Featured Teacher and Healer: Clarity West

For those interested in attending the next Sacred Pregnancy and Conscious Birth retreat in Bahay Kalipay Palawan, we have a new teacher in the line up! 

Meet my friend, yoga teacher and healer, Clarity West. 

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She will be leading an Intuitive Painting Session which is a very powerful technique that taps into the soul and dives into our own innate creativity and intuition.

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Clarity West studied Yoga Philosophy, Raja Yoga (the Royal Yoga), Education for Life (EFL) a specialized education for children which focuses on mind, body, spirit, as well as studying and living sustainable communities at the Ananda College of Living Wisdom in Gaston, Oregon. She lived for 3 years around the country at Ananda Yoga ashrams in Northern California, Los Angeles and Portland where she served in several capacities while taking her yoga practice deeper. 

Clarity’s adopted techniques for guided meditations and visualization are inspired by her lineage 

of teachers. Clarity loves to share meditation as a means for deepening and integrating yoga into 

daily life. The list of classes Clarity has facilitated over the years includes Dance Movement 

Meditation (Inner Dance), Guided Visualizations and Meditations, Traditional Sadhana (chanting, 

prayer, meditation, pranayama, kriyas) and Ceremony (puja) across Vancouver, LA and Portland 

at various Colleges, yoga centers and private studios. Over the last year she has begun guiding 

painting/ healing sessions as a mode of exploring the inner world. Clarity is a Kriya yogi (one 

who practices Kriya) through the lineage of her great guru, Paramhansa Yogananda. She has 

studied with many great teachers throughout North America and the Philippines including the 

late Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters) in Northern California. She has trained in Spiritual 

counselling and is available for private and/or group sessions in meditation, yoga philosophy, 

pranayama, asana and energy healing.

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Online registration here. 

Homeopathic Remedies for Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond

If you have read my previous blog story on how I birthed here, you would've seen that I used homeopathy as one of my tools for a successful VBAC home water birth. 

Since the homeopathic kit I used is only available in London, I have decided to source for one locally to put together a kit for expectant moms in the Philippines. 

The Homeopathy Kit

This kit contains 10 pieces of assorted homeopathic remedies that will be very useful all throughout pregnancy, labor, birth and even post-partum. The whole kit is priced 2,000php with instructions on how to properly use each remedy at different phases.

If you are interested in purchasing, please SMS, Viber/Whatsapp 0917-8386261 I can ship the homeopathy kit anywhere in the Philippines, too! Available for pre-order so for more than one, please allow 1 week lead time. Thank you! 

Sacred Postpartum: A Mother's Honoring Workshop

I have had many inquiries on Bengkung Belly Binding after posting photos of the 1st Sacred Pregnancy and Conscious Birth Retreat. It seems like many mothers need extra help to get their organs back in place and bodies back together! 

I have teamed up yet again with my doula, Irina of Conscious Birth Manila to give postpartum moms a workshop on Honoring one's self after birth. We all need closure from whatever birth experience we've had, whether it was an unsatisfactory, traumatizing birth or a loss of a child and even a happy, soulful birth. Birth itself is a form of release so we need to continue the flow with an event with other moms on the same journey.

With the birth of the baby the woman is crossing the threshold from maiden to mother, which is a massive undertaking that not only needs to be recognized and ceremonially honoured, but also deeply necessitates a healing touch that can welcome the new mama with the open arms.

Sacred Postpartum Mother Honoring Retreat will hold space for women on the other side of birth to seal the rawness of the birth experience and support your recovery and journey into the motherhood. 

EVERY woman deserves to be welcomed into MOTHERHOOD through GENTLE LOVING + CARE.

March 7, Saturday 2-6pm in Casa Natura, San Juan

Interested mothers can email consciousbirthmanila@gmail.com or SMS 0917-8386261

Online registration is up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1KJOcbpZUU6s2Yv-XbR1EWhZSeY5L_VLmWDly0H0w69s/viewform

What to bring:

 - any cherished belonging (crystals, malas etc) for the sacred space

 - journal or notebook

 - a long shawl / scarf made of thick fabric

 - yoga mat

See you there!

The 1st Sacred Pregnancy + Conscious Birth Retreat

We've done it! My doula, Irina Otmakhova and I together with our midwife Deborah Gustafson of Shiphrah Birthing Home had the very first Sacred Pregnancy and Conscious retreat in The Little Farm House in Antipolo.

Four expecting couples came to join our first gathering or revolution for the Gentle Birth movement. We had 2 mothers who have had previous c-section deliveries and 2 first-time mothers. All of them are planning a natural birth, doing as much as they can to have the birth of their dreams. Attending this retreat is one of the ways they can gain more knowledge on the birthing business in the most natural sense possible.  

The couples together with the #SacredPregnancyConsciousBirthRetreat teachers and babies

Sharing with you more photos from the event

We set up this Magical Sacred Space! 

We unite and form a mandala in our venue filled with art pieces <3

We've asked the participants to bring a birthing ball for exercises they can practice everyday until the day of birth. Below, you see it being used as support for a mother in labor and her partner can put pressure / massage that will help relieve the waves when the time comes. In my own labor, I found it as one of the most useful tools in natural birth.

Pre-natal yoga is another essential for mother and baby's health all throughout pregnancy and beyond! I taught moms and dads yoga postures that they can use during labor to help baby get in optimum position. Here we are in Goddess Pose also known as the Victory Squat to help strengthen the leg muscles, activates the core muscles and integrates the upper and lower body's energetic pathways.

Irina taught Rebozo techniques to the couples. It is a traditional Mexican practice used to help and serve the woman's body during all phases of pregnancy. It was great to see the husbands and partners support the mothers and babies! If you've ever tried doing rebozo during your pregnancy, it feels divince to be supported of your baby's weight! This is definitely a must-learn that is so very useful especially during the last trimester of pregnancy.

We chose a venue that had greenery and fresh air because we wanted to increase prana of life forces in the body during this one-day retreat. In the hills of Antipolo away from the pollution of Manila, our couples had the luxury of pure, clean oxygen which is so very good for their babies!

Al fresco dining at the Bahay Kubo of HedCen for lunch and snacks

Irina demonstrates the forward leaning inversion to practice everyday for pregnant moms. Why?

"We want room for baby to settle head-down in the uterus and not only head down but crown of the head down (flexed) and on the left. The goal of repeating the forward-leaning inversion every day is to release the utero-sacral ligament and give baby the extra room. " -Spinning Babies

We briefly discussed the benefits of the Bengkung Belly binding, a Malaysian postpartum tradition. Made of pure cotton it offers 360 degree support to the mother prompting a faster postpartum recovery: uterus returning to size, minimises postpartum bleeding and swelling, encourages internal organs to migrate to their original place among other benefits. So honored to be part of the movement resurrecting the ancient traditions of caring for the new mothers.

Bengkung Belly Binded me!

*Since we received many inquiries about this practice. We have decided to create a separate event entirely for postpartum moms- whether you gave birth a few weeks ago or many years ago, we will be sharing many tools, rituals and information to help you physically close the body and on an emotional state bring closure to the birth (whether it was a positive or traumatic experience). 

Please save the date, Post Partum Honouring will be on March 7, Saturday. More details to follow on this blog!

We burned our FEARS that was getting in the way of our DREAMS!

Here are some of the treats and goodies each couple got to enjoy and bring home from our sacred sponsors :)

Healthy vegan cupcakes from Delicielo. I love the malunggay infused one!

Rawlicious green smoothies

Trio soap sample pack from BodyFoodAllNatural

Mosquito Repellent bottles from BodyFoodAllNatural

BodyFoodAllNatural Chamomile + Lavender Manzanilla

INDIGOBaby bath & body product giveaways

 Each couple also gets HALO Baby sleeping wear and Zalor Massage electronic GCs!

 For those wanting to join our next Sacred Pregnancy and Conscious Birth Retreat, we have our next one in Bahay Kalipay, Palawan, a Blissful Mama's Retreat! This is so very special because we are collaborating with our co-goddess, Daniw who is a Raw Food Chef and Healer that will incorporate Nutrition and Detox into our program.

For more details on Gentle Birth, Irina's doula services, prenatal and postnatal yoga, events and retreats, you may also check www.consciousbirthmanila.com.