Who's Afraid of the Pregnant Yogi

You may feel pretty secure with your prenatal yoga modifications now, but have you put some thought into how to teach the POSTnatal student?

After all, the postpartum body doesn’t just bounce right back as soon as that baby is born! And no matter how much new parents wish they could ‘be back to normal’ there are some big changes to consider!

Pregnancy is an obvious change- we can see the growing belly! But postpartum can be a challenge to identify in an open level class. For many people, the postpartum body can feel so much weaker and disconnected than the pregnant body.

So, how can YOU arm yourself with the tools and knowledge to serve your postnatal students and protect them from injury? Especially when your postnatal students may not fully understand that they shouldn’t just bounce back to their regular practice.

Welcome to Teaching the POSTnatal Student, where we will dive deeply into understanding the support and rehab the postnatal body and mind needs!

I’ll be honest. Even though I had been teaching postnatal yoga for many years, it was not until after the birth of my son that I had a true understanding of what it was like to live in a postnatal body.

My birth was challenging (42 hours of labor!) and my body emerged less than perfect.

My pelvic floor felt like it was down to my ankles (it really wasn’t so you can remove that image from your mind) and from the hours of pushing, my abdominal muscles were wrecked. To put it bluntly, my body felt trashed.

While I recognize I was an extreme but not totally uncommon case, many new parents still feel disconnected, weak, and fatigued after giving birth. My own recovery drove a deep desire to learn more. I worked intensely with a physical therapist and threw myself into gathering a better understanding of how to rehab the postpartum body and prevent further damage from occurring with incorrect movements and asanas.

Sadly, most yoga teachers never think to do this. And most new parents just assume this is normal.

I developed my holistic approach to postnatal yoga in order to serve the whole person.

As yoga teachers - and… not just prenatal teachers -, it is so vital to consider the whole transition from birth to postpartum. We can’t get tunnel vision.

We take the birth experience into consideration, understand the state of the abs and pelvic floor for the individual, consider the emotional component of becoming a parent and look to bring balance and stability back to the postpartum body and mind.

This is your responsibility whether you’re a postnatal specialist or not. If they’re in your class, it’s your job to take care of them.

By acknowledging all these varied aspects of the postnatal student, poses are chosen, not based on a memorized list, but by how they will impact healing, recovery, and revitalizing the new parent.

Teaching the Postnatal Student is a self-guided course built on 3 live, interactive, and experiential sessions. This is designed to allow you to learn on your own timeline!

Each phase of the program will help you confidently teach all parts of an open level yoga class. I will take you through my proven system of anatomy based modifications for the postnatal student so you have the foundation and clarity to seamlessly adjust a student in class without changing the flow of your class.

The needs of the postpartum student lie beyond just recovering from birth. Daily wears and tears of the body from carrying the new baby, feeding the baby, and lack of sleep can cause massive aches and pains. You will learn how to address these specific circumstances and offer poses that can alleviate these discomforts.

Postpartum modifications are often more subtle than those for prenatal yoga. This course will provide you with a deeper appreciation and understanding of the anatomical, physiological, and emotional changes of the postpartum student so you can fully attend to their needs.

We will assess the 7 most important areas of the postpartum body that need attention and explore ways to restore and restrengthen them. You will have the skills and knowledge to directly speak to those needs and understand why certain poses may be more appropriate than others.

Most importantly, you will walk away with the confidence to offer modifications that can best help the new parent heal from the ordeal of birth and early parenthood and not hinder their recovery.

Phase 1- Understanding the first 12 Weeks New parents go through an extraordinary and dramatic hormonal, spinal, and emotional shift during postpartum. We will explore these major changes and what asanas and considerations to incorporate when working with a new parent. This module will also include warning signs something is wrong in the postpartum healing so that you can confidently encourage your student to seek assistance!

You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of how to serve the whole person and start to help the new parent replenish and restore themselves from this massive transformation.

BONUS VIDEO: The Emotional Shift Into Parenthood with Evelyn Gama, LCSW

Phase 2- The Postpartum Pelvic Floor and Abs- It's essential to understand that there is more to rehabbing the pelvic floor than just “kegeling”. You’ll learn what diastasis is and how to check for it. You will also learn what considerations and modifications for students with ab and pelvic floor issues. We will also discuss when it is best to refer out to a physical therapist.

This module is designed to help you identify pelvic floor and abdominal issues and offer information and exercises to help resolve these common problems. Keeping within the scope of a yoga teacher, you will also learn when to refer out to a physical therapist or physician.

BONUS VIDEOS: Heal the Pelvic Floor with Lindsey Vetal and Understanding Diastasis Recti with Dr. Pamela Morrison

Teaching the POSTnatal Student also has 4 BONUS videos plus an exclusive podcast recording to help you better understand the needs of your postpartum students.

Video 1: PMADS (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders) and Matresence: the shift from “maiden to motherhood" with Evelyn Gama, LCSW
Video 2 : Trauma Aware Postpartum Yoga with Tara Tonini
Video 3: Healing the Pelvic Floor with Lindsey Vestal of The Functional Pelvis
Video 4: Understanding Diastasis Recti with Dr. Pamela Morrison
Podcast: Understanding Postpartum Hormones with Aviva Romm MD

3 live recorded workshop sessions to gain in depth knowledge to support the postnatal student and enrich your teaching skills.
Private Online Community to get knowledge, insight, and support so you can feel truly secure with your new information
Action guides to keep your studies thriving!
Confidence as a yoga teacher!
Lifetime access to Teaching the Postnatal Student with all the videos, action guides and outlines.
Continuous access to me through our Private Online Community so I can continue to answer your questions and support your growth as a teacher
4 BONUS interviews with Lindsey Vestal of The Functional Pelvis about common postpartum issues, Tara Tonini about Trauma Informed Postnatal Yoga, Evelyn Gama about Recognizing Postpartum Mood And Anxiety Disorders and Aviva Romm about Postpartum Hormones.

I have been practicing and teaching yoga for over 20 years. And I also have 3 young boys now which well acquainted me with childbirth and carrying babies! So you can imagine my surprise when I learned that the hormone relaxin stays in the body up to almost a year post pregnancy. I now know how important it is to skillfully adjust the practice for the postnatal student. I think this is so beneficial to know when working with postnatal clients.

I truly loved working with Deb because I learned so much more about the entire process of pregnancy and beyond and it really deepened my ability to teach my postnatal clients and students.

- Kristin McGee- Peloton Teacher

I would like to offer rave reviews of Deb’s course, Teaching the Postnatal Student. Previously certified by Deb as a Prenatal Yoga Teacher, I know and trust her talent as a “Teacher of Teachers”, but the additional curriculum in this course was valuable in expanding my ability to teach Yoga to new mothers as well. Prior to teaching Yoga full time, I was a Labor and Delivery Nurse for many years, becoming a Clinical Specialist and then working as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner for over two decades. As a WHNP, I provided direct postpartum care to over thousands of women. The information covered in this course both reinforces and expands the clinical and practical aspects of care and recovery in a format that is both informed and nourishing.

~Ellyn Gerry WHNP, RYT, RPYT

As a prenatal teacher I felt that my prenatal training was so thorough. I was equipped with so much knowledge. I realized that I wanted to be able to offer my postnatal students more information, more poses that facilitated where they were with their bodies, and in general a more wide understanding of how very individual that time in a womans life is (much like pregnancy). The Teaching Postnatal workshop gave me the tools to address diastasis, back issues, strength building, pelvic floor work etc. We covered the main areas to focus on in postnatal and how to build a class for someone who is 6 weeks postnatal and 6 months postnatal. I would highly recommend this course to anyone who teaches yoga, and especially those who want to support women post pregnancy.

~ Elise Arndt

I am a prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher, Lamaze childbirth educator, labor suppport doula and self proclaimed "birth and anatomy geek".

My curiosity and desire to continuously learn about pregnancy, postpartum, birth, yoga and parenthood have led to my most recent undertaking the podcast, Yoga| Birth | Babies. Giving me the pleasure of speaking with and learning from some of the yoga and birth world's most influential and respected speakers, Cyndi Lee, Tara Stiles, Penny Simkin, Gail Tully, Pam England, Dr. Sarah Buckley, Rebecca Dekker, Dr. Neel Shah and many more.

Drawing on my experience as a pre/postnatal yoga teacher, labor support doula, childbirth educator and mother, I support the postnatal person with functional yoga asana that addresses this huge transitional time in her life and body.

For the past 12 years I have had the honor of training hundreds of new prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher as they started on their journey to supporting new and expectant parents.

I look forward to working with you as you continue to enhance your teaching skills to teach to everybody who walks into yours class.

Does this course count towards Yoga Alliance Continued Education credits?

Yes, you will receive 5 CEU along with a certificate of completion of the course.

Is there a specific start date for the course?

No! This self-guided course is designed to allow you to learn on your own timeline!

What if I still have questions after our sessions are over?

You will continue to have access to me in the Teaching the Postnatal Student Facebook group. This is a place where I can continue to offer support and answer your questions as they arise.

What am I missing if I don’t have Facebook?

The online community is a great way to connect with other participants, but is absolutely not necessary. It is an added bonus to the training. Our customer service staff, and Deb, are here to support you on your journey via email if you have any questions at all.

How long will the sessions be each meeting?

The session will be approximately 60 minutes depending on the week's material and questions that may arise.

How long will I have access to the recorded sessions?

You will have lifetime access to the password protected website with all 3 videos, bonus vidoes and podcast, the outline for each session and the action guide. You can continue to return to the material to review over and over again.

Teaching the Postnatal Student

Gain the essential tools you need to support the postnatal student in your class

Teaching the Postnatal Student

You may feel pretty secure with your prenatal yoga modifications now, but have you put some thought into how to teach the POSTnatal student?

After all, the postpartum body doesn’t just bounce right back as soon as that baby is born! And no matter how much new parents wish they could ‘be back to normal’ there are some big changes to consider!

Pregnancy is an obvious change- we can see the growing belly! But postpartum can be a challenge to identify in an open level class. For many people, the postpartum body can feel so much weaker and disconnected than the pregnant body.

So, how can YOU arm yourself with the tools and knowledge to serve your postnatal students and protect them from injury? Especially when your postnatal students may not fully understand that they shouldn’t just bounce back to their regular practice.

Welcome to Teaching the POSTnatal Student, where we will dive deeply into understanding the support and rehab the postnatal body and mind needs!

The Course

My Approach:

Teaching the Postnatal Student

What You'll do Inside Teaching the Postnatal STudent:

Course Breakdown

BONUS!

What's Included

What Our Graduates Have To Say:

Meet Your Teacher:

Hi, I’m Deb Flashenberg

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a Question?

Email us: info@prenatalyogacenter.com