“This is a review for Keya’s prenatal yoga class and Keya’s Partners At Om PLAYSHOP. I started going to Keya’s prenatal yoga class from the 1st trimester onwards. I was specifically looking to do prenatal yoga and after looking at Yelp reviews I signed up for the prenatal yoga with Keya once a week. I think that was one of the best decisions I made during the entire course of my pregnancy. The prenatal yoga classes were just what you want for your pregnancy. The pace and poses will not tire you out and yet at the end of the class you feel your body has had a good work out. I remember most of us in the class kept continuing up until the final trimester. There were those who were there in the 38th and 39th week. There is a positive vibe in the class and you feel especially connected to your baby and with all the other expecting moms and their babies. I have also been able to connect with other moms in the class (even after my delivery) and this would have otherwise been difficult for me as I work from home. My husband and I went to Keya’s Partners At Om PLAYSHOP and it was a rewarding experience. I would definitely recommend all expecting moms to sign up for this. We decided on not having a doula for the birth of our child. We had decided on delivering our baby at the hospital with the help of a OB-GYN and for us, Keya’s workshop and inputs were invaluable. The playshop is designed to help pregnant moms and their partners on preparing oneself for birth and delivery, learning exercises during contractions and different breath techniques during delivery. The icing on the cake is a very informative Q&A session. Keya comes with tons of experience in this field and she definitely knows the system well (Hospitals – Pros and Cons, Induction procedures that hospitals will generally recommend pros and cons for them, Self Advocacy, etc). This information is extremely useful if you would like to do your own research and advocate for yourself once you are in the hospital. In our case too, we weren’t happy about our obstetrician, so she helped us find another one in a different hospital and we were happy with the new obstetrician. I was induced for labor and from being 0 cm dilated and 0% effaced, I went into 10 cm dilation and 100% effaced in 8 hours with just Cervidil. The hospital staff believed I was only in early labor (when in reality I was in active labor) and was strongly recommending Morphine to help me with pain management. Apparently Morphine is a respiratory inhibitor and you don’t want that in the baby when he/she comes out so it’s usually given during early labor as it has a short shelf life. We really did not want the morphine because of its effect on the baby. They pushed it really hard, but I was insistent on not taking it in spite of the excruciating pain. Also, while I was going through the crazy pain in the hospital, the only thing that kept me going forward was the breathing exercises and the hip squeeze (that we learned from Keya’s workshop) that my husband would do for me for every contraction which was for the whole 8 hours of my labor. I managed the pain one contraction at a time and thanks to that I was able to say NO to morphine and eventually could manage the labor without the epidural (though I really wanted it)! Thank you Keya from me, my husband and our little one for all the help you have given us. This is my first ever Yelp review but totally worth it for anyone who would need Keya’s help just like I did! Absolutely recommend!”

“One of the best things about my pregnancy experience was all the yoga and workshops that I did with Keya. I am so thankful for Keya’s support and guidance, and especially for her amazing prenatal yoga classes, which truly prepared my mind and body throughout my pregnancy! My doctors and nurses kept complimenting me and my husband for how calm and prepared we were for managing pain and for pushing. It was so much more peaceful and relaxed than I ever could have imagined because I kept remembering all the advice to breathe and to keep my shoulders and jaw relaxed. Ultimately the contractions were relentless and were back to back, so I did the epidural, but all that pelvic floor work paid off because it took less than an hour to push. Pretty good for a first time mama!I’m also so glad we took the opportunity to arrange a private pregnant Partner At Om PLAYSHOP because it was such a special experience. My husband and I both had so much fun despite it being my husband’s first time ever doing yoga. Keya walked us through so many techniques, but I especially loved the rebozo scarf. We had a fun time practicing exercises we could do together, but the tips for managing early labor helped us tremendously when it came time for the real deal. The breathing exercises got me through some pretty intense contractions! The best part by far was how my husband and I got to connect during the workshop. It got us started on a dialogue about what we need from each other and it truly helped us to be a team during labor. Thank you so much, Keya!”