Mum And Baby Yoga with Laura Correa

Postpartum can feel like waking up in a body you barely recognise, with a calendar that no longer belongs to you. Laura joins me to talk about mum and baby yoga as a grounded, practical way to reconnect with yourself while you care for a tiny human who changes daily. Her approach is built on mindful movement and bonding, without the pressure to be quiet, polished, or “back to normal”. If you’ve ever thought you’re not flexible enough, not fit enough, or not put-together enough for yoga, this chat is for you.

We get into what actually helps mums most: noticing what your body can do now, building strength as your baby grows, and finding a community where babies babble, mums laugh, and nobody gets shushed for being real. Laura shares why the hardest part is showing up, why “come exactly as you are” isn’t a slogan but a strategy, and how a welcoming environment can shift your confidence faster than any perfect pose.

We also explore yoga beyond the studio, including online options and “yoga for real life” ideas you can use in everyday parenting moments like the car seat struggle, getting out the door, or bedtime. We touch on spirituality and values, self-care that doesn’t feel indulgent, and why gratitude and self-love practices matter for kids as much as adults. If you want gentle postpartum yoga support, toddler yoga inspiration, or a more realistic path to wellbeing, hit play.

Follow Laura on Instagram @mamiinmotion

Use code "shesorganised" to get 10% off both websites:

www.jananibalayoga.com

www.HappyLittlePress.com

Subscribe for more, share this with a mum who needs it, and leave a review so more families can find Beyond Organised.

(Apologies that towards the end of the recording Mel's sound quality deteriorated and was difficult to understand. We were unable to repair the damaged audio. We hope you got value from this episode though). 

Transcript

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Welcome And Meet Laura

Mel 0:18

Welcome to Beyond Organised, the podcast that helps you simplify your life and amplify your purpose. I'm Mel Schenker, life coach, speaker, founder of She's Organised, but, more importantly, a wife and mum of four little kids. If you've ever felt overwhelmed, like you're constantly juggling everything but never quite catching up, this is the place for you. Here we go beyond just the tidying up and creating systems. We're talking about real life strategies that bring order to your life, but also we talk about the things beyond the organising, the things that really matter, like your parenting relationships and so much more. So grab your coffee and let's dive in. Welcome back to another episode of Beyond Organised. I have Laura with us today. And just to give you a bit of a rundown on who this lovely lady is, Laura is a yoga teacher, creator, and a mother who has been practicing yoga since 2010. Her relationship with movement and breath has long been a grounding force. And since welcoming her son in October 2024, it has become a way of navigating motherhood with presence, curiosity, and care. This season of life inspired the creation of JananiBala yoga, an offering rooted in connection and the belief that everyday movements can become meaningful rituals of growth. Her work centers on mindful movement, play, and real life experiences that support both children and caregivers. Drawing from yoga, montserie principles, and a holistic lifestyle, Laura creates space and tools that invite strength, softness, and joy, honoring the evolving bond between mother and child and the wisdom found in simply moving, breathing, and being together. That sounds like a breath of fresh air.

Speaker 2:04

So welcome to the show, Laura. Thanks. Thanks, Mel, for having me. I'm so excited and honored to be on your show, truly.

Mel 2:11

Well, for everyone listening, this has been the third attempt to try and get Laura on. I was so sick a few weeks ago when we started to record, and I was like, no, sorry, have to cut it. Um, so Laura has been very patient with me, and I've been very excited to have her on for you all to listen because I really do feel that what she offers to mums and bubs is exciting and it's different, and it's not something that I've really come across. So, in saying that, what inspired you to do the work that you're doing with mums and bubs?

Postpartum Inspiration For Mum Yoga

Speaker 2:46

Yeah, so my own postpartum journey really was what inspired this. Um, you know, I was teaching a little bit before I got pregnant, and um I actually started to sub at a studio by my house, um, just a few classes here and there. I became really close friends with uh the studio owner, and she's like, Hey, how you know, what are you doing for your postpartum journey? How are you um gonna handle that? Because it's difficult, right? And I told her, you know, I'm gonna try to use yoga to bond with the baby and to reconnect back to my new body. And she's like, Would you like to do a postpartum workshop here and kind of just do it with the community? I was like, Yes, absolutely. And so from that, mom and baby yoga was born, where we basically kind of use baby as a weight. Um, we use baby to help us like meet other moms to stretch, and then babies connect with each other. And so it's a really beautiful bonding experience. And then from then on, you know, over the course of you know, several years, it's really grown into toddler yoga and kids' yoga and just so they get older and they want to stay in there.

Mel 3:56

Yeah, I get it. Absolutely, yes. That's beautiful, and I I've gotta say, I've had four kids, so I get it. There's a lot of with our bodies, yeah, and I love that all of this was birthed from a place of wanting to just connect with the way your body is now, and not in trying to change anything about you, but actually rediscover who you are now in this season. I think that is spot on and really healthy way to look at it because let's face it, for me with four kids, I don't think my stomach is ever gonna go back to the way it was. But that's okay, you know? It's okay. I've had four kids and I love that it doesn't matter what shape or what size or anything, that it's just being able to connect with who you are now because your body did an amazing thing. Absolutely. What do you feel helps mums the most in in doing this yoga program?

Speaker 5:01

Well, I think the first thing is just, you know, being able to figure out like what is my body doing now? Like, okay, this is something that I wasn't capable of before and now I can do it, or vice versa, right? But I think it's it's kind of an interesting line because sometimes you can compare too much to who you were, and it's more about looking forward than looking back, right? Yeah, but then also being with baby, it's like as your baby grows, you're like, whoa, you're heavier now, like this weight is heavier, but I'm also stronger. It's just the weirdest. Um you grow in strength as they grow in weight. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yes. But it's really nice because you know, you can see moms like just enjoying who they are now as a mom and as a yogi, um, but also they're babies because babies will become more aware and they'll play with other babies in the room, and now they're crawling and now they're you're chasing them or you're letting them go. And it's just such a a great way to explore who you are as a mom and also as a person.

Body Acceptance And Real Community

Mel 6:06

Yeah. Well, I think a lot of us spums in the beginning, we don't realize that as much as the baby is growing and changing, so are we. You know, and a lot of it is internal for us, I get it. But there's a lot that shifts and changes. And one thing I like to remind women, because there's a lot of us that live either 10 steps ahead into the future of where we want to get to. And maybe in this case, it's getting to a level of health again that we aspired to be, because maybe that's what we were 10 steps behind in the past. But actually, going, you know, there was a time in the past that you dreamt of today that you wanted to be in this position today. You wanted that baby, you wanted this life. And maybe it didn't look exactly like this, but in a manner of speaking, this is your dream from however long ago. And let's live in today and not just think I want to get back to that body or I want to be in this position in my life and move ahead, but live in the dream today.

Speaker 7:15

Yeah. And exactly how it's um, you know, you hit the nail on the head when you said, Oh, it doesn't look like I thought it was gonna look. And sometimes you just need to talk about that. And, you know, in class, it I know in traditional yoga settings, it's you're doing the pose, you're following the instructor, instructor, you're not talking to anyone, but really in mom and baby yoga, we do talk to each other and we do laugh and we do, you know, the babies babble. And so a lot of the time we might be, you know, in in tabletop pose, kind of doing cat cat and cow, trying to connect back to our um our abs, and we're talking to our neighbor because we had a similar experience. So um so that sense of community is really nice. You're kind of multitasking too.

Mel 8:03

Yeah, and I like that just casual kind of freedom to just it is gonna be what it's gonna be, and to have that ability to talk. Because I I mean, when I went to the gym and they were running the yoga and stuff there, my goodness, like if you even so much as sneezed, it was like shh. It was just like sorry. You can't even say sorry because then every someone else is telling you to be quiet, and it's just um it's uncomfortable, especially for someone like me, but also other women who maybe struggle with quieter environments, you know, their brains going a million miles an hour, there's always something to talk about, whatever it is. Um yeah, I like this setting.

Speaker 8:50

And it's it's totally different because you know, even just from the start of class, right? Like it's hard to get out of the house with with kids, right? So I I have moms that arrive late and they're like, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. And I'm like, no, you're not late, you're on time, you're okay. Still doing it. It's good. Yeah, and you know, so all the other moms that are there will wave at them and we'll scooch over and we'll laugh. And so it's really a welcoming environment for for mom and baby.

Mel 9:20

That's really that's really special. Now, I didn't ask you, but obviously for the people that are listening and then going, oh, that sounds like a lot of fun. Whereabouts are you based in the US?

Speaker 9:32

Yes, I'm in Michigan. Um, so very cold, very snowy. But yeah, I'm in Michigan.

Mel 9:39

Okay. So anyone that's in the Michigan state can actually look and see whereabouts you are. For everyone else in the rest of the world that wants to connect in a way of this.

Accessible Yoga Beyond The Studio

Mel 9:53

Is there something that you offer online or you can maybe connect people to their local community?

Speaker 10:00

Yes, definitely. So um primarily I teach in person. I do have some online classes that I can do a one-on-one with you on, and I can definitely give your listeners a discount for that. But there's a couple of other products that I'm working on too that I think will help your listeners across the world. One of them being a teacher training for the non-yoga teacher, but basically to kind of help them. How do the how do I do this in-home around me if I don't have somebody that is a yoga teacher that does this kind of work? So because I think this should be accessible to everyone. And you know, when it comes to teaching yoga, there's certain fundamentals that you can know, but you don't necessarily have to be the perfect cure. You don't have to, you know, know the whole history of yoga, which is what we get trained for. I think there's pieces, bits, and pieces that we can learn and apply in our own life, right? So that's one of the products. And and definitely I can do online classes with you guys if you do want to work with me. And then the other thing that I'm also working on is something called yoga for real life, which, you know, less for mom and baby, although there are some aspects that can be applied to baby. But if you're a mom who has a toddler or an older kid and you have difficult moments, how can you integrate yoga into these moments to help you know make it easier? So, for example, the one I just finished, they're all like one pagers of like how to use yoga in these moments, but the one I just finished is for the car seat. So my my toddler, I know it's so weird. You're like yoga, different. I wasn't expecting that.

unknown 11:36

That's great.

Speaker 11:38

Um, but like my toddler, every time I put him in the car seat, I I don't know what it is. It's like you're not in pain, you're okay. Just it's okay. So, you know, so I I came up with okay, how do we make this fun through yoga? How do we make this exciting for you? Or like if you're walking out the door and you can't get out in time, like how do we eliminate this power struggle through something fun like yoga? So that's also available to your listeners as a download. Ah, that is cool.

Mel 12:08

I'm very curious on that. I love that you're creating something. I know it's still in the works, but I love that you're creating something that makes it accessible for a lot because even even those that live probably around the corner from you would still appreciate it because it's not always easy getting out the door with a baby, with a toddler, with a child. And not just that, there's everyone has different body image insecurities and things that they're dealing with too, and might not even feel comfortable to step foot inside a studio or anything to do with it.

Speaker 12:48

You know what? And I really don't blame them for that because when you see things like you know, Aloe Yoga or Lululemon or all of these like big yoga brands, and they're these perfect bodies. Yes, doing doing these incredible poses. And I'm like, you guys, I've been I've been doing yoga for 16 years and I cannot do that, you know, and I don't look like that's good to know. Oh, oh yeah, and you know, we're all built differently, like some of us t have tight hips, some of us, you know, have tight shoulders, and so it it really gives people a sense of, well, I'm not flexible, I can't do yoga. And it's like if you can breathe, you can do yoga.

Mel 13:28

That's good to know because I've gotta say, I would I would classify myself as I'm not flexible. I used to be like that in all areas of my life. Um, I've gotten better when it comes to my time and my structure, but physically, yeah, flexibility is a work in progress.

Speaker 13:45

It it's gonna be forever, truly.

Mel 13:48

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh well, that's okay. So what is one thing that you wish a mum out there would know when it comes to yoga or baby yoga or anything? What's one thing that you wish they would know?

Speaker 14:04

I think it would be to just come exactly as you are. There are so many times that I do yoga in my house in my PJs because it's just so much easier than getting into like the yoga pants, right? Or like the sports bra. I'm like, if I have 15 minutes and five of those is gonna be changing into clothes, I'm just gonna lead my PJs on and do it that way. So sometimes like moms will come into class and you know, it's like their hair is still from last night. I'm like, you look beautiful, you're perfect. Like just show up exactly how you are and let time really build to where you want to be. You don't have to do the perfect handstand today, and you don't have to wear all the perfect lululemon clothes or whatever today. That's what I would say. Because that I think just showing up is the hardest part. Once you're there, like you've you've you're over the hump.

Mel 14:55

Yeah, true. They do say getting started is the hardest thing. And I think it because it's not just taking that action, it's combating what are people gonna think? Am I going to get along with anyone there? Is my baby gonna cry the whole time? Like all these other things that would be going through their head, right? Because I know that would probably go through my head. My youngest is 18 months old, and I could see how there would be things that would go through my head going, I don't know how this is gonna look.

Speaker 15:22

Oh my gosh. And that's almost the best part is that you don't know, right? So you have to be in the present moment. And you know, toddler yoga is like that, right? Like you you're talking about you're 18 months old. It's completely unpredictable. Like, oh yeah, I'll have a lesson planned. I'm like, here's what we're gonna do. And sometimes we're just having to chase them around, and that's fun too. And that's exercise. Maybe not quite yoga, but it's exercise. Exactly. You know, it's just you you just go with the flow and you see that everyone in the in the space is like, oh, that's really funny, or oh, let me help you, or you know, oh let's it's it's such a community, truly. Yeah.

Teaching By Vibe And Need

Mel 16:04

So for you and what you do, like how does yoga work for you? Because I know that for some people they come to yoga more like for the the stretching and the flexibility and and the actual physical aspect. For others, it's the spiritual aspect and things like that. Where do where do you sit on what you offer?

Speaker 16:24

Hmm. Yeah, that's a really good question. I think it depends on the class, and I think it depends too, even on the day, um, and the vibe, the vibe of the room. Like sometimes I have a mom and baby yoga class where you can sense that mom wants to sweat a little bit, right? So possibly a little bit more intense that day. Yeah. Sometimes you can sense that maybe the baby was teething or you know, didn't sleep well last night, and mom's like, Can I just lay in Shivasana? You know, and so we do that too. Or like even in kids' yoga, it's typically like three to ten. Then you get into teens and that's a little bit different. But three to ten, you know, even in that class, like sometimes you can tell that the kids want to release more energy, and so you do more strenuous things, things that get them their heart rate going, or sometimes you can tell that they're tired and so we're like shavasana, you know. So it we I really try so much to meet the needs of the room.

Mel 17:30

That's good. I think that's good, and I think that's what makes a good teacher, an instructor, someone that can read the room and just go, okay, I can see you're all exhausted. I've got you. Like you still showed up. That's good. Now you'll be rewarded. Thank you. Yeah. I think that's good. And I've seen this as a coach in other coaches and that too, where it's like, oh, but the plan is this and the structure is this, but then you jump on the zoom or you're in a room with people, and you know, like the atmosphere is different. This is not working with what I had planned. They're exhausted today, or they're hungry, like they want more. It's just you've got to read the room too. And I like that you do that. You do that in what you offer. And I think that's what makes a great instructor, a great coach. So makes my two sense.

Speaker 18:28

Thanks. I I appreciate that. I I will say, I think a little bit of my background, which actually not a lot of people know, but it's coming up, so I'll talk about it. In high school, I was a theater major.

Mel 18:40

It's I know it's a little weird. Like most people are like, You have to I was in all the creative arts and stuff like that too. So I get it. Yeah.

Speaker 18:46

Sweet, yay, fellow creative. And I mean that makes sense because now you're hosting a podcast.

Mel 18:50

So what can I say?

Speaker 18:54

I love it. I love it. Um, but yeah, in that we had to get used to a level of um ambiguity, right? Like from improvise, yeah. Right. You know, I I remember one day we were performing and there was supposed to be a telephone that went off that would cue my next line. And it didn't, it didn't go off. And I remember being like, oh, how can I make this work? And I was like, Oh, you know, the phone volume is down, is like what I added. And so that that improv kind of followed me into actually looking at the audience. Well, in this case, you know, the class and and trying to melt into what's going on, the vibes. That sounds like it would have been a bit of pressure in the moment, but good good to adapt and learn, hey, and good life lessons. Yeah, it definitely was pressured to the point that I remember it still today, because I'm way, way, way, way over high school. Way a lot older.

Mel 19:52

It's scary when you think how long ago it is. Like I just realized it was 20 years ago for me.

Speaker 19:59

I'm like, I'm not that old. I know, I know. And it's in fact, no, it's so scary. You know, just the other day, oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm gonna say this to a podcast. But just the other day, I was like, I remember like a year ago, I had a few gray hairs, and then like just the other day, I was like looking at a bump on my on my head, and I had like so many I couldn't count them just in one section. I know, and I was like, how much time has gone by?

Mel 20:27

Like how? But you know At least with gray hairs, you can easily cover it up. It's when you start losing hair altogether, that's the problem.

Speaker 20:35

Maybe there's a yoga for that. I don't know. Like a headstand to get maybe like a headstand to get like the blood flowing down. I don't know. I'm also that type of person that's like, that's like, you know, somebody will say, Oh, I have a stomachache. I'm like, have you tried yoga? Or like, oh, I hurt my tooth. I'm like, have you tried yoga?

Mel 20:59

Okay, even my brain is going, I don't know how that would work, but I'm sure you would have the answer for it.

Speaker 21:07

I don't know. I just feel like yoga can solve so many things. Like it truly is a mind-body. You and you were talking about that earlier, how it truly is like a spiritual and a physical thing, you know, and an emotional thing too. Yeah.

Yoga, Faith, And Self-Care

Mel 21:22

And look, I gotta say, as like I'm a Christian myself, so there is this not conflict, but there is this pull between what's okay, what's maybe not okay, all that kind of stuff from a spiritual aspect. But I still think at the end of the day, if you're moving your body and you are looking after it, because I do believe our body is the temple for the Holy Spirit, then it really comes down to your heart posture and your attitude towards things too. And so, yes, it might look a bit different. Yep, a lot of people can argue yoga steps into the new age or steps into Buddhism. Or steps into whatever else, and that's okay if that's the direction they like. But I think that it really comes down to how you choose to view your body and your and the movement and you know who who is your body the temple for.

Speaker 22:16

Right. I mean, you know, I think the the direct translation, or maybe not direct, but the closest for yoga is is to unite. And so I feel like at least for me, my experience with yoga when I first started was it really gave me a sense of myself and the love that I had for myself, not in a selfish way, not in a you know, just just appreciation for self, right? Yeah. And then once you have it for yourself, you can so much, you can so much more easily share it with others, right? Like you become so much more loving. And I think that is what religion tries to teach, right? Like I also come from uh actually a Catholic family, but that's what they try to teach, you know, love thy neighbor, love thyself.

Mel 23:02

And it's interesting you say that because um, as I mentioned before, I started the show that I'd recorded a self-care course just this morning. And that even came up with the love thy neighbor as yourself. And I really challenged the people doing course. How can you love others to the level of degree that we're being asked to love when you don't even have enough respect for yourself, let alone love and all of that. So I feel like even with all of this, it it challenges some of those things in a good way. I think it it's good and healthy and productive to be thinking and evaluating all of that, because if we don't look after ourselves, how can we look after others? You know, we don't have that energy to give other people, we don't have the time to give to other people. All this, it it's a really actually almost fundamental. And I talk about how it's not being indulgent, even, it's actually a level of obedience in because God Himself actually instructs us to rest and to have this time for ourselves. Jesus even withdrew at times and rested. God created everything, and on the seventh day he rested, not because he needed to, but as a model for us. Like there's all these things that highlight the importance of this. And I see how with what you're doing and what you're creating in yoga, I know you're not coming from a Christian perspective, and that's totally fine, but it fits into being able to look after yourself and also it's teaching your kids as well to look after themselves and go the way that you care for yourself is so important because at the end of the day, no one else is gonna care about you or for you as much as you care for yourself, kind of thing. And if you treat yourself like crap, then other people are probably gonna treat you like crap too. So it's just it all plays a part, and I feel like I'm just opened a whole can of worms, but that's it in a nutshell.

Speaker 25:12

But but it's so true, right?

Gratitude, Kids Tools, And Farewell

Speaker 25:14

Like I, you know, for example, in all all of my kids' classes, I always end class with some affirmations of self-love and gratitude. And usually the the thing I say is we are grateful for ourselves, grateful for each other's uh for each other, for the ground that we walk on, for the sun, you know, that that um that warms us up for and I just go through whatever's coming at me at that moment because gratitude and self-love, I feel like all it's it's a very similar emotion and and you know, I think everybody has different ways of achieving self-love. And I think that if yoga is one of those ways that can help people, anyone, right, and and too, especially as moms, I feel like you know, when I had my baby, there was so much change. It was so drastic that I didn't even know who I was anymore, and I love the mom that helped me totally totally, it's such a universal experience, and I just you know it yoga helped me realize that this is a season and this is a wonderful season, and it looks different than all the other seasons in my life, and then the the love for self came back, and then you can build a better connection with your child, a better a better connection with your partner. Um you know, and yeah, you can't pour from an empty cup, you know. Exactly. And um, and that's that's actually something that inspired. Um, I've been working with a a local photographer. Uh, speaking of products, speaking of products that are available for your listeners, um, we've been working with a local photographer. We started a uh Montessori children's literature company that aims to help children through different things. And our first publication is just was just launched. Um, and it's a a kids yoga deck. Um, it's a partner yoga deck for children to learn to connect with one another in healthy ways. So it helps them through things like big feelings and it helps them through things like if there's a part of the routine that's really challenging, like let's say bedtime. My little does not like to sleep.

Mel 27:37

Okay, see, all my kids don't like to sleep.

Speaker 27:41

What is I'm like, just close your eyes. It's great. You're gonna feel great when you make up. So that and that download is also available. But yeah, it's just it's just yoga is a a tool that people can use to help them of all of all ages in all stages of life um achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve, but definitely built on the foundation of love and gratitude.

Mel 28:12

That's good. Well, before I know it, Tons disables. It's always so quick.

Speaker 28:20

That was so quick. Oh my gosh, I want to talk to you forever. Just um thank you so much for having me on your show to all the listeners. Thank you for listening to this. And I can't wait. I hope I hear from you. Um, if there's any questions, comments, please let me know or through you know, through Mel. Um, but this has been a pleasure. So thank you.

Speaker 1 28:41

Thank you for coming on, and yeah, I look forward to connecting with you again in the future. Same. Thank you so much, Mel. Talk to you later. Bye.

Mel 28:50

If you like this episode, don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you want to continue the conversation, you can connect with me on Instagram @shes.organised or for some free resources, head over to beyondorganised.com/toolkit. Remember, organising is a tool to live the purposeful life beyond it. See you next time.