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B4Birth Classes and SOMAttune Movement Lessons

Baby Bump Services / For Expectant Parents / B4Birth Classes and SOMAttune Movement Lessons

B4Birth! Balanced Body/Balanced Bump 

“Kyndal knows how to support the pregnant body to find stability, mobility and resilience. She will help you prepare for a more functional pregnancy by showing you how to create balance in your body to have more comfortable pregnancy, a more efficient birth and recovery and a more empowering experience overall.”

This class is designed to introduce you to the biomechanics of normal physiologic labor and birth in a casual, experiential exploration of your own body’s current biomechanics and how chronic patterns can impact your birth.

We’ll focus on how babies navigate the pelvis while also exploring how tension patterns elsewhere in our body can impact the position of our pelvis, the tone of our muscles in and around it and how that tissue tone affects the baby’s ability to move in, through and out of the pelvis. You’ll learn movements that can help open your pelvis in all directions. In addition for chronic patterns, we’ll explore moving meditations that help your nervous system lay down new neuro-pathways for new movement options.

While our focus is on our bodies, we’ll also be exploring sensory awareness and body mapping as a meditative, nervous system regulating tool that can help in labor and birth as well as in the postpartum period.

B4Birth (Balanced Body / Balanced Bump)  is offered as a group class or one-on-one assessment. DOWNLOAD Brochure

“I’m still amazed at how much pain improvement there’s been in my hip after just one session with you! I wasn’t expecting this much relief! And this morning I noticed a significant decrease in my hip pain. The most relief I’ve had since giving birth. I’m hoping it will last until my next session with you because it’s so amazing to walk without so much pain.”  Karlyn Haas, mother of 4

“My body feels the best it has felt in a few months and that is with regular exercise 4 mornings this week!” – Rachel Mast, CPM

“My low back has had such relief since our last appointment. I have been conscious of how to hold or tip (my pelvis) when I feel my low back is strained.”
– Abigail B

“Thanks for checking in! I was just telling Tim today that this is the first day without back pain in months and I can actually lean down/sit down and get back up. I am so shocked and feel amazing, Thank you so much! I’m excited to keep practicing what I learned yesterday.”  – Hannah M

“The knowledge and awareness I’ve gained in working with Kyndal has both supported me on my healing journey as well as made me a better therapist.”
– Laurie Appel, Owner, The Lotus Tree

It was the most interesting thing – the day after, it felt like my pelvis was “awakened”? I don’t know how else to describe it, but I would feel it moving subtly throughout the day…it was as if it was adjusting to my daily motion but without me thinking it about it. It seemed “unstuck” and freely moving!”
– Olivia Edvalson, NP

“I felt I had more capacity for my inhale and what I can take in. I need more capacity, and then I need to be rooted to handle that. So, I felt super grateful. I have a lot ahead of me today – a lot of emotional and intellectual and things. And this was the increase of capacity that I needed to know that I have a firm base to carry it.” – Leigh Short, RN

CLASS DATES and TIMES CLICK HERE

B4Birth is informed by my 30+ years as a licensed massage therapist/bodyworker and somatic movement educator, 27 years as a birth professional and my early years as a fitness instructor.
It is infused with information I have learned and used in my practice from the following:

First and foremost:
The Feldenkrais Method

Katy Bowman and Nutritious Movement

Cranio Sacral Therapy
Spinning Babies,
Body Ready Method Certified BRM Active Pro
Dynamic Body Balancing
Body Mind Centering

SOMAttune Sessions

Kyndal creates a safe, comfortable space for pregnant – and non-pregnant – folks to find and receive the support your nervous system needs. Through specific sensory inquiry and movement, you’ll identify patterns of tension that may contribute to discomfort, pain and, if you are pregnant, a more difficult birth process. Through movement and therapeutic touch, possibility emerges and healing happens in both expected and unexpected ways.

Her specialty is a blend of somatic movement/experiential learning that not only addresses discomfort directly but also considers the whole body system and structure to discover what might be an underlying issue of lack of support leading to tension patterns and sense of instability both mentally and physically.

To schedule an appointment contact Kyndal at:
kyndalmaydoula@gmail.com 

 

 

Birth Story Support – healing from traumatic birth experiences

If you are feeling unresolved about a previous birth or are experiencing worry or anxiety about a subsequent pregnancy and birth, Birth Story Support may help.

In a safe, non-judgmental space you’ll be heard, understood and acknowledged as you remember, re-tell and eventually reclaim your birth story.

Women experience birth trauma for many different reasons. Despite the best efforts at preparation, birth can feel overwhelming. While birth can appear normal to others who were present, research confirms that many mothers describe their births as traumatic. This may be because it isn’t always the most dramatic events that generate birth trauma, but the more common factors so often experienced that lead to overwhelming emotion and sense of loss of control.

Common possible factors are:

A long labor or a very rapid painful birth
Feelings of loss of control
Poor pain relief
Lack of information, communication
Sudden or unanticipated events
Emergency delivery
Fear for your own or your baby’s safety
Baby in NICU
Poor postpartum support

Understanding the complex feelings you might be having can be difficult for family and friends, however, without the opportunity to process your birth completely you may experience mental and emotional distress that can affect many areas of your life and may cause increased anxiety in subsequent pregnancies and births.

As a certified birth doula, doula trainer and childbirth educator I have 23 years experience working with expectant and new parents. I have heard so many birth stories, but there are those stories that need a special kind of listening in a very safe space.

I designed Birth Story Support to help parents process an overwhelming birth experience in a way that does not re-traumatize but instead promotes healing, a sense of personal agency and forward motion.

What parents are saying about Birth Story Support:

“After 5 months of mostly avoiding thinking about my daughter’s birth and time in the NICU; my memories and emotions came to the surface and demanded attention.

I chose to talk through my birth story with Kyndal because I knew her experience as a doula and childbirth educator meant she would understand the kind of birth experience I wanted to have and how I felt because it didn’t turn out how I had hoped. She helped me acknowledge the feelings I was having, process the emotions that had been pushed to the back of my mind and help me create space in my mind for the grief I felt. I especially like the imagery Kyndal used as a way to help me organize my thoughts and feelings surrounding my birth and postpartum experience.    

I thought the sadness and trauma I felt was about my daughter’s birth, but while talking in our first session she helped me realize the true pain was from the NICU experience. The second session allowed us time to explore my time with my baby in the NICU and really pinpoint what was causing the sadness. It was a beautiful light bulb moment when we discovered the true unmet needs that caused the pain. I felt so relieved! 

As we visited, she gave me tools to check in with how I was feeling by being aware of my body, being intentional about breathing, and other self-soothing techniques. These are so valuable for me as I continue my healing journey and as I encounter other emotional challenges. After working with her I feel ready to move forward, empowered instead of weakened, confident in my birth experience, not a victim of it. Kyndal’s understanding and kindness helped me to feel safe, valued, and validated.”

Stacy


“Kyndal gave me a safe place and the resources to process my traumatic birth experience. I am used to being guarded and withdrawn about certain emotions and for a long time now, I felt as if my birth story was a nightmare.

I love Kyndal’s approach. It was subtle and she was kind and compassionate throughout the whole process wanting me to expand more into detail. She really helped me break out of my shell and brought out some amazing things that make me who I am today. I was able to move past things in my birth story that regular therapy has not helped with and it made me realize how much extra emotion I was holding onto that made me feel inadequate for the last few years after my older son’s birth. It also opened my eyes to see the good and positive aspects of my birth and not just the trauma.

I will be going back for more sessions to keep uncovering the beauty of my birth and learning coping techniques for myself. I truly believe that the Birth Story Support service is incredibly necessary for the healing process.”
~ Krista Ostrander

“Kyndal gave us ways to reframe our thought processes and come up with a shortened version of our story that we would want to share with our little girl in the future that wasn’t traumatic. She helped us acknowledge the positives that occurred in our birth story and how not to dwell on the negatives. She has remarkable counseling skills coupled with compassion that put us at ease and helped us move on. Anyone who has the pleasure of working with Kyndal will be better for it and have an incredible asset on their side for whatever may come their way throughout their birthing experience.”  ~ Brianne and Brian Ayers

Birth Story Support Session: 90 minutes $50.00 – $90.00
Email Kyndal May at kyndalmaydoula@gmail.com if you have questions.