woman with the knowledge and wisdom of someone who lives and breathes this work, but without the emotional baggage of being a close loved one.
Like I said, hypnobirthing is a shit name for a complete antenatal class that not only explains how birth works, but also tackles your fears head on and prepares you to meet your baby with confidence and love.
I started my own journey into motherhood feeling a bit lost and confused.
I had assumed that once my baby was here I would easily make mum-friends and it would be an endless stream of playdates and coffee mornings. But back then, unless you wanted to go to the library for rhyme-time or the village hall playgroup, there wasn’t a lot on offer.
My shoulders were aching from all the feeding and carrying, but every class I attended was about the baby; how to encourage their development, meeting milestones, toys to entertain them.
But what about me?
I wanted more. I wanted people to talk to, something to stimulate my mind and put my body back together. It felt a bit taboo to even think this way, to actually want something in motherhood that wasn’t just for my baby.
That’s why yoga classes with me are a bit different.
If you’ve tried it before and thought it wasn’t for you, you should know my yoga style is less pan-pipe music and ommmmmmmms and more feel-good movement, laughter and really decent coffee and chat.
My classes are all about you; dropping the shoulders you have been wearing like earrings, taking some deep breaths, and finding time to talk to the other women around you. Asking the “is it normal…..?” questions.
And not a community centre, village hall or intimidating yoga studio in sight.
After many years of teaching classes in venues across Banbury and Brackley, dragging mats in and out of my car like a nomad, I finally found the perfect venue to call home for all of my classes in January 2023.
Sick of halls that were cold, double booked, noisy or with no parking, it took me a long time to find ‘the one’, but when I see people visibly relaxing as they walk through the door I know I am in the right place.
“Walking back into the barn just instantly makes me feel safe. Thanks so much for having me.”
