Valerie May Yoga, Green Lane, London (2026)

10/08/2026

It might seem counterintuitive if you haven’t given birth before, but the last thing you want to do is stay still through contractions and up to delivery. That’s because when you stay still, your body is more tense, your pelvis can't move freely, and its harder to find comfortable positions through contractions.

Moving during birth is highly recommended and beneficial because it helps with staying comfortable and in control to find positions that feel right for you.

Knowing and practicing all of this ahead of time is key, so that you can advocate for yourself during labour

This is really why a prenatal yoga practice comes in so handy.

All 4’s with cat/cow or body circles, leaning against a wall or shifting from side to side, or anything that helps move your hips and keeps your body relaxed so that your pelvis can move and your baby has room to descend.

Upright movements help as they use gravity to your advantage and free the bones of the pelvis to shift and allow your baby to descend down through the birth canal.

Moving also helps you to connect with your breath, making enduring birthing pain more doable.

My pregnancy yoga class is basically a preparatory laboratory for birth.

Inside class you’ll learn how to connect breath and movement so that when you are in labour, there is already a familiarity with utilising your breath to help stay calm and relaxed, even when there is strong sensation happening in the body.

When all of that is practiced it becomes like second nature, you’ll far more easily be able to breathe through intense sensations, move into positions that feel supportive, and stay connected to your body instead of feeling overwhelmed, when the day comes.

You don't need to be confined to a wheelchair or bed during labour.

You can move, change positions, use your breath, and find ways of working with your body that help you feel more comfortable and empowered, while advocating for what you need throughout your birth.

So get your cat/cow on, take a walk, rock your hips, do some gentle squats on the way to seeing your baby’s new face.

That’s exactly what we do on Saturday morning inside my prenatal classes. So come join us.

04/08/2026

Can’t believe this class has been running for 12 years some of the babies that started off with me are now at secondary school!

Some of these lovely pictures were taken at one of my original venues which was Livingstone House. Almost like a stately home and it had an amazing ballroom which I could fit up to 20 mums plus their babies! I used to run two of those classes back to back. This was when I had more energy!! Then the lovely horse Maria would offer the ladies home-made cake and there would be community time afterwards..

All of that came to an end during the Covid era when we went online . We did manage to do the class but it was easier for me than it was for the mums who had extra children running around and orphan dogs and cats went across the screen. Some mums even go to Dad’s to do the baby yoga so they could have a lie down. Then we always had a chat at the end to see how Mum’s coping with the isolation of that time period as a new mum.

Six years ago, I opened my little garden studio. Smaller more boutique style in terms of numbers but still lots of amazing memories here. Mum’s get a cup of tea or coffee even if I don’t manage to make the lovely cakes.

I’m back for some taster sessions at the end of August on 25th & 28th. There are limited places so get in touch if you would like to join me.

For those that have joined me before, what are your lasting memories of the class?

31/07/2026

Giving birth stressful. All the prep, the worry of the unknown, it’s common to be overwhelmed and arrive at hospital in early labour, only to be shocked that contractions have slowed,, spaced out, or maybe stopped altogether. It feels like you've made no progress at all.

That's often the moment the panic sets in. You start worrying why your contractions have stopped, if you’ve done something wrong and whether they are going to send you home.

But you're not doing anything wrong and your body is NOT failing. This is a normal physiological response.

Your brain constantly scans for safety, so a new environment, a busy hospital ward, unfamiliar people, bright lights, different sounds and smells, can trigger your nervous system to become more alert. When adrenaline rises, it interferes with oxytocin, the hormone driving your contractions, so labour temporarily slows.

So here’s an example You arrive at the crazy busy hospital and your thoughts go into overdrive. Where do I go? Who is that in the room and is everyone watching me? You need to answer loads of questions. Another contraction is coming, they want to do an internal exam...

At this point your brain asks one question to your nervous system. Am I safe? Until it gets the answer yes, stress hormones will rise and labour will slow.

That's one reason many women are encouraged to stay at home during early labour. Arriving at hospital in established labour means the change in environment has less impact on the flow of labour.

The good news? You can support your nervous system with:

Longer exhales which to help settle the nervous system. Gentle rocking movements and positions that encourage the body to soften. Jaw release and sounds. Positive affirmations and guided relaxation.

These are practical tools to calm your nervous system, so that when adrenaline starts to creep in, you'll be able to stay grounded, work with your contractions and trust your body instead of fighting against it.

So If you don't want a long labour, don't just prepare your birth plan. Prepare your nervous system.

If you would like to learn these techniques, I'd love to welcome you to one of my pregnancy yoga classes.

27/07/2026

Right now you're treating motherhood like the job you used to have.

You had a senior corporate job, worked all the hours, hardly spent any time at home. You were good at it, so when the baby came, you did what worked before, you researched, read everything & tried to build yourself a system.

Suddenly there you are all day long, alone at home with your dependent baby. You assumed it would be manageable rather than a complete confidence shaker.

But a baby isn't a 9-5 research project, where you can use your laptop to collate results and set aside of an evening to enjoy a comfortable night's sleep. If babies were a work project, you could delegate tasks to someone on your team, you could prepare and put in the groundwork so you'd know what was ahead of you, but that's not possible with a baby who is completely unpredictable.

So instead you've ended up here. It's quite alarming to realise you can't go to the toilet without first thinking about the safety and wellbeing of your baby, or that you can't have a bath without worrying you might not hear her crying over the noise of the running water.

You want someone to tell you what to do, to train you up, instead you feel lost at sea with zero routine, never knowing what to do and if you're doing it correctly.

There are libraries of go-to advice on how to look after your baby, but sadly it all contradicts itself, and the advice changes daily, so it's confusing what's the right way to do things, and it's intimidating reading all this expert advice that's often impossible to implement in real life.

More research is never going to fix being distracted from responding to your baby who is in front of you.

What you actually need isn't another system, it's the presence so to get to know your baby.

At my yoga classes, you get the chance to lay down the weight of responsibility for 1 hour, move your body and breathe. As you begin to calm down and relax, you may start to connect to that inner motherly instinct to see what actually works for you and your baby.

If you're ready to stop searching for the “right” way so that you can start to appreciate your baby, join us for mummy and baby yoga taster sessions in August.

25/07/2026

I think we’ve got a little lost over the last few years. Being healthy in 2026 seems to have become something that we buy whether that’s the latest gadget or the newest supplement.. or the exciting trend that is promising to change your whole life. And all these things coming with hefty price tags.

But before we spend thousands on the latest wellness must have, have we nailed the foundations . So things like getting enough sleep, moving our bodies every day, eating nourishing food, getting outside in daylight and taking time to slow down and destress..

I’m not saying that any of the products in this carousel are bad, they have their place. I’m just wondering if we do truly need all of these things before we’ve looked after the basics.

Health doesn’t need to be expensive and it doesn’t have to be perfect. It certainly shouldn’t make us feel overwhelmed.

Sometimes the most powerful things that we do can do are also the simplest.

So if you’re feeling totally exhausted by the pressure to keep up with every new wellness trend, you’re in the right place keep your eyes peeled for something new that’s coming very soon.

24/07/2026

You're 30 weeks pregnant, and at night you're finding your whole body revs up and won't come down.

Maybe it's after the appointment where they said baby was measuring too big. Maybe it's because you mind is constantly running through everything that could go wrong during your baby’s birth.

So you've been doing what every pregnant woman does. You asked Chat GPT, you saved all the birth prep posts, maybe you even bought extra calming pre-natal supplements.

But none of it reaches you in the middle of the night when you’re panicking and need it the most. That’s because reading about how to be calm at 2pm in the afternoon doesn't lead to you being able to find calm at 2am.

What you're really wishing for is to walk into your birth feeling steady, trusting your body’s ability to handle the birth experience, and to get some actual sleep between now and then.

Here's why the saved posts and AI aren't getting you there.

Information calms your thoughts, but the revving isn't happening in your thoughts, it's happening in your nervous system, and your nervous system doesn't read books. It responds to signals from your body, which means you need a tool that works through the body, that you've practiced enough times that it's simply there when the surge hits, at 2am or in the delivery room.

Yoga has had one for a very long time. It's called Bhramari, bee breath, and it's beautifully simple.

You close your eyes, rest your fingers over your ears, and exhale with a low steady hum, so the vibration has nowhere to go but through you. That hum stimulates your vagus nerve, the main line that tells your whole system it's safe to settle, and it lengthens your exhale without you having to count or think.

It's why midwives and prenatal teachers have long used humming and low vocal sounds as a birthing breath, and my prenatal students tell me that it works.

Tonight, instead of spinning out for hours, losing sleep and waking up exhausted, try three slow rounds and notice what your heart rate does.

If you want to actually build this into your body before your due date, so it's already yours when labour starts, this is exactly what we practice in my prenatal classes. Join us.

03/07/2026

If you’ve found yourself on the verge of panic just thinking about taking your new baby out to lunch at a quiet restaurant with your best friend who you haven’t seen since before the baby was born….you’re not alone, and you’re perfectly normal.

You’re desperate for adult connection and a few laughs but since becoming a mum it’s easy to end up cancelling plans that require you to leave the house because the worry about your baby getting sick, crying in public, having to breast feed, feel overwhelming.

The only place you've ever taken your baby is to their doctor appointments.

I get it. I’ve met so many mums who develop an extreme fear of germs, which you know is silly because obviously you can’t protect your baby from EVERYTHING, but finding yourself consumed with that fear is really common and rarely discussed.

It’s also really common to worry that your baby will have a meltdown and you won’t be able to soothe them. That the people at the table next to you in the restaurant will judge you for having a crying baby. To fear not being able to calm your baby down, leaving you feeling like a failure.

Then there’s the amount of things that you need to remember to leave the house. It’s like packing up everything but the kitchen sink just to go a mile down the road to the cafe.

The mental load of packing the bag, timing feeds, getting the pram out of the car and worrying about meltdowns causes real, physical anxiety for countless new parents.

How can you get over this? Is this normal?

When my daughter was tiny I tried baby cinema and she screamed the whole way through and honestly, no one even looked. People are used to babies crying.

It’s totally okay to be nervous though, i was super nervous too.

Try taking the leap, try going places close to home.

Bring everything you may need, nappies, bottle, wipes, change of clothes.

And know that you can bail and go home at any time!

One hour of yoga does wonders for the anxieties you are feeling by helping you to slow your breath and move your body.. Even if you don't get all the class done it will make a difference to how you feel.

You have got this! And I have got you.

Valerie May Yoga

10/08/2026

04/08/2026

31/07/2026

27/07/2026

25/07/2026

24/07/2026

03/07/2026

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