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I CAN BIRTH™ -

A Childbirth Education Program for Professionals

Colette Crawford, RN, BSN

Mothers all over the world say, "I want the best for my baby"

A normal birth is best for mothers and babies

In a normal birth

• Labor begins on its own
  
• Labor progresses in its own time
• No routine interventions are used that are medically unnecessary
  
• The mother utilizes non-drug methods of pain relief such as, water, movement, and relaxation, breathing and visualization techniques.

Birth is a normal, natural, and healthy process. Women and babies have the inherent wisdom necessary for birth. A spontaneous vaginal birth is likely to be the safest and most satisfying option for you.

You will learn:

• Yoga, breath work, relaxation and meditation techniques for pregnancy, labor and birth
  
• What the normal process of labor is and how the environment affects labor
  
• Factual information on the benefits and risks of our current birthing practices
  
• How you use your energy and how to strengthen your coping skills
  
• To bring your feminine and masculine energies into balance
  
• How to advocate for your birth plan
  
• Ways to have a safe and healthy birth
  
• To gain confidence in your ability to birth

For the professional this course also includes:

• Anatomy and physiology
  
• Understanding and energizing the Chakra system
  
• Routine of yoga poses
  
• Breathing techniques
  
• Common discomforts of pregnancy
  
• Therapeutic application with alternative modalities
  
• Fetal position (occiput posterior, breech, and others)
  
• Inversions, and healthy back and hips for pregnancy and labor
  
• Drugs used in labor
  
• Partner yoga
  
• Postpartum
  
• Techniques for challenges in labor
  
• Yoga for fertility
  
• Healing from c-section and birth trauma
  
• Babywearing, and developmental movement with babies and toddlers

Now, more than ever, there is an urgency to raise our consciousness about birth. Today with 98% of U.S. births experiencing routine medical interventions we are losing our understanding of what normal birth really is. Cesarean section rates have soared along with induction of labor, epidural anesthesia, forceps and vacuum deliveries. One woman in 20 gave birth by cesarean section in 1970. Today 1 in 3 do.

The United States spends more money than any other country on maternity and newborn care yet, falls behind most industrialized countries in mother and infant death and disease.

The majority of women can birth without any interventions

You have the power to change this course with courage, determination, patience, compassion and love – all of which are innate qualities of motherhood. This is woman’s inner nature and the very foundation of family and society.

The time has come for us all, both women and men, to dedicate ourselves to awakening the healing power of motherhood so that we can realize peace and harmony in the world.

Begin with how we give birth

This course will give you an education that you won't find in a book or a typical classroom.

Colette Crawford has been working in birth and with families for over 30 years as a childbirth educator, and as a labor and delivery and public health registered nurse. Colette is a certified yoga instructor, co-founder of the Seattle Holistic Center and developer of a nationally acclaimed Holistic Prenatal Program. She is the creator of internationally distributed yoga videos on: Women’s Health, Pregnancy, Labor and Birth, and Postnatal Yoga.

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Dates

• TBA

Tuition

TBA ($150 non-refundable deposit required to register)

There is required reading to help prepare you for the program. You will receive a list of required texts after registration is complete.

Private Study with Colette

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Tuition and Refund Policy

• Full payment is due as indicated before the first day of the training.
• A non-refundable deposit of $150 is required to hold your space in the program. The balance is due according to the tuition policy.
• We accept cash, checks, Visa or MasterCard.
• We charge a $25 returned check fee.
• Make checks payable to: Seattle Holistic Center.
• Refunds are available up to three weeks before the training begins minus a $150 handling fee. After this time no refund or credit will be given if you decide not to attend.
• Once the training begins and you decide not to continue, no refund or credit will be given.
• All fees and schedules are subject to change without notice.

Colette Crawford, began yoga as a teenager in the late 1960’s and was certified as a teacher in 1986. She is co-founder of the Seattle Holistic Center and creator of the nationally and internationally acclaimed Holistic Prenatal program. She is an experienced nurse specializing in maternal/child health, labor and delivery and childbirth education.

Colette is to dedicated to helping women discover their inner wisdom to give birth. In these times our increased dependence on technology has contributed to a lack of confidence in our ability to give birth without intervention. In this training you will learn how to help women and their partners gain awareness and confidence to birth, inspiring them to actualize this wisdom.

Testimonials

I was drawn to Seattle by inner force to attend Colette’s course to become a better prenatal yoga teacher. I had been teaching prenatal yoga for 2 years but there was something missing. I needed more knowledge and confidence.

It was hard work for me to go that deep with in my self and face my obstacles. My fear and doubts were standing in my way, to feel confident in my work. I am so grateful for the wisdom and the inspiration which I received from Colette. To day I am teaching yoga full time, mainly prenatal yoga which I love teaching. I was inspired by the philosophy of healing the natural birth and I am proud to be able to share this knowledge in my classes.

I am honored to have been Colette’s student. And I feel the urge to seek more knowledge in my practice.

  - Margret Skuladottir, Yoga with Maggy, Reykjavik, Iceland

“Through inspiration and wisdom Colette guides her students to live in the moment, transcending the quality of birth and yoga into everyday being.”

  - Alyssa Miller, Prenatal Yoga Center, New York, NY

“Colette asks us to look deep within ourselves to identify and release our own personal blockages. She has taught me to be the best teacher that I can be, which involves a lot of hard work. The only way for me to be an open, responsible and conscious teacher is if I raise my own personal consciousness and awareness.”

  - Debra Flashenberg, Prenatal Yoga Center, New York, NY

I made quite an effort (in terms of physical energy, time and money) in traveling to Seattle to attend this course. The things that I got from this course were far more than I gave. I was 4 months pregnant while at this course. Colette helped me to awaken the innate power within me. I began to trust my body and listen to the intelligence from within. I gave birth naturally one day before my due time.

I have become a thinking woman (a wiser woman) and do not just listen to what the medical world tells me. Colette told us to look for the risks and the benefits and weigh them when we were given options. I carry this thinking to other areas of my life.
  - Cheryl Wong, Yoga Teacher, Hong Kong, China

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“As the mum of my 19-month old son and my unborn baby expected in November of 2007, your training has enriched my experience of pregnancy and motherhood in countless ways. I often use the tools from these readings and your training to practice gentleness, presence and surrender when I face the daily challenges of mothering young children. I felt so enriched by the stories you shared which made us all laugh, cry, and feel in our very bones the importance of this work.

For my beautiful unborn baby and I, your trainings were times of great reflection and bonding. You facilitated a deep spiritual and emotional opening for me which, is still unfolding. That is perhaps the greatest gift you have left with me. I look forward to using the tools from your training as equally in my personal life as I do with the pregnant women I will work with in the years to come.

Finally, I want to thank you for sparking my deep interest in pregnancy and birth in our world today. I felt drawn to learn more about birth as I delved into my own prenatal practice, but the inspiration you have shown me has ignited what I believe will be my life’s work.

  - MarySue Henneberry, British Columbia, Canada

Colette's teaching reach far beyond information about pregnant bodies and prenatal yoga, she teaches teachers how to see and interact with people -- mothers, their children, and partners -- who are experiencing one of the most transformative intimacies of life.  
  - Gayla Marie Stiles, Brooklyn, New York

During my second pregnancy I was looking for a deeper experience of birthing. I was already at a quite advanced stage when I found about Colette's training. I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend it.

I'll never forget that first pregnancy yoga class with Colette. Guided by her voice, gentle and firm; with her presence in every word, my baby and I were breathing every moment. I felt one with my baby, one with the other mothers to be, one with the flowers on the windowsill, one with the leaves rustling in the wind outside. Everything was in resonance, everything came together in that very
moment, I felt connected, open to receive and give love.

Colette walks her talk, and with her, I learned to open the door to love, let it come in and replace fears within me. I learned to trust myself, my baby and life. I learned that I can allow myself to be who I am, to consciously take my life in my hands and take time to be a mother. Her teachings helped me to accompany my baby through our birthing experience, and let her accompany me in my role of mom. I learned to say "YES" to love, and what is sometimes even more important in this organized world, I learned to say "NO" to fear. And I hope to pass this on to my girls!

Colette's teaching is a celebration of motherhood: for pregnancy, birthing, and parenting, for family life and beyond.

  - Suzana Martinovic, France

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My prenatal yoga training with Colette became so much more than I had ever imagined. Her program was the catalyst for introspection and personal growth. In addition to providing us with the tools necessary for an in depth understanding of prenatal asana, breath work, anatomy and the issues surrounding pregnancy, Colette led each of us into a self-discovery process.

In my case, it began with examining the births of my 3 children, all c-sections in the 1980's and early 90's. It was during the required assignment of writing my "birth story" that I was unexpectedly struck by the unaddressed grief I had been harboring for 17 years.

Through Colette’s understanding, knowledge and compassionate concern regarding the effects of c-sections on mothers, babies, and families, I was led to confront my grief, deal with it, and eventually heal.

It was my experience, that Colette’s program provided me with much more than the intended knowledge and skills required to become an exceptional yoga teacher. This program facilitated my heart in opening to the sacredness of pregnancy and childbirth in ways I had not experienced prior to this training.

Colette inspired within me the passion to help women realize the gift of the birthing experience,  that sadly so many women are unknowingly surrendering to unnecessary c- sections and other harmful interventions. She has a unique ability to enable her students to become empowered as teachers and more importantly as women setting healthy examples for other women.

Like Colette, I am deeply concerned and saddened by the high rate of c-sections. Determined to educate women towards natural childbirth, I now have my own prenatal program based upon all I learned from Colette.  Knowing that my students are experiencing "conscious" pregnancies and births, inspires me to continue this important work.

I thank you Colette each day, for sharing your passion, devotion, and wisdom with me, and all your students.

With constant gratitude and respect,

  - Karen Glick, R.N. BSN, founder of Karensyogabirth

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