Pregnancy & Birth
Welcome! And congratulations on your pregnancy!!
Read on for all the resources - free and paid - that I’ve created to support you, including YouTube playlists and pregnancy books.
I'm so passionate about making this journey that you're on as comfortable and joyful as possible. I bring my 20+ years of experience of teaching pregnancy yoga (and being a mum of two!) to the classes and birth preparation workshops.
I run the annual State of Birth symposium and collaborated with midwives for over 8 years through my local Maternity Voices Partnership.
Why Yoga?
I offer Pregnancy Yoga classes on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and Birth Preparation workshops in Caversham, Reading and livestreamed. These include a four-hour workshop with hypnobirthing and a Masterclass on Labour and Birth Positions. Both of these are also accessible as online courses.
No previous experience is needed - beginners are welcome. You can attend from the beginning of the second trimester and continue until the baby arrives (even if they are overdue!)
According to the strong evidence around pregnancy yoga, it's recommended to do yoga for 10+ weeks and twice a week for the full benefits for pregnancy and childbirth (Read article on research on pregnancy yoga for childbirth outcomes). This can be once in class and once a video on my YouTube channel.
The pregnancy and birth preparation are also offered as private sessions.
See below for my pregnancy books and other resources.
What People Are Saying
“I attended Tessa’s pregnancy yoga classes and loved them. Tessa is so good at supporting women and bringing them together in a friendly, positive environment.”
“Tessa has a very popular and established pregnancy yoga class. She takes an active role in the local community and is involved in the improvement of maternity services”
“Tessa is clearly a knowledgeable and experienced yoga teacher for pregnancy and birth (and beyond).” - Sarah Clover, pregnancy yoga teacher
Pregnancy Yoga Workshops & Resources
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Masterclass on labour & birth positions
If you're already signed up to NCT and hypnobirthing courses, maybe you even to go pregnancy yoga, this is the missing piece for physically preparing for birth.
Why do yoga positions and movements help baby's position? When do you use different positions in different stages of labour? How do you reduce the risk of tearing and intervention?
You're in good hands - I train pregnancy yoga teachers how to include this in class for the Yoga Teachers Forum.
See on the schedule when the next live Masterclass is happening (£49) or access the recorded version now (£24).
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Online Birth Prep course
This is available as a self-study course that you can do in your own time, as and when is convenient. £69.
Includes: relaxation tracks (including hypnobirthing), breathing techniques, yoga sessions, birth know-how practical videos, mindfulness tracks and more.
It is also available as a group course, with access to the online platform with all of the resources. Investment £119. (If you can't see the Signature Birth Preparation course listed on the class schedule, please email me to express your interest.)
Available as a private workshop.
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Pregnancy Yoga Nidra library & Hypnobirthing Tracks
If your favourite part of a yoga class is the relaxation, you may want to treat yourself to a whole collection of tracks from 12 to 35 mins in length. £12 for 20 tracks.
With a range of themes, you'll be able to nourish your pregnancy. You can also listen to them during labour.
"We listened to your yoga nidra and hypnobirthing tracks through the night [of the labour]." Gill Brennan
Pregnancy Yoga Books
Available to buy from Amazon or direct from me.
A collection of diverse, positive birth stories from clients from Tessa’s pregnancy classes with breathing techniques and birth prep support.
Colouring book with Tessa’s mandalas with affirmations and two yoga nidras.
YouTube playlists - Pregnancy Yoga sequences & Birth Prep know-how
Join Tessa for an hour’s talk on the body in birth historically and the importance of centring it now…
Understand how past studies and practices affect how your labour is monitored and why women are usually depicted as lying down rather than choosing upright positions for birth.
Tessa gives practical tips for during pregnancy to support your baby's position in utero on movement, posture, pelvic floor and professional support.
"Wow! Lots of interesting information and funny how I was seeing being induced as an intervention but not a stretch and sweep... sooo yep, given me lots of food for thought!! Birth plan writing tomorrow and will be showing [my partner] all the moves / tips on asking for cordless sensors etc if I do have to be induced!! Thank you for all the help!!" Joanne Shearsmith