Postnatal Support – the 6 best postnatal books

When we are pregnant we spend a lot of time preparing for labour and birth, buying clothes and kit for baby. We focus on the 9 months or so leading up to baby arriving. But we often spend zero time preparing for what comes next!

In this blog post you will find my recommendations for some of the best books for postnatal recovery.

Read them during pregnancy if you can to arm yourself with places to refer back to as you navigate the ups and downs of the first few days, weeks and months of caring for your baby 24 / 7 on little sleep. But you can of course use them anytime after baby has arrived.

There’s not as much information out there for postnatal recovery as there is for pregnancy labour and birth, and in the UK we are pretty much left to our own devices after our 8 week check. But I have gathered what I consider the best books for postpartum recovery and postnatal support and would love you to read them, listen to them, buy them or borrow them from a friend or library. You won’t regret it and they will be your guiding hand for the first 12 months of parenthood.

Postnatal Yoga, Yoga and WellbeingSarah CloverFebruary 14, 2025top tips, Postnatal Yoga, mental health, motherhood, postnatal supportComment

Spirals of Joy - Parent and Baby Bonding through Yoga

The majority of parents/carers can easily recall a moment of pure happiness and joy that occurred when they had a positive interaction with their baby. Simply the response of a smile or a full on belly laugh, or a wonderful hug or even a kiss from their little one. This moment came from a shared experience of love and happiness, each feeding off the other regardless of which person began the moment.

Baby Yoga can help parents and carers to find these moments of joy and happiness. The process of the growth and expansion of these moments and the bond between parent and baby is known as 'The Expanding Spiral of Joy'. Find out more in this blog

Baby Yoga, Postnatal YogaSarah CloverOctober 14, 2024Baby Yoga, relaxation, Baby Massage, Postnatal Yoga

3 ways for new parents to use a muslin to stretch your shoulders

As new parents there are muslins everywhere - now you can add another use for them - to ease out those achy shoulders, that spend a lot more time rounded forward as we hold, feed, lift and carry our little ones.

My ten minute video will show you 3 simple ways to get a lovely shoulder stretch using your muslin or a belt or scarf.

Our shoulders get tight and scrunchy all the time, so this post is not just for new parents, anyone can benefit.

Postnatal Yoga, Yoga Tips, Yoga PracticeSarah CloverAugust 13, 2024Postnatal Yoga, Baby Yoga

10 Books for your Christmas List

I’m a big fan of books. Any kind of book- fiction, non-fiction, hard back, paper back, kindle. I thought I’d share 10 books with you that I’ve loved over the past 12 months or so. There’s a variety, but they are all focused on yoga and mindfulness, and cover the breadth of my classes from pregnancy to meditation to menopause.

Whether you add them to your Christmas list, or are looking for a gift for a friend, you can find all of them (and lots more recommendations) on my https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/Breathingspaceyoga pages – if you buy from there you support local bookshops and also a little tiny commission comes to me. Otherwise they are available from most of your usual booksellers.

Let me know if you read any of them…

10 Teacher Trainings

When you choose to train as a yoga teacher, there is a huge range of training that you can access. In the Western World you usually choose a 200 hour yoga course, or similar, to begin with, and then from there the world’s your oyster!

Read about some of my favourite teacher trainings over the past ten years and why my students are my biggest teachers…

10 Benefits of Baby Massage

Baby Massage is a simple and accessible skill to learn as a new parent. It takes no special equipment and costs nothing other than an initial course to learn how to do it. You can continue to use your massage skills as your baby grows into a toddler and childhood.

In this blog I share 10 benefits of Baby Massage for both your baby and you…

Ten Years, Yoga Practice, Postnatal YogaSarah CloverJuly 3, 2023yoga tips, yoga class, Ten Years

Celebrating Ten Years of Mum and Baby Classes

Ten years ago I trained to teach mum and baby yoga with the wonderful Marion O’Connor at Birthlight, it was the birth of Breathing Space Yoga.

On 7th May 2013 I taught my first Mum and Baby Yoga class with these gorgeous mums and babies at Weaverham Children’s Centre. It was the start of my yoga teaching career and what a lovely way to start!

In this blog post I revisit the last ten years of Mum and Baby Yoga and Massage classes with photos from each year – can you spot yourself and your baby?

How I make my classes accessible

Postnatal Yoga, Yoga and Wellbeing, Yoga PracticeSarah CloverAugust 14, 2022yoga class, yoga practice

How to begin Postnatal Exercise

Your pregnancy and birth may have been pretty smooth sailing and you want to begin to explore your new postnatal body and how to find your way back to fitness. Your pregnancy and birth may have been hugely challenging physically and mentally and you don't feel very much like you any more, or really connected to your body. Or you may be somewhere between the two. The important thing is to be where you are right now and start there.

Postnatal fitness classes are a good way to meet other parents and do something for you now that life seems to be all about baby.

Find out more about how postnatal yoga can help you and how to choose the best postnatal exercise for you.

A relaxation especially for new parents

In this blog post I invite you to take a moment to be with the miracle of being a parent, this is especially for new parents, but if you are a parent of any age child you may enjoy this practice too and you can adapt my words to suit. You can read the relaxation and follow my guidance as you read, or you can listen to the 5 minute MP3 link on the blog page and follow my voice.

Occasional Thoughts Blog

07977093373• sarah@breathingspace-yoga.com