This is a fun event for you to hear and share birth stories and learn about how to view birth holistically.
This event will give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the work that I do as a holistic healer and insight into my book series on childbirth around the world through a holistic perspective.
You will understand more about the root cause of chronic conditions in the pregnancy journey and why birth complications happen.
This will empower you.
Read MoreA couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Tu-Hien Le. She had a regular health and wellness series on Instagram for moms, but recently switched to creating a podcast to reach a wider audience.
Now, she has created The Mamaverse. The Mamaverse is a podcast, vodcast, a blog, and a health and wellness app for moms. The Mamaverse is a community to support moms.
Tu-Hien's mission is to make mamas feel valued and appreciated through a fun online community experience that fosters compassion and collaboration.
I am happy to say that I am a guest on The Mamaverse Podcast. Listen to episode 3 about how to heal chronic health conditions.
I was interviewed on Amberlee Jayde’s fabulous Australian podcast, Digital Village. We had great chat! Amberlee interviewed for my book about holistic childbirth around the world. Her transformation is amazing! I look forward to sharing her childbirth stories in my new book series, but until then, listen to our interview.
In this episode, you will learn:
· About my new book that will transform how you see and experience childbirth,
· My mission is to empower every woman around the world in regards to their health and wellness,
· My personal health journey overcoming my debilitating chronic illness,
· How & why I became a holistic healer,
· Universal health issues,
· The importance of healing and how every woman who heals herself, heals all the women who came
before her and heals all the women who came after her,
· We rise as women by uplifting one another,
· The definition of an empath and what one can do to protect oneself from taking on others energy,
· How law of attraction attracts circumstances/ events that surpass our expectations,
· And the importance of a healthy and functioning liver.
Read MoreMaria De Los Ángeles Chero and Ariela Waltzer pictured above are the first doulas of Peru. Dr. Angela Brocker is a doctor and a midwife in Peru who learned about doulas from living in Germany (where she is from originally) and decided to bring this tradition to Peru. In Lima, Peru, of all births in the private sector, the c-section rate is 85-90%, which is much higher than the national average of 35 to 40%. As a doctor in Peru, Dr. Angela Brocker witnessed a lot of obstetric violence and was even encouraged during her training to do practices against women that she did not agree with. In 2005, Dr. Brocker created a doula training program in Lima; Maria and Ariela were some of the first ladies to learn this tradition from Dr. Brocker at her birthing center, Pakarii. Both ladies continue to be doulas today and love it.
Ariela admits that in Peru doulas are not popular (compared to other countries) and that many women still do not know what a doula is, however, over the past fifteen years, more and more women are becoming aware of obstetric violence. She is happy to be one of the pioneers to support women.
Read MoreAre you a new mother? Are you familiar with all the birth professionals who assist mothers during labor? If you are planning to give birth it is very important that you are aware of your options so that you can pick what is best for you. Keep in mind, every country does not have the same options. There are birth attendants, doulas, midwives, and OBGYNS. In some countries, midwives deliver most of the babies (such as in Europe, Australia, and African countries) and OBGYNS only deliver babies if there is an emergency which requires surgery. In other countries, (such as the U.S.) OBGYNs are considered more prestigious than midwives. But in truth, OBGYNs are not more prestigious, but are more common in the United States. While in other countries (such as Kazakhstan) women are still not allowed to have their husbands or birth attendants present during the birth of their child or doulas present (such as in public hospitals in Peru) .
Read MoreIt’s International Doula Month! This month we celebrate all the hardworking doulas around the world who assist mothers before birth, during birth, and postpartum. Through their love and attention, they help to improve the health of mothers and infants.
For my book about childbirth around the world, I interviewed Maria De Los Ángeles Chero, a well-known midwife in Lima, Peru. Maria was one of the first doulas in Lima. She is a pioneer in Peru helping women to have an empowered childbirth experience. Unfortunately, Lima, Peru is a place with a very high c-section rate. Some say the c-section rate in the city is 80 to 90%. Thankfully with Maria’s calming, empathic nature, she is able to assuage many women’s fears and help them to feel supported at this vulnerable time.
Happy Mother’s Day, moms! Mother’s Day is celebrated in most countries around the world today. Treat yourself like a queen today!
Treat yourself to:
a bubble bath,
a walk in the sunshine,
or a day where you don’t have to do anything.
Put your feet up.
Watch a movie.
Allow your partner to make meals for you.
Take a nap!
Let yourself be pampered.
Do whatever makes you happy!
Self-care and rejuvenation is so important.
In this blog, I will be introducing the courageous women that I interviewed for my two book series on holistic childbirth around the world. Mothers from Canada, the United Kingdom (Ireland, Scotland, and England), the United States, France, Spain, Austria, Australia, Germany, Peru, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Israel, the Netherlands, India, Japan, and Uganda were interviewed.
Read MoreHi Ladies!
It is AYA (Adolescents and Young Adults) Cancer Awareness Week! This week brings awareness to those who currently have or who have had cancer between the ages of 15 to 39. Many people are shocked when they are diagnosed with cancer at a young age. Cancer is something many believe can happen as they grow older, not when they are still growing and developing. Women who are diagnosed young, not only fight for their lives, but they must make difficult decisions before they are thinking about having a child which may affect fertility later.
Some of the issues that AYAs face are isolation, debt, fear of death, problems with relationships, sexuality, infertility, and they often don’t receive the emotional support they need.
A friend of mine named Julia is a mother today, but when she was a young adult she developed leukemia and had to have treatment. Great news is that she beat leukemia and became a mother last year! Throughout her pregnancy journey, she felt great physically and emotionally. And in September, she had a beautiful, healthy baby girl. I was so happy for her!
Lauren is another woman who had cancer young and beat it. Lauren was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. She beat it twice! But when she was 24 years old, she was told by her oncologist, when she had her relapse, that her treatment could prohibit for from having children.
Read MoreHi Ladies!
In my last post, I gave you some tips to return to balance. This is especially important as we are going through the Coronavirus, but of course, maintaining balance is always important. In today’s post, I want to focus on steps we can teach children to be peaceful. Our children may not understand what is going on right now, but we can teach them to find peace even if their schedules have changed, even if they are emotional, even if they cannot express their emotions as eloquently as we can.
Many people think that children are too young to learn meditation or mindfulness, but actually it is the best time. If we teach our children while they are young, they can incorporate these tools into their lives for a lifetime, have more peace, and return to balance quicker.
Today I am going to give you tools that you can teach very young children.
The first meditation was taught to me by spiritual teacher, Gabby Bernstein. She gave this example to a woman who wanted to teach her daughter to meditate.
Sit with your child and ask her (or him) to repeat the phrase: Peace begins with me. Then instruct her to tap her fingers softly starting with the thumb and forefinger as she repeats “Peace”, then her thumb and middle finger as she says “begins”, then her thumb and ring finger as she says“with”, and then her thumb and ring finger as she says “me.” Do the exercise with her, using your hand and say the words aloud for each finger.
Hi Ladies!
These are difficult times with the Coronavirus, but there are always steps we can do to empower ourselves and bring us back to balance.
One way to raise our vibes, clear our minds, release stress, and fear is to meditate.
Meditation can be easy. It can be as simple as breathing deeply. Inhaling and exhaling longer for several minutes. Or if can be listening to music, putting on headphones and simply listening to music that makes you feel relaxed. (If you can close your eyes and focus on your third eye chakra (in the center of your forehead) while you sit cross legged, breathe deeply, and listen to music, even better!)
Meditation can be as simple as watching water boil in a pan, to be fully focused on the bubbles coming to the surface, and not to be multi-tasking. Meditation does not have to long; It can be for 2 to 5 minutes or it can be for 15 to 20 minutes, if you have more time.
We should always meditate when we feel out of balance. Many people have the misconception that one has to completely clear one’s mind for it to be useful or that it requires a lot of time, but as I mentioned it can be as simply as breathing deeper, listening to music with your eyes closed, or focusing on an object and not thinking about anything else but that one object.
If you have ever had a therapy session, you probably know the term “holding space.” I remember when I first heard the term in 2012, when I lived in San Francisco. I had to ask my friend, “What does that mean to hold space?” And she told me.
I think holding space is a term that is becoming more popular today. More and more people are using it in their conversations. Still you might not be 100% sure you understand what it means.
I believe this is a very important concept, so let’s discuss it. Holding space means that when someone is speaking, you are present; you are listening; you are engaged in the conversation without judgment or criticism; you are providing the time and space for them to express themselves completely, to be heard.
There is great power in holding space and it is very healing for the other person. But in today’s busy world, often times it is only with a therapist or a healer that this happens. Holding space requires empathy and compassion and a calm composure. When someone is truly listened to, they become empowered. They feel heard. They feel free in their expression. They can cry, laugh, show frustration or sadness. They do not feel that have to present themselves a certain way. They just need to be truthful to themselves. This is so freeing.
Read MoreHi Lovely Ladies!
As I mentioned in my first blog post, this blog is based on my new book about childbirth around the world which focuses on childbirth around the world from a holistic perspective.
What does a holistic perspective mean?
Great question!
A holistic experience takes into account the mind, body, and spirit of the individual and the full story. That means that my book is not about only the act of childbirth (that one specific moment) around the world, but how childbirth affects mothers physically, as well as, emotionally, and the full story from discovering they were pregnant, to the 9 months of pregnancy, to the actual labor experience, to the postpartum period being a new mom. I am curious about the full journey!
I interviewed over 60 mothers and experts around the world about their childbirth experiences. I was interested in not only how childbirth affects mothers, but how it affects mothers holistically in different parts of the world.
Read MoreHi Ladies!
Let’s have an open conversation on childbirth!
As I mentioned in my first blog post, this blog is intended to be a conversation about childbirth around the world. I will provide some research, advice and tips from the mothers and experts who I interviewed for my book about childbirth around the world, but most importantly, this blog is for you to engage with one another. I hope that new mothers will come here with their questions on preparing for childbirth and pregnancy and how to make the postpartum period smoother. I hope women around the world will share their experiences and tips too. With so many countries around the world, I am sure there will be differences and that will be a great way for us to learn from each other.
Read More
