Why my work and my training program is unique

The development of the Holistic Reproductive Practitioner and the By the Moon HRP training program is a seventeen year tale.

It came about organically or maybe I was lead by something greater than I. I was definitely influenced by my clients.

When I started my training and my work, there was no program or course to teach me how to do what I do now. I did complete training as a Doula, Reflexologist and Reiki Master Teacher but even today, the By the Moon Holistic Reproductive Practitioner program is one of a kind. It's one of a kind because until now, I have been one of a kind. If there are others like me, doing what I do, that would be some amazing synchronicity. Why? Because I have had to develop my ways of supporting my clients. I've learned from them by listening deeply. I've taken risks by following my inner guidance and trying methods and techniques that I could otherwise not find evidence for and found what worked. I have used a variety of resources, worked with and learned from a variety of healers and combined everything I know to meet the many different needs that arose in my work.

This is not my first time teaching. I'm a Reiki Master Teacher who has taught may the Usui Reiki courses and given attunements. I was the head Doula Instructor for a National Organization, and I have developed and taught many workshops to doulas from all over Canada including Placentophagia and Placenta Encapsulation, Advanced Comfort Measures for Doulas, Business workshops and more.

The Holistic Reproductive Practitioner program is a culmination of all of my experience supporting families and students.

This is not a doula training program. I’m not going to teach anyone how to be a Fertility Doula or a Birth Doula or a Postpartum Doula. This course isn’t Reiki training and while I’ll be certifying reflexologists, it isn’t a reflexology training program. It’s not any of these things because I have never been any of these things. I have been a blend of all of these things. I could never again teach just a doula program because it’s not true to the work that I do. Reiki is a tool that I use but I consider my healing work to be energy healing. I use Reiki in ways that I have not known anyone else to use it. I don’t believe in training doulas. That does not mean no one should. I believe in authenticity and for doulas who are doulas, they should train doulas who will be doulas. I will train doulas who are healers, who offer a deeper level of emotional support, who integrate reflexology sessions or techniques and energy healing sessions or techniques into their fertility, prenatal, birth and postpartum work.

After so much effort putting what I do into curriculum, lectures, seminars and an itinerary for an in person training that I can feel really, really good about, I’ve developed a program that teaches others who are like me, who want to be more for their clients, who want to have more to offer, more streams of income, a deeper understanding and who long for personal growth the way that I do.

I would not even know how to write a fertility doula program because I know how much more families need when they are struggling to conceive and how easy it can be for us to be that for them. I teach my clients about their reproductive cycles, about medical options and tests, I provide emotional support for them because infertility is hard, but I longed to be more for them and so I was. In addition I help my clients explore their story, see their wounds, understand how these things are manifesting in their lives and I have developed tools to help them finally move through work that they have been longing to do for years. They come wanting a baby and leave literally transformed. They come wanting desperately to be able to cope with life's challenges and leave feeling more deeply connected and aware. They leave their sessions empowered with conventional and unconventional techniques to increase their fertility, heal their bodies and conceive sooner. I do believe that the work I do helps more families conceive without medical intervention. I do believe that what I do improves outcomes for clients who are using medical intervention and my clients will attest to that because they believe it too.

I couldn’t teach a conventional doula program again because I can no longer separate what I know about pregnancy and birth from an emotional and energetic perspective from what I teach. I’ve found solutions to challenges that I can’t unknow. I can’t send new doulas out into the world to take on the big work of supporting families through birth without teaching them what I know about babies in the breech position, about morning sickness, about edema or high blood pressure, about labour stalls and labour progress, about vaginal birth and cesarean birth. I know so much more now than I learned in my doula training and so much more than I was free to teach as a trainer for another organization.

So what am I? I am a Holistic Reproductive Practitioner. I am a Fertility, Birth, Postpartum and Loss Doula because I offer physical support, emotional support, coaching and information to families at all stages of reproduction. But I don’t just hold space and teach. I am an intuitive interpreter, I seek the meaning of each experience in the moment and use reflexology and energy healing to help families resolve challenges or move through difficult situations with more ease and more positive outcomes. When outcomes are hard, I have techniques to make them feel lighter again, to help them understand the purpose so they don’t have to carry the weight of their experiences for the rest of their life, so they can instead say “I wouldn’t change that.” about their stories.

I can offer emotional support and information as a doula does while also supporting their physical healing through reflexology on their feet. My understanding of anatomy and the body systems allows me to support their body to do what it already wants to do when it needs a little support. And when the emotional and mental toll is too much, I use energy healing to heal their heart, to clear their mind, to help them come back to self again.

So no, I’ll never be just a doula trainer again. I’ll never create a program just for fertility doulas. We can do more. Our clients need us to be more and do more and the deeper we go, the more fulfilling this work can become. It’s heavy sometimes, and it’s not for everyone. This isn’t a school of quantity, of pumping out as many practitioners as possible. This is a program of self exploration, of growth, healing and development. Only then can we begin to do this work for others.

I’m quite excited. For years I had no idea where this path was taking me. I only knew what next step was ahead. I am so grateful for how it has all come together, for the clients who shared in the development of this and trusted me to be this for them. I am so grateful for the Holistic Reproductive Practitioners of the future, for those souls who are brave enough to explore self and who know that they can be all of this for others.