Listen on:

In today’s podcast I talk to Sarah Hanks a yoga teacher with a special interest in supporting women, particularly during pregnancy and postnatally.

We talked about…

what sort of exercise is (and is not!) suitable during the postnatal period
how becoming a mother encourages a softer, more feminine side, that is no less powerful than the masculine side
how fathers change when they become parents
the role of breathing in calming the nervous system
how to choose a postnatal yoga class
what self-care means and whether it’s useful for mums as a concept

Sarah was actually my brilliant yoga teacher when I was pregnant, and I went to her Mummy and Me classes afterwards with my son too. I actually still sing many of the songs to him that Sarah taught us in class!

I loved this class because unlike most other yoga classes I’d ever been to, I formed bonds and friendship with many of the women in the class. It was the only class I’d ever really stuck to properly, and so many of the other mums in the class kept up the class after we’d all given birth too.

Sarah talked a lot about how our bodies change during and after pregnancy, and how it can take quite some time to physically heal from birth, in particular the pelvic floor, and its role in stress incontinence.

When I asked Sarah about self-care she talked about her difficult relationship with the concept as she sees it as a commercialisation of a basic human need, and just another way to beat up a new mother - on top of all the other things a mother is supposed to do, so also has to look after herself. We need to be honest and realistic - it is entirely normal for the pendulum to swing towards the baby. It’s everyone else’s job to look after the mother!

We had both read the book What Mothers Do - a gorgeous discourse of how internal productive being a mother is, a reminder that the reason new mums find themselves unable to do much around the house is because they are far too busy doing the very busy work of feeding and growing our baby.

We covered so much in the time we had, and ended up talking more than just yoga. I love this sort of episode, and I hope you love listening to it too.

Find Sarah: Website | Sunflower Centre | Instagram

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Postnatal Yoga with Sarah Hanks