Valerie May Yoga, Green Lane, London (2026)

22/06/2026

Optimal foetal positioning is the position baby is in the last few weeks of pregnancy.

The most ‘optimal position’ is baby head down in alignment with the pelvis, their spine against mum’s belly, between her left hip and belly button. This is where baby has to rotate the least, meaning a shorter labour.

Baby lying to the right-hand side of the belly and ‘back-to-back’ are considered less optimal and may result in a longer birth.

Breech is baby with their bottom, knees or feet first. A baby isn't deemed ‘breech’ until at least 34/36 weeks for first pregnancy and 38 weeks in subsequent pregnancies.

Before then, there is still plenty of room for baby to move. When labour begins, about 96% of babies are in a head-down position.

Baby is active in the lead up and during the birth. They work hard to get themselves in the best position, in response to pelvic space, mum’s instinctive movements, the tone of her tissues/muscles, and alignment of her joints & ligaments.

For years the focus has been on what baby is doing, but would it be better to consider optimal maternal positioning?

Meaning how mum can create more space/balance in her body during pregnancy and birth, to support baby’s progress through the pelvis.

The most effective thing you can do throughout pregnancy is to move your body, focussing on stabilising and releasing.

Practicing specifically designed pregnancy yoga right up until birth is a beneficial and enjoyable way to keep your body moving, tension-free.

Yoga helps to become aware of potential imbalances and restrictions in the body. Making it easier for your baby to move and align themselves with the opening of your pelvis.

Postural habits standing, sitting and resting influence the tension you experience in your body and the space for baby.

Modern life has resulted in poor posture. Encouraging leaning backwards on the pelvis rather than sitting upright on the sitbones.

Tilting under of the pelvis is why many babies start labour back to back. This encourages the weight of baby’s spine to turn towards the back of our body. So sitting upright is a great first step to take throughout pregnancy.

Comment MAMA for your invite to the class.

15/06/2026

You feel so tired you could die and walk around in a brain dead haze.

Each morning you can’t imagine how you will get to the end of the day.

Your fave phrase is 'Baby won’t sleep!’ said whilst propping your eyelids open with matchsticks and clutching your cup of coffee.

You have many examples of the stupid things you’ve done due to tiredness. Yesterday you walked miles with the pram to the shopping centre to change a skirt only to realise you’d forgotten the receipt.

Sleep is the No.1 talking point in my yoga classes. You want to know others are struggling just as much as you and that you are not alone.

My daughter was a brilliant sleeper. I was the smug mum whose baby slept all night and got lots of sleep myself. I couldn’t believe our luck.

Then along came my son - bless him. While I was pregnant, people would say ‘You never get two the same.’, I secretly hoped they were wrong. Well, it turns out they were right!

You expect long nights with newborn, so I was prepared for this stage. However, we got to 12 weeks and he was still up multiple times at night feeding and crying. I reminded myself, he’s so tiny, my daughter was a one off and you never get two the same. We got to 16 weeks, slight improvement, 5 months AAAH , then 6 months.. FFS. It took 2 years before he slept through the night.

By this point I was sure we were tricked by mother nature! Our 1st baby such a good sleeper and then the truth slam dunked us with our 2nd. An undiagnosed tongue tie was the reason and this time definitely gave me grey hairs and wrinkles!

If you’re currently in the depths of sleep deprivation, it does get better, and there are things you can do to feel better.

I’ve been informed by ladies who come to my classes that they notice big improvements in baby’s sleep after attending.

Classes provide much needed stimulation for baby, and they often have a long nap afterwards. So you can rest yourself or eat some lunch without balancing baby on your knee. Revelation!

Yoga and breathing are the perfect antidote to calm and destress when you are feeling tense, grumpy and tired.

If mummy & baby yoga is something you’d like to try, get in touch for more information.

11/06/2026

If you know, you know. If you don’t, you need to.

Your jaw holds the potential for a more relaxed and comfortable birth experience.

The jaw and pelvis are intricately linked. There is a continuous line of connective tissue linking the fascia of your jaw, throat, and diaphragm straight down to your pelvic floor, pelvis and hips.

If you clench your jaw this can trigger a stress response telling your pelvic floor to contract, grip and guard. Conversely when your jaw is relaxed, it sends signals to your entire body to release tension.

It's like a secret gateway to a smoother birthing process.

There’s an idea called “sphincter law” coined by Ina May Gaskin, natural childbirth expert, that explains that if your jaw and throat are relaxed then your buttocks and pelvis will be too.

The more room your pelvis has to expand as baby travels down the birth canal, the easier your delivery will be. A tight, closed pelvis will result in muscles that are fighting against your delivery, not for it. The more relaxed your downstairs muscles are, the easier it will be when it comes time to deliver.

A relaxed jaw also helps lower stress hormones, creating a calmer birthing experience. Plus keeping your face and jaw soft encourages the release of oxytocin, the vital hormone that drives efficient contractions.

Unclenching your jaw also allows for slower and deeper breaths, which are the key to staying calm and focussed, and to manage discomfort during labour.

Through specialised breathing, vocalisation, and physical poses, my pregnancy yoga classes train your nervous system to be calm and body to stay loose under the intensity of contractions.

I will teach you some really important jaw releasing strategies for you to take action in helping you to prepare your pelvis for birth.

There are many specific yoga poses that integrate both the jaw and pelvis including squatting poses, cat cow pose & any poses that stretch the neck.

You will learn targeted breathing techniques, with slow controlled exhales to open your throat and release your jaw.

Class runs every Saturday morning so come along to try these techniques out for yourself.

07/06/2026

Your husband gets home and asks what you’ve been up to all day. You tell him you have been to a cafe with other mums. From the look on his face you can tell he thinks you’ve had an easy day compared to him.

What you can’t explain is that you haven’t had an easy day. When you go out, it’s nice to talk to friends. However the bottom line is that its hard for you to relax and concentrate properly as you were looking after your babies.

You could say that you changed baby’s nappy 3 times, you gave her a bottle of expressed milk for first time and she stopped crying after half an hour - but what’s so important about that?

So instead you find yourself saying stuff like “I am only looking after my baby these days” or “I haven’t been able to do any real work lately.”

Motherly achievements go unseen and there aren’t words to describe them. How can you explain that journey to get to mummy and baby yoga involved so much thought and prep. You need to plan, cover and solve a multitude of things that could go wrong.

When you can’t explain what your day has entailed you might assume this is because there is very little worth telling. You get troubled by what you are not achieving, like the basics of showering, eating lunch and not doing 1 thing on the long list of chores.

When you “tidy up” you have words to describe it and the tidied up area to show for it. However with mothering, there are no obvious visible words to describe the mode of attention that you are constantly providing for your baby.

You have been present for your baby and given up your time and energy for her. You have given up that nice warm shower, your tasty lunch and sitting in a house that looks like a rubbish dump.

Being a mother is more than a role or a job description or a list of things to achieve. And unlike everything else we do being a mother involves no training, qualification or supervision!

Just as yoga teaches us, know that you are doing ENOUGH. You are ensuring the continuity of civilised life from one generation to the next, goodness that’s a pretty big responsibility.

So be kind to yourself and know your influence as a mother is deeply felt and will last for a lifetime.

06/06/2026

You were in the dark about what the fishing net next to the birthing pool was for. Only to learn it was a real life labour pooper scooper.

You are now terrified of doing a No.2 in front of your husband and a room of strangers,

So is birth really like doing a giant poo?

Yes. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news you didn’t want to hear. I get that the thought of doing a poo during birth makes you feel a little embarrassed and goes against the grain of your natural instinct for privacy!

However its completely normal and even expected. Your midwife will be happy to see some poo as it means things are progressing nicely.

You can expect loose bowel movements as early signs of labour. Release of prostaglandins help to loosen your cervix, uterus and re**um.

Plus baby puts pressure on the colon and sacral nerve. This causes the sensation of needing to poo especially if baby is low in the pelvis.

So it makes sense that when you are pushing baby out, your may push a bit of poo out too, as you are engaging the same muscles when pushing.

But please don’t resist pushing properly during birth. Holding back or gripping tenses your pelvic floor and makes pushing harder.

Prenatal yoga teaches you to relax these muscles, let go of tension, and trust your body’s natural reflexes.

In class we practice poses like squats and child’s pose which stretch and release the pelvic floor.

I talk about the anatomical link between your throat, jaw, and pelvic floor. Yoga emphasises "soft jaw" breathing, which prevents your pelvic muscles from clenching when you are stressed.

I will teach you breathing and sounds to keep the pelvic floor soft, allowing the baby to move easily without straining.

Tight thighs, glutes, or calves cause your pelvic floor to automatically tighten. So stretching keeps these surrounding muscle groups supple so they do not restrict the birth canal

If you do do the do during birthing try not to worry. Think about meeting your baby instead and remember the midwives have seen it all before.

So, it’s not a joke and it’s not gross, birth is like pooing! However the end result is much more beautiful newborn baby.

01/06/2026

If the totally unrealistic biohacker's morning routine on the Gram makes you want to lie down for a rest…Read this…

You’re 45 and a few years ago your morning routine consisted a quick wee, shower, brush your teeth, moisturiser (sometimes), glass of water and flick on the kettle for a hot cuppa before the kids got up - you thought were winning at life.

Now thanks to social media you are brain washed into getting up at 5.30am to start a complicated morning routine. Your supplement stack costs £300 per month. The red light panel and lymphatic vibration plate are a few of the expensive gadgets you've invested in.

But lately you’ve been thinking you just don't have the energy to keep this up. You are only human and it's exhausting but the influencers say it's necessary to support midlife changes and prevent disease.

Also you feel a bit sickened by how much consumption has become part of your daily life. Every habit seems to come with multiple supplements devices and upgrades.

The supplement and wellness industry seems to have shifted, It is no longer just about supporting people but about convincing healthy people that they need more and more products to avoid becoming sick. Pills and powders marketed as essentials rather than optional.

After years exploring this and falling into the same expensive holes myself here’s what I have finally learned at age 51 that simplifying is what is needed.

The boring, repetitive stuff is our key to health. Sleep, Nutrition, Stress Management, Gentle Movement like Yoga, Being Outside (in sunshine and nature) & Social Connection. Lock these in first and then see if you actually need the extras.

A core principle of yoga is moderation. Unlike a lot of philosophies, yoga doesn’t push extremes. Whether it’s about food, or habits, going to the extreme only creates more attachment. Yoga, at its heart, offers a reminder to slow down and return to the fundamentals.

So whether it’s reducing screen time, prioritising meaningful relationships, or focusing on self-care through your yoga practice, getting back to basics can be liberating.

Wellness isn’t a performance, it’s about trusting your body and having fewer steps not more.

Valerie May Yoga

22/06/2026

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11/06/2026

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