Since Sarah Longacre opened Blooma in October 2007 with her loving arms, talent for inspiring moms and moms-to-be, and cadre of gifted teachers and body workers, I have come to feel a special affection for Blooma. (We hope you feel that way, too.)First I came as a newly pregnant mama who found a nurturing, supportive community where I learned to embrace my blooming belly and made new friends. Sampling the various prenatal classes gave me the chance to figure out which teachers would challenge me (sometimes seriously challenge me!) and which would give me a relaxing wind-down at the end of an intense day. I also adored my prenatal Maya abdominal massages (and that awesome massage table with the holes for my belly and boobs that actually allowed me to lie face down—bliss!).
After my son Graham—now 13 months old—was born, we hurried back to Blooma, looking for familiar faces. In our BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) classes, Graham and I reconnected with mamas I’d done sun salutations next to when he was in my belly. We also got to admire my prenatal yoga friends’ beautiful babies who were on the outside now. We shared stories, new mama woes, and some of us began to meet outside of class, too. It’ll be just a few more months until we’re ready for Tot Yoga, and meanwhile I’m back into my own yoga groove with Yoga For You! classes. Not all cities have a place like this and I am grateful that I can boast otherwise. As a birth doula and certified infant massage instructor, I’m into all this mama + baby stuff anyway. But when I was pregnant, and now as a mother, I came to appreciate even more what Blooma offers to my family. My husband has come to partner workshops with me, and my mother-in-law has practiced with me side-by-side, learning how to do simple yoga poses with her grandson at home. I’ve since trained with Lisa Bergley, developer of YogaBonding, and now teach BYOB at Blooma on alternating Mondays and Saturdays. I teach an occasional infant massage class, too. If I haven’t already, I hope to meet you soon!
Please subscribe to the blog, too. I’ll be blogging regularly about everything mama- and family-related including:
• upcoming Blooma workshops + classes
• the latest pregnancy + parent-related health news
• links to hip, funny, or informative parenting stories
• pregnancy + parenting blog postings (send me your own blog links!)
• guest blogs from Blooma teachers and body workers, midwives + OBs
• postings from Sarah and other doulas, who will share their favorite tips + tricks for labor
• "Blooma Bookclub" reading recommendations
• and of course we’ll keep you in the loop with the ever popular “Blossoms” updates: photos of Blooma babies (and preferably their mamas, too) as they make their grand entrance into this big, beautiful world.
So that’s a little something about me, your Blooma blogger. I’d love to learn about you, too. Leave a comment and tell us what Blooma means to you—we’d love to hear your thoughts! Love,
Alisa, Sarah, & the women of Blooma
Posts
2 comments:
Awesome! I'm so glad to see someone will be updating the blog regularly.
Good to know you'll be keeping up!
Post a Comment