Growing & Glowing Pregnancy Ecourse

After many moons of work, I'm so happy to announce that the Growing & Glowing Pregnancy Ecourse is now open for enrollment! Created by myself, Stepha Lawson (@doulascienceandsoul) and Genevieve Slonim (@genevieve.family), this course is truly a heart offering.

Packed with soul wisdom from our two doulas, plus engaging journaling prompts, printable playsheets, creative art activities, guided audio meditations, and a relaxing prenatal yoga class, this self-paced E-course will keep you excited and engaged.

This course was created to celebrate you on your journey to motherhood and help you get in touch with your own strength and power and wild potency.

Whether you’re planning to give birth at a hospital, birth center, or at home (or if you’re unsure!) you will find relevant information and activities here that will prepare you for your journey to motherhood.

Pregnancy is a time of deep radical change and transformation. Cross-culturally, many social groups do not consider a girl a woman until after she has given birth. As you begin to shed your identity of “maiden” and move into the role of “mother” you begin to experience that sincere force to become someone completely new. Graced by the significant and fierce capacity to merge into the being the woman you have always envisioned. 

You have a chance to examine old baggage, beliefs and values you are holding onto and unravel how they are helping you or not. You have a chance to let go of those that cease to serve.

Preparing for birth and motherhood often brings us face to face with deep and heavy fears. If we face these fears with mindfulness and awareness, learn to work with fear as a trusted ally, we can use them to illuminate our path and to make us stronger mothers. 

We all experience pregnancy in different ways, and each pregnancy can vary.  You may be over the moon with joy and excitement, or you may be anxious and have mixed feelings about the big changes ahead. Your pregnancy may have been planned and much awaited, or it may have been a complete (and overwhelming!) surprise. This may be your first baby, or it may be your fifth. 

We can't wait to hear your feedback and support you through this course! You can share your journey with us by tagging @spiritysol @doulascienceandsoul and @genevieve love and using the tag #growingandglowing 

SPRING

Spring is here and I've got babies and bellies and blossoms on my mind!!

MOON CALENDAR PLAYSHEET// FREE DOWNLOAD

I recently created this moon calendar playsheet to track my physical and emotional shifts throughout the month-- and I thought it would be fun to share with you. 

 When I was recovering from my first miscarriage a few years ago and trying to get pregnant with Tai, I became very focused on the moon cycles. I would spend a few minutes outside every evening, letting my body sync with mama moon. Watching the moon change made feel more connected to the cycles of growth, death, and rebirth in the natural world.  After a month or two of simply tuning in to the moon, my cycles regulated-- I began to ovulate on the full moon and bleed at the new moon. And a few months later, I became pregnant with Tai!

While I'm not currently trying to get pregnant, I am hoping to reconnect with mama moon and tune in to her influence on my energy levels, moods, and heart feels.   I'm excited to see if any patterns emerge over the months!

If you'd like to track your own moods and physical manifestations of the moon power, simply download and print the playsheet below. (Left click, "Save" and the print.)

Begin by filling in the dates for the moon phases of the month. (You can google these pretty easily.) 

To track your emotions---use the moons at the bottom of the page as a key. Label each with a different emotion that you commonly feel and color each with a shade that you associate with this feeling. At the end of each day, color a moon in the middle circle with the color of the feeling that marked your day. 

To track physical changes and bleeding cycles, color in the moons in the inner circle on the days that you bleed. If you're currently not bleeding due to pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormonal birth control, or other health factors, use the inner circle of moons to track your energy levels. 

I'd love to see how you're using your moon playsheet! Share with us on Instagram by tagging me (@spiritysol.) Enjoy!

COLORING BOOK COVER HELP

The Spirit&Sol coloring book is so close to being done-- but I need help with the cover! Do you want to see your art on the front of a birthy/goddessy coloring book?? If so-- download this coloring sheet, give it some colorful love, and then email it to me at catieatkinson@hotmail.com. I'll choose my favorite image for the front of the new coloring book-- and the winner will get a free copy!

Please send all images by Sunday 1/24 and include your name (and IG name, if you have one.)

(And here's the small print for legal purposes......By submitting the coloring sheet to me via email, you agree to have your artwork printed on the cover of the Spirit&Sol coloring book. Winner will receive one free copy of the coloring book but no monetary compensation nor proceeds from the coloring book. Coloring sheet is for personal use and may not be reproduced, copied, or shared without permission.)

SOMETHING BIG IS COMING!

For many months now, I've been working on a big project that I'll be releasing on the next full moon (Jan 23rd.)  Are you on the edge of your seat? Is the suspense killing you?? Drumroll please.......

GROWING & GLOWING: The Goddess's Guide to Peaceful Pregnancy and Blissful Birth

What is this, you ask? Growing and Glowing is an ecourse designed to celebrate the journey from maiden to mother. Through journaling prompts, written content, art projects, rituals, activities, exercises, guided meditations and more, expecting mamas are invited to dive deeper into the experience of pregnancy and prepare for a peaceful, powerful birth.

A few examples of the topics covered:

"Incorporating Self Care into Your Daily Life"

"Using Fear to Illuminate Your Path"

"Reframing Your Beliefs About Pain"

and 

"Practices for Postpartum Wellness"

This course was designed to engage, inspire, and promote growth through art projects, guided meditations, movement exercises, recipes, and thought provoking invitations to dive deeper into th experience. 

The course also comes with:

-3 guided audio meditations that you can download to your phone 

-10 coloring sheets that you can print out

-4 full color birth affirmation posters to download and print

-an illustrated guide to labor positions 

-6 "playsheets" for fun self exploration

-a printable birth plan that you can customize 

-an extensive resource guide with books, websites, and videos on peaceful, powerful birth

and

-2 prenatal yoga classes that can be done at any point during your pregnancy

Still have questions??

FAQS

How long is the course?

This course is self paced, meaning that you can spend as much time as you want to complete it. How long it takes will depend on where you are in your pregnancy and how deeply you choose to engage with the content. 

How do I use it?

You can use this course however you like! You may want to set aside a special time each week for "classes" or you may just want to drop in to the website whenever you feel like it. 

What is covered?

This course focuses on the spiritual and emotional aspects of pregnancy and birth. We explore our beliefs about birth, our fears, our hopes, and our expectations. The course also covers information on self care, hiring a doula, creating a birth plan, partnership, preparing for the postpartum period, and more. There are visual guides for labor positions and babywearing tips, information about managing stress, and pain management tools and techniques. 

What is not covered?

This is not a childbirth education course. While there is some information on the technical aspects of birth (such as labor positions and pain management) this course does not cover the developmental process of pregnancy, the stages of labor, or "what to expect when you're expecting." Most mothers will want to supplement the info in this course with books about pregnancy and birth and/or a childbirth education course (recommendations for these are listed in the resources section of this course.)

I'm planning on having a cesarean section-- is this course for me?

YES! This course is for any mother, planning any kind of birth (or even those who don't know what kind of birth they want!) The focus of this course is on preparing ourselves for a peaceful and powerful birth-- however and wherever it takes place. 

Is this course for me?

If you are a pregnant mama looking to dive deeper into the experience of pregnancy and prepare for a blissful, empowering birth, than this course is for you! 

Who is this course NOT for?

This course is not for you if you are not interested in getting in touch with your spiritual/emotional self or if you aren't interested in self exploration and growth. 

What do I need to complete this course?

All you need to complete this course is an open mind and heart. You'll also probably want to have a journal on hand, as well as a few simple art supplies and access to a printer, but those things are all optional. :)

How much does it cost?

The course is $40- and I promise to make it every penny! :) 

Ready to sign up?? I'll be opening registration on January 23rd-- please keep an eye on our FB and Instagram page for the official registration announcement. 

2016 CALENDAR

The 2016 calendar is now available! 

( You can order it here )

Here's a peak at what's inside

WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK

In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, I'll be sharing some of my favorite breastfeeding paintings this week, along with some photos and my own journey breastfeeding my two sons.

It's no secret that I love breastfeeding :D -- if you're familiar with my art, you know that many of the paintings I do feature mamas nursing their little ones. To me, there's nothing more beautiful than the intimate connection and bond between a mother and her child, and the breastfeeding relationship highlights this love.