Decolonizing The Pregnant Body

Price

$39

Duration

4 Weeks

Enroll

01:14

Week I

The course begins! We talk about some of the most common recommendations given to pregnant people to prepare their bodies for birth, and why Rainbow Doula suggests working in a different direction. The pelvic floor and pelvic biomechanics are introduced, along with some positive suggestions for physiologic, evidence-based ways to prepare for birth.

01:10

Week II

In week two of this course, we learn the deep relevance of the jaw and how to release it, take steps to decolonize our genitals, consider non goal-directed pleasure, and wrap up with physiologic pushing to better understand the pelvic floor.

00:48

Week III

This week, we take care of our minds, unlearn some fatphobia, celebrate gentle movement, learn strategies for practicing self love, practice asking for help, increase our hormonal literacy, and BREATHE.

00:29

Body Liberation Support

Whatever lives, moves. Even in "stillness," the heart beats. The breath shifts in and out. During this half hour movement session together, we put into practice some of what we learn in the other modules. There is space to feel your authentic movement, release your jaw and pelvic floor, increase the amount of perception and sensation you have in your pelvic floor, and enjoy moving *freely.*

About the Course

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Have you ever been in a yoga or workout class and been told to "lock" your pelvic floor, or "bring your navel to your spine?" If the pelvic floor is in some ways a doorway which must open to allow a baby through, exclusively practicing "locking" that door over and over leaves out a lot in terms of pelvic floor health, especially for pregnant people.

Dominant narratives around pelvic floor health are created by and for men and have little to do with actual physiology of people with uteruses. For generations, what we've been taught—and not taught—about the birthing body has been through the filter of patriarchy, white supremacy and colonization.

There is much to unlearn and more to learn, and it's exciting, because we're doing it together. I have spent the larger part of a decade obsessively researching and, most importantly, deeply accompanying pregnancy and birth. This course is where I will share with you the most important tips, tools, tricks and wisdom practices I've learned on how to prepare for birth in a physiological way.

This pre-recorded course allows you to learn at your own pace. It includes:
- (Weeks 1-3) Four hours of educational material
- Weekly embodied assignments
- (Week 4) An easy to follow half hour of body liberation support practice

Your Instructor

Gem Rainbow

Gem Rainbow, CD (they/them) is a non-binary full spectrum doula based in Berlin, Germany. They currently serve as Lead Educator and Head of Curriculum Development for Doula Trainings International. Birth work called Gem shortly after graduating from Brown University in 2014, and they’ve since accompanied hundreds of families through their pregnancy, birth, postpartum, loss, and gender transition journeys. Gem’s mission as a doula is to create meaningful change in people’s lives through inclusion, information liberation, and grassroots care work. They are on Earth to hold space for a more radical, more just, more healed world to be born. Gem is fluent in English & German.

Yes, baby!