Birth is a process of initiation.
I’m honored to be teaching this class alongside Ana Ruiz, Licensed Midwife behind Gentle Womb Birth and Avalon Alva, Prenatal Yoga Teacher of Claremont Yoga. Together, we bring a heart-centered and evidence-informed approach to this work. I also draw from my experience as a birth doula and Birthing from Within mentor to support you in preparing not just physically and mentally—but spiritually.
In addition to practical preparation, I teach the inner journey that unfolds as you cross the threshold into motherhood. This rite of passage is often missing from traditional hospital-based education, where the focus tends to remain on procedures and protocols. In our class, we make space for both: the clinical understanding and the sacred unfolding.
Whether you are planning a home birth or a hospital birth, this experience will help prepare you to walk through birth as a transformative initiation—grounded, informed, and deeply connected to your inner knowing.
What You’ll Learn
Prenatal Yoga for nervous system regulation, breathwork, mindful movement for optimal fetal positioning, and pelvic floor balancing.
Common ob/midwife tools and interventions, advocacy, and being savvy in medical birth culture
Mindful and engaging birth planning, taking back your own power, and trusting your own decision-making skills
Mindfulness, breathwork, and hypnosis for pain-coping
Optimal fetal positioning and baby’s journey through the pelvis
Building a resilient mind for handling contractions and labor’s most challenging moments.
Comfort measures and labor positions for birth and protecting labor physiology
Nutrition, low-risk strategies, and planning for unmedicated birth
Flexibility, resilience, and coping skills to reduce vulnerability to birth trauma
How to detach your sense of self-worth from medical outcomes
Staying connected with yourself, your baby, and your partner throughout the birth journey
Holistic prenatal and postpartum self-care practices from traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda and Mexican Traditional Medicine
Meet Your Instructors
Avalon V. Alva, E-RYT 200, RPYT
Prenatal Yoga Instructor, Claremont Yoga
Avalon has been actively teaching yoga for 8 years and practicing for over a decade. She has been certified by Yoga Alliance as an experienced yoga teacher (E-RYT 200) and a Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher (RPYT).
Her true passion is teaching Prenatal, Postnatal and Women’s Yoga. She has been certified by Devi Ma Yoga and has over 110 hours of training in Prenatal Yoga, Postnatal Yoga and Yoga for Labor and Delivery.
As a mother of two, Avalon has first hand experience in how prenatal yoga can transform the birthing experience. It is this deep rooted experiential knowledge that she hopes to share with others on their sacred journey into motherhood.
Gia Soto, MS, CD, CLP
Ana Ruiz, CPM, LM
Licensed Midwife and Bodyworker, Gentle Womb Birth
I bring years of hands-on experience supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, I bring real-world insight from inside the birth room.
I’ve supported countless mothers through natural and physiologic birth and understand the nuances of labor, hospital systems, and out-of-hospital birth options. My approach blends evidence-based knowledge with calm, grounded guidance so you can feel informed and confident.
Certified Doula and BfW Mentor, Corazon de Madre
Supports families through birth as a transformational life experience — not just a medical event. Her work is rooted in Ayurveda, traditional healing systems, and the philosophy of Birthing from Within.
She guides parents in building resilience, self-trust, and emotional preparedness for the unknown elements of birth. Through storytelling, embodied practice, ritual, reflection, and helps families cultivate a strong inner foundation.
Sample Syllabus
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Prenatal Yoga for Grounding
Nervous System Regulation
Breathwork
Mindfulness Practices for Challenges in Labor
Hormonal Blueprint for Labor
Protecting Birth Physiology
Journaling and Birth Art Process
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Prenatal Yoga
Optimal Fetal Positioning
Baby’s Journey through Pelvis
Stages of Labor
Comfort Measures
Labor Positions
Advancing pain coping framework
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Prenatal Yoga for Nervous System Regulation
Ob/Midwife tools aka “Interventions”
Modern Birth Culture
Advocacy Role Play
Being savy in the birth space
Patient centered vs Medical centered care
Birth Planning
Cesarean Birth/Belly Birth Process
Birth Art Process
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Prenatal Yoga for Labor Preparation
Immediate Postpartum
Newborn decisions
Motherbaby care, introducing the Dyad and the Fourth Trimester
Lactation basics
Initiation: Birth Bundle and Mother’s Circle
Initation: Father’s circle
Resources Included:
Motherboard App Access - A treasure of evidence based information to help guide your birth planning
Lactation Handbook - Kick off your journey resourced! A digital resource on all things breastfeeding and what to expect the first days home
Holistic Postpartum Recovery Guide - Have a sacred return to your body and nurture the motherbaby dyad with this wonderful resource filled with time tested and traditional knowledge on postpartum care and recovery.