People: Yahna Fookes
Photo by Ilsa Wynn Hoelscher-Kidd
Name: Yahna Fookes (she/her)
Location: Naarm/Melbourne
Occupation/Creative Practice: Yoga teacher and founder of Radiant Birth
Who makes up your family? Myself, my husband Michael and my daughter Sunday
Tell us a bit about your community offerings: Radiant Birth is a holistic, three-week immersion – lovingly designed to support you as you navigate the new skin of pregnancy, and prepare you for life as a new parent. Hosted at Fort Green Yoga, you’ll be guided by some of Melbourne’s leading female health educators from fields including yoga, nutrition, Traditional Chinese Medicine and birth education. The Radiant Birth course provides you with the tools you and your baby need for the safest, most-sacred rite of passage, as you make the transition from maiden to mother.
What core principles / values inform your work? Our course really draws on the ancient practices from the east. Pranayama, somatic work, movement/traditional asana (forward folds, inversions, hips openers etc.) are all taken from this rich embodied dialogue. So in this way, we are not reinventing the wheel but teaching you how to practically apply these principles in the birth space to help better prepare you for birth. Yogic core philosophies also teach us so many beautiful lessons as new parents. Self study is a constant.
What daily practices or rituals connect you with your centre? Being an earth sign I am heavily reliant on routine and this is my daily ritual. This gives my body a beautiful and predictable pattern so that the chaos of parenting doesn't feel so overwhelming.
What does community mean to you? Community is everything to me. I truly believe without community we are nothing. I built the Radiant Birth course so mother's would have infrastructure and a community to help support them during this epic transition. What would it look like to enter motherhood with a group of like minded women, a meal train for postpartum and a group of hands to hold you?
How does community care and self-care intersect for you? This one is tough, as I think I am still learning how to create healthy boundaries so my community is taken care of but my cup is full. Community care looks like a big open heart, open dialogue, sharing of resources and holding space for each 'individual's' journey (as we know everyones version of birth or being parent looks so different). Self care looks like massage, sessions with a postpartum doula, baths, early bedtime and going out for dinner with my friends (no child or husband).
How has motherhood/ parenthood impacted your identity? It has allowed me to make so much more room for mess and permission for me to be messy. I am not talking about my house ! It's made me truly see myself for who I am, all my imperfections, flaws and also strengths and beauty. I never realised that having a little one would make me do so much self work.
Where can we find you? Our course is PHYSICALLY hosted at the sun drenched loft studio Fort Green in Northcote, but you can always find us at www.radiantbirth.com.au or @_radiantbirth. We have such a robust community online, we would love for you all to be a part of it.
02.06.2021
Cover photo by by Ilsa Wynn Hoelscher-Kidd
