The Yoga and Birth Studio

13/09/2026

Wondering what to expect from one of my classes? ✨

Whether you’re joining me for pregnancy yoga, hypnobirthing, or Yoga for All- you can expect a warm, welcoming space where you can slow down, connect with your mind & body, and take some time for yourself. 🤍

Movement • Breath • Awareness • Connection

For yoga, no previous experience is needed. Classes are suitable for all abilities, with modifications and variations offered so you can practise in a way that feels right for your body.

Expect movement, meditation and breathing techniques (pranayama), with each class ending in Savasana — time to completely rest and relax — plus the option of a gentle, light-touch massage if you’d like one. ✨

For hypnobirthing, I teach The Little Birth Company’s award-winning programme, with plenty of time to ask questions, learn practical tools you can actually use during birth, build your confidence and feel supported as you prepare.

Expect relaxation, breathing techniques, movement, practical birth preparation, guided hypnosis and lots of opportunities to practise the techniques together.

There’ll also be time to chat, connect and meet other expectant mums and like-minded people — plus light refreshments during my hypnobirthing sessions. ☕️✨

My aim is always for you to leave feeling calmer, more connected, informed and empowered.

✨ Pregnancy Yoga
✨ Hypnobirthing — following The Little Birth Company’s award-winning programme
✨ Yoga for All — coming soon
✨ Movement • Breath • Awareness • Connection
✨ Meditation & pranayama
✨ No yoga experience required
✨ Modifications & variations for all abilities
✨ Savasana & optional light-touch massage
✨ Time to slow down & connect
✨ A supportive community

Want to come along? Find upcoming classes & courses through the link in my bio, or comment “INFO” and I’ll send you the details. 🤍

12/09/2026

“I trust my instincts to guide me through this journey.” 🤍

We live in a world where we’re often encouraged to look outside ourselves for the answer.

What does the guideline say?
What does the professional recommend?
What does everyone else think I should do?

Of course, evidence and clinical expertise matter.

But so do you.

Pregnancy and birth are not one-size-fits-all.

You might be told that because of your age, IVF, diabetes, a suspected big baby or another factor, a particular intervention is recommended.

But a risk factor doesn’t tell you everything about your individual situation.

Even recommendations can vary between hospitals and maternity units.

So ask what it actually means for you.

If you’re told your baby is “too big”, ask:
How big are they estimated to be?
How accurate is that estimate?
What are the actual risks for me and my baby?
What are my options?

Because “your baby is measuring big” and “your baby is too big for you to give birth to” are not the same thing.

And if something being suggested doesn’t sit right with you, you are allowed to ask questions.

What are the benefits?
What are the risks?
What are the alternatives?
What happens if we wait?
Can I have some time to think?
Can I get a second opinion?

This isn’t about saying no for the sake of saying no.

It’s about knowing that you can say no — and having the information and confidence to do so if, after asking the questions, that feels like the right decision for you.

Sometimes the answer will still be yes.

But it will be an informed yes.

Then take the evidence, the clinical advice and your own circumstances — and bring your intuition into that decision too.

Trusting your instincts doesn’t mean ignoring medical advice.

It means remembering that you are part of the decision-making process.

Guidelines can guide you. They don’t make the decision for you.

Your body. Your baby. Your birth. Your say.

✨ Want to feel more confident asking questions and understanding your options? My full hypnobirthing course is designed to help you feel calm, informed & empowered. Link in bio.

05/09/2026

One of the most powerful things about your breath in labour is that it gives you something you can control.

Hypnobirthing doesn’t teach that you can control exactly how birth unfolds.

You can’t control every surge, every sensation or every unexpected turn.

But you can influence your breath, your focus, how you respond to fear and the meaning you give to what you’re experiencing.

That’s where the power is.

You might try breathing in for 5 and out for 5 during a surge, but the numbers don’t matter. It could be 4 and 4, 6 and 6, or no counting at all. Use whatever feels right for you.

Your breath gives your mind something to focus on rather than becoming completely absorbed by the sensations. Your breath is your anchor.

And knowledge is power.

When you understand how your breath can affect your nervous system, and how closely the mind and body are connected, birth can feel less like something that is simply happening to you.

You have an active role to play.

A surge can be intense, uncomfortable or painful, but you can reframe what it means:

“My body is working.”
“This surge has a purpose.”
“Each surge brings me closer to meeting my baby.”

And practise it with your birth partner.

If they regularly say, “Let’s try your surge breathing,” “Remember your surge breathing,” or begin counting with you, that familiar cue can become an anchor.

So when labour comes, you’re not learning something new in the moment — your brain already recognises the pattern.

You can’t control every part of birth.

But you can prepare for how you meet it. 🤍

Link in bio to book Hypnobirthing & pregnancy yoga courses ✨

04/09/2026

Is water really “nature’s epidural”? 🌊

Water and an epidural are obviously very different forms of pain relief, but there are good reasons why water is sometimes called “nature’s epidural.”

And I think the benefits go beyond the physical.

🌊 Physically

Warm water can feel soothing and make labour sensations feel more manageable.

Your body can also feel lighter and more supported, making it easier to sway, kneel, lean forwards, open the hips and change position instinctively.

🌊 Physiologically

Water can help you relax.

Think about getting into a warm bath — your shoulders soften, your muscles relax and your breathing often slows.

That can help you move away from fight-or-flight and towards feeling calmer and safer — supporting oxytocin, relaxation and the conditions your body needs to labour.

🌊 Psychologically

For me, being near water makes me feel calmer almost immediately.

A warm bath. Swimming. The sea. The sound of waves.

Those associations can be really powerful in hypnobirthing too.

If you practise visualisations involving water, waves or the sea during pregnancy, water can become an anchor — a familiar cue for calm and relaxation.

We often think of surges (contractions) like waves, coming and going.

I had water births with both of my babies. The first at home and second in hospital. With my second, I was classed as higher risk due to high blood pressure, but after discussing my individual circumstances I was still supported to birth in the pool.

If something matters to you, use the BRAINS framework to explore the benefits, risks, alternatives and your individual options.

Being in the pool also doesn’t mean you can’t use other pain relief.

I used gas and air in the water during both of my births. You might use TENS beforehand, and if you later want an epidural or something else, you can get out and discuss your options.

There’s no prize for using the least pain relief, and there should be no judgement around what you choose.

What helped you most in labour? 🌊🤍

Link in bio to book Hypnobirthing & pregnancy yoga 🤍✨

02/09/2026

“Watch your thoughts…”

Have you ever wondered what people really mean when they say, “thoughts become things”?

For me, it’s a little like planting seeds. 🌱

The thoughts we repeatedly water are the ones that are more likely to grow.

This idea runs through yoga and mindfulness: before we can change anything, we have to become aware of it.

Notice the thought.
Observe it.
Question it.
Then decide whether it’s one you want to keep feeding.

In yoga philosophy, self-study and awareness are part of the practice. We learn to observe what is happening in the mind rather than automatically believing or reacting to every thought that appears.

And I think this is so relevant to pregnancy and birth.

If the story running through your mind is:
“Birth is dangerous.”
“I won’t cope.”
“I’m terrified of the pain.”

Those thoughts can influence the words you use, the way you prepare and how your body responds when fear arises. Fear can activate the stress response, increasing tension — one of the ideas we explore through the fear–tension–pain cycle in hypnobirthing.

But awareness gives us somewhere to begin.

Through breathing, meditation, visualisation, affirmations and positive birth education, we can practise giving our attention to a different story.

Not because positive thoughts guarantee a particular birth outcome — they don’t.

But because what we repeatedly focus on can shape our expectations, our responses and the way we meet our experience.

That’s why I love the image of tending to the mind like a garden.

You can’t control everything that lands there.

But you can become more intentional about what you water. 🌱

What thoughts are you choosing to nurture?

31/08/2026

“My body and my baby know exactly what to do.” ✨

For so many of us, our beliefs about birth have been shaped long before we ever become pregnant — by frightening stories we’ve heard, traumatic birth experiences shared with us, and the way birth is portrayed in films and on TV.

Before I learnt about birth, if someone asked me how I felt about it, I’d say, “I’ll just go with the flow.”

At the time, I genuinely thought that was the best approach.

Looking back, I realise how much that meant handing over responsibility for my birth rather than understanding that I could play an active role in the decisions being made about my body and my baby.

Learning how birth actually works changed that for me.

✨ Your body is built to birth.
✨ Birth is something your body and baby work through together.
✨ Labour doesn’t always need to be rushed.
✨ And you are allowed to ask questions, understand your options and make informed decisions about your care.

Trusting your body doesn’t mean ignoring medical advice or believing that intervention is never needed.

It means remembering that a suggestion is not automatically a decision.

One of the tools I teach in hypnobirthing is the BRAINS framework. If something is being suggested during pregnancy or birth, you can ask:

B — What are the benefits?
R — What are the risks?
A — What are the alternatives?
I — What is my intuition telling me?
N — What happens if we do nothing for now?
S — Smile, take a moment, or ask for a second opinion.

Sometimes, after asking those questions, the right decision for you will absolutely be an intervention.

But there’s a big difference between something happening to you and making an informed decision that feels right for you and your baby.

You don’t have to know exactly how your birth will unfold.

You can trust your body, stay informed, remain flexible and still have a voice in what happens next.

Your body. Your baby. Your birth. Your choice. Your say. 🤍

Save this for your birth preparation, and follow for more practical hypnobirthing tools to help you feel calm, informed & empowered.

Hypnobirthing booking open ✨

29/08/2026

29/08/2026

A little look at what you can expect from my pregnancy yoga classes 🌿✨

Gentle, pregnancy-friendly movement designed to support your changing body, create space through areas such as the hips and pelvis, and help you prepare physically and mentally for birth.

Throughout class we’ll explore:

✨ Pregnancy-friendly yoga poses
✨ Hip openers, mobility & gentle strengthening
✨ Breathing & relaxation techniques
✨ Modifications and variations to suit your body
✨ Time to slow down and connect with your breath & baby
✨ A welcoming space to meet and connect with other expectant mums

No previous yoga experience is needed 🤍

📅 Sunday 25th October & Sunday 1st November — more dates to be announced soon
⏰ 2:45–3:30pm
📍 The Well Studio, Stock, Essex
💷 £12 per class | £10 for hypnobirthing clients

👇 Book your space:
https://bookwhen.com/yogaandbirthwithkatie

21/03/2024

01/02/2024