Like many people I’m sure, I’m often terrible at asking for help. I regularly look back at a situation and realise where and how I could have asked for help, and the impact it would have had.
Hyper-independence has been my go-to state of play for many years, and whilst it’s been something I’ve been slow unpicking with time, the experience of postpartum and early motherhood has certainly accelerated my capacity to identify what I need help with. Never have I known what I needed with such precision and accuracy.
Someone coming over to meet my new baby? I need you to unpack the dishwasher, put on a load of washing, bring a snack for us to share, and hold the baby while I take a shower or go to the toilet.
Feeling overstimulated and touched out? I need 5 minutes alone, to make sure I’ve got socks on so the inevitable crumbs on the floor don’t make me angry, and the opportunity to feel seen and listened to.
(In practice however, even if I know what I need, making sure I actually communicate that I need it is still a work in progress.)
One of the most beautiful aspects of asking of help is that it is truly centred on the nature and power of the relationships and communities you surround yourself with. Reflecting on this and considering how I can ask for help has led me to form a request of this wonderful community.
This isn’t exactly how I imagined I’d be sharing this with you, but I’m writing a second book!
And I’d really like your help.
The tentative title? Teaching Pregnancy Yoga: Developing an Inclusive and Nourishing Practice. I’m beyond excited to be working with my wonderful editor Sarah, and the rest of the team at Singing Dragon. They were responsible for so much incredible work with my first book, co-edited by Dr Theo Wildcroft.
The manuscript is due in May 2026, so we’re looking at publication sometime in 2027.
(Another time I’ll tell you how I thought I could write a book with a new baby during their naps - ha! - and was graciously granted an extension by my kind and lovely editor.)
This is my first solo writing project. While I have years of material to draw upon, and my guess would be over one thousand hours spent training teachers in Pregnancy and Postnatal Yoga, I’m still feeling the walls close in on me slightly. I want this book to be the most fantastic resource for those curious to teach, or already teaching Pregnancy Yoga. I want to do the incredible work of Pregnancy Yoga teachers justice: not just in the way that they celebrate pregnancy, but also hold space and create communities.
So in order to reflect what has been some of the most sensitive and impactful teaching I’ve seen, I’d like to get as much input and feedback as possible.
I’m planning to run a series of workshops in the lead up to my manuscript deadline to help me shape my thoughts and give some structure (and socialisation!) to the writing process, which can often feeling lonely and isolating.
The first workshop is coming up online on 29 November, 11:30-15:30 GMT, Teaching Chair Yoga in Pregnancy and Postpartum. Chair yoga can be an incredible practice during pregnancy and postpartum, when our bodies sometimes need more support as they grow, carry, birth and recover.
I’ll be guiding you through how you can include chair yoga during pregnancy and postpartum into your teaching. All the way from using a chair for 1-2 poses during a class, to offering an entire class focussed around the chair, you’ll be surprised to discover the depth, strength, space and rest that practicing with a chair can offer.
We’ll also consider how we can be inclusive of several common situations that can arise during pregnancy and postpartum, including pelvic girdle pain, pelvic floor injuries and recovery, discomfort in the upper body due to feeding/holding positions, sleep disturbances, and use during labour.
I’ll be using these workshops as opportunities to revisit, refresh and renew my material on each topic. Combined with my experience of teaching it, along with your feedback and input, I’ll then be shaping everything read to go in the manuscript.
Attendees will receive the recording of the workshop (particularly handy if you can’t attend live), along with a digital mini-manual (including photos of asanas) and list of resources.
I find the most clarity and language when in dialogue: teaching, discussing and questioning. So I’ve realised that creating moments for me to think through my ideas out loud, and to have them connected to real experiences and relationships, is essential.
Basically, I’d love to see you there. I’d love your help to enable me to shape these words in my head into words on the page.
Practicalities/Discounts
Cost: £45
You receive: 4 hours live zoom/recording sent via email, digital mini-manual, full bibliography & resource list, access to my library of recorded pregnancy yoga & chair yoga classes (28 practices available)
10% discount available for NHS/service workers, and if you are a returning trainee (i.e. you have previously taken my Pregnancy and Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training Course).
There are 5 bursary spots available, costing £15 each, for those experiencing financial difficulty and who would like to attend. Priority is given to BAME/PoC and LGBTQIA+ communities.
There are 3 Participant-Observer spots available, costing £15 each. As a participant observer, you attend the workshop as a regular participant. After the workshop, you will be asked to fill out a feedback form and may have a short phone call with Harriet to discuss your experience of the workshop.
There are no further discounts applicable to the bursary or participant-observer spots.
If you would like to claim a discount or one of the bursary or participant-observer spots, please email me harriet@nourishyogatraining.com
A big shout out to Dr Theo Wildcroft and Beverley Nolan, whose “Nidra Lab” series has partially inspired this approach. I’m beyond excited for their book on Yoga Nidra.
I’m diving deeper and exploring further, so if you’ve taken my courses before, know that there will be new material for you to sink your teeth into, whilst building on the foundations of what we have created together.
As always, thank you for being here.
Harriet x
P.S. Spaces are filling up for my next Pregnancy & Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training - running January-April 2026. Read more here.
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