Expecting and New Moms Find Yoga, Birth, and Wellness Support

Ma Yoga, leaders in Prenatal Yoga and New Mom Wellness, hopes to expand its unique online yoga offerings by fundraising on Indiegogo.

Ma Yoga for Pregnancy, Motherhood & Beyond, a community of Prenatal and New Mom Yoga teachers who have already served more than 5,000 women at 10 locations in Southern California, announced today that it plans to raise funds via a crowdfunding campaign.

Ma Yoga hopes to raise $32,000 on Indiegogo (March 8st through April 4th) to produce several yoga, birth and new mom wellness programs for pregnant women and new moms, as well as to provide recording equipment to certified Ma Yoga teachers so they can offer weekly classes online in the “Ma Yoga Living Room.”

Since studies show that many women experience isolation, anxiety, and depression at some point during the transition to motherhood, and that yoga helps reduce depression and stress in pregnant women (please see The Ma Yoga Living Room Project for citations), the Ma Yoga teachers believe accessible and affordable yoga would benefit moms and moms-to-be.

“Prenatal and New Mom Yoga is more than just learning how to relieve aches and discomfort, get strong and deal with labor,” says Jessica Jennings, MS, founder of Ma Yoga.  “It’s also about how many women are listening inward in a whole new way, and with a little guidance, can tap in to an innate flow of power, wisdom and nurturing energy that they will be able to access for the rest of their lives.”

“Ma Yoga completely changed my life,” said Andrea Moravi, mom of Maia. “My Prenatal Yoga classes were the only place where I felt strong and

capable, and calm inside. And when it came time for labor, I was used to breathing through intense sensation and felt confident. It wasn’t easy – but I was able to stay focused, and even as a new mom I still use what I learned every day.”

“Mamas Speak,” a 2-minute minute video about how Ma Yoga affects their pregnancy, labor, and motherhood, is available on YouTube

Ma Yoga teachers, as well as birth and post-partum professionals, will offer several programs in the Ma Yoga Living Room, including labor and breastfeeding education, wellness for new moms and families and yoga teacher-trainings and practices for supporting moms and moms-to-be.

About Jessica Jennings

Jessica Jennings, MS, ERYT, RPYT, Founder, Ma Yoga for Pregnancy, Motherhood & Beyond, developed and ran a Group Visit and Prenatal Yoga Program in the OB/Gyn Department as a Lifestyle Educator at Kaiser Permanente from 2003-2009. “Pregnancy in Balance” combined Western Medicine with Eastern philosophy and practices, and became the curriculum for Ma Yoga, an internationally recognized school of Prenatal Yoga. In 2009, Jessica brought together Prenatal Yoga teachers she’d trained under to start Ma Yoga. Today, over 5,000 women have benefited from their classes in Southern California.