Motherhood
From pregnancy to the school years
Yoga through pregnancy, help with your baby's sleep, yoga after the birth, and family yoga once your child is nine.
Why one teacher
I am a yoga teacher, a certified infant sleep educator and a mother, and the three overlap more than I expected. The breathing you learn in prenatal yoga is the breathing you use in labour, and again at three in the morning with a baby who will not settle. A baby takes much of their calm from the person holding them. And the body that carried a child needs the same careful attention afterwards that it needed before.
The five steps below run in order. Begin at the one you are on.
Prenatal Yoga
The postures change as the months do, and the breathing is the breathing you will want in labour. We spend time on the hips, the lower back and the pelvic floor, and we rest. You can start at any stage once your doctor or midwife agrees, with no yoga behind you.
- Format
- One to one, in Siem Reap or online. If you and your partner would like a prenatal workshop together, ask me.
Understanding Baby Sleep
What is normal in a baby's sleep, and what helps.
A workshop of about two and a half hours, with time for questions, for expectant parents, parents of newborns and the people who help them. You learn how a baby's sleep works: sleep cycles, how a day-and-night rhythm slowly arrives, wake windows, gentle soothing, and routines that support sleep without forcing it. You leave knowing what is normal, with realistic expectations and a few things to try.
- Details
- Online, or in person in Siem Reap. US$30 per booking for up to two participants. In English, Spanish, Portuguese or German.
Gentle Sleep Coaching
One-to-one support for families whose baby or toddler, between six months and two years, wakes often or takes a long time to settle. We build a plan around timing, routine and the room. The methods are responsive: you stay close and you answer your baby.
- Format
- In person in Siem Reap, or online. The first session is a conversation about how your days and nights look now.
Postnatal Yoga
Once your doctor or midwife says you may begin, we work slowly on the pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscles, and on the back and shoulders that carry your baby all day.
- Format
- By appointment, in Siem Reap or online.
Family Yoga
Years later, when your child is nine or older, you can practise together: the traditional class, with the postures and breathing pitched to each age, and one relaxation at the end that everybody shares.
- Format
- By arrangement, for families and community groups in Siem Reap.
We invited Marielisa to run a Mum & Kids Yoga session as one of our Mama Tribe & Kids Siem Reap events for the month of June, and it was such a beautiful experience for our group. She created a warm, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere where both mums and children felt comfortable getting involved. The kids had so much fun trying the yoga poses, while the mums enjoyed having some time to slow down, breathe and connect with their children. It was such a lovely way to bring our community together, and we would absolutely love to have Marielisa join us for another session!
Mama Tribe & Kids Siem Reap
Safe sleep comes first
Whatever we work on, the basics do not change.
- Lay your baby on their back for every sleep.
- Keep the cot clear: no pillows, soft toys, loose blankets or bumpers.
- Give your baby their own flat, firm cot or bassinet in your room for at least the first six months.
- Never fall asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair.
- Keep the room smoke-free, at around sixteen to twenty degrees.
This is the guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Lullaby Trust, and everything I teach sits inside it.
American Academy of Pediatrics safe sleep recommendations (2022) · The Lullaby Trust safer sleep advice
Do you use methods that leave a baby to cry alone?
No. You stay with your baby and you respond. What we change is the timing, the routine and the room.
When can I start prenatal yoga?
Any time, with your doctor's or midwife's agreement. The earlier you start, the more practised the breathing will be by the time you need it.
Do I need to have done yoga before?
No. Prenatal yoga assumes nothing, and many women begin yoga in pregnancy.
Can we do the workshop or the coaching from another country?
Yes. Both run online, in English, Spanish, Portuguese or German.
Is the workshop only for first-time parents?
It is for anyone expecting a baby or caring for a newborn, including second-time parents, grandparents and nannies.
Read first, if it helps
How babies sleep, and how to help
What the trials found, and what a responsive approach means in practice.
7 min read
Tell me which step you are on
Message me with how many weeks you are, or how old your baby is, and what you would like help with.