Mindful Birth Australia

“Though often change is slow, we have heard of stories of women making active choices in pregnancy, birth, and motherhood post Mindful Birth training or workshop. We are proud of our trainees as they are active change agents in their own unique way.”

Back in 2018 I participated in Michelle K Papa and Dr. Jean Byrne’s Mindful Birth Australia pre natal and post natal yoga teacher training in Hong Kong. A topic that we don’t talk about enough, mindfulness and childbirth education in certain cultures and modern society. Michelle and Dr. Jean have over the last decade of their careers integrated science based research with a holistic mindful approach to their teachings. If anyone is looking to learn more about women’s health, pregnancy, natural birth, pre natal and post natal yoga I highly recommend taking their online or offline course to dive deeper into this area. Learn more about how Michelle and Dr. Jeane met and how they started their company, how it has grown and what is in store for them in this new decade.

Curito:

Hi Michelle and Jean! How did you guys meet each other to start Mindful Birth Australia?

MK & JB:

We met at Yoga Space in Perth in about 2009!

Curito:

Was there a big void in the market at the time where women can learn more about the mindful birthing process and prenatal and postnatal yoga? Would you two consider yourselves as a pioneer in this market in Australia?

MK & JB:

Mindfulness was becoming more popular, and the evidence base was growing. So we integrated mindfulness with childbirth education as a pilot study through Curtin University and it was a unique offering and research project. From this pilot study Mindful Birth Teacher Training and Mindful Birth Childbirth Education was founded and at that time there weren't any other teacher training that brought together yoga, mindfulness, birth education, and research.

Curito:

What were some of the biggest challenges you guys faced when starting this business, and what did you learn from them?

MK & JB:

Some of the biggest challenges were protecting our intellectual property and balancing out family life and teaching as mothers of young children when we began to spend time away from our family to share the Mindful Birth training. We know how important this work is for the women we train and for their communities. But yes, it was a juggle. Additionally, it took us a little while to realize that our intellectual property was important and a direct result of our research and academic publications. We became clear as trainers that the content was not to be reproduced.

Curito:

When and how did you guys set up your first overseas training?

MK & JB:

Before we became Mindful Birth, Jean ran the first training by herself in 2009. In 2010, Michelle joined her, and we transformed into Mindful Birth and began our training under our new brand. We were invited by Yoga studios and they hosted our training, and we also continued running our training and workshops in Australia and Bali.

Curito:

Why do you think that globally modern women are not as intuned or aware of their pregnancy journey? What have you seen changed since Mindful Birth was created? Are there more organizations, programs that are doing what you guys are doing to create a bigger ecosystem with research-based information and mindfulness knowledge?

MK & JB:

We think there is an uprising of hunger for information and empowerment. Yet we also see that women and children's rights in the birthing process continue to be eroded throughout the world. Covid-19 shed a light on how quickly women's rights, without sufficient evidence, can be eroded during birth. Our program has supported yoga teachers, midwives, doulas, and other medical professionals and women seeking information on pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Our graduates’ amazing work post-training extends to a wider community. And through their work, women and families are informed about their options, and they learn about the benefits of yoga and mindfulness. Though often change is slow, we have heard of stories of women making active choices in pregnancy, birth, and motherhood post Mindful Birth training or workshop. We are proud of our trainees as they are active change agents in their own unique way.

Curito:

You do your training back in Australia, and in Asia, what are some of the cultural differences you see when you conduct your training in an Asian vs. Western environment?

MK & JB:

We see so many more commonalities! In each location, women are open to learning, creating a sisterhood, and empowering the families they teach to birth and parent mindfully.

Curito:

How has Covid-19 affected your business and what have you guys done to adapt to the environment we are in right now?

MK & JB:

Before Covid-19, we committed to ensuring our Training’s accessibility, so we registered a 100% online program with Yoga Australia. Young mothers found our intensive delivery format difficult and wanted to study from home. So we now have a 100% accredited online training - with your own personal mentor for support on the journey.

Curito:

Who are some of your mentors and what inspires you guys to continue to share this vision and mission with so many other women around the world to empower them?

MK & JB:

For us, support is circular, not hierarchical. We mentor each other each step of the way, and so do our families who are amazing soundboards and supporters of our work. We're always studying, both of us currently undertaking Psychology. We continue to expand our knowledge to help enable us as we love supporting women and families.

Curito:

In this new decade where do you see yourselves personally grow and how will your business grow too?

MK & JB:

We want to continue to grow our online content and professional training.

Curito:

What is the best way to keep up with Mindful Birth Australia's offerings and for those who want to collaborate with you guys to do workshops, training or retreats to spread this message and knowledge how do we reach out?

MK & JB:

We would love to hear from anyone interested in birth and parenting! Our social media channels (FB and IG) are a great place to start, and our website has a wealth of information, including blogs and prospectuses, on our trainings.

Curito:

Thank you Michelle and Dr. Jean for creating such a strong community in the mindfulness and childbirth education market. We learned so much just taking your one week course and hope to help spread more awareness so women and their support group can learn more about the importance and value behind these techniques and traditions. Look forward to seeing how Mindful Birth continues to grow and hope to collaborate in the near future! Stay tuned.

First published on August 26, 2020