Nona Birth Education & Counseling

10/07/2025

Comfort measures and mantras can be beautiful tools, but they don’t always work the way we intend.

When we start to see labor as a physiological dance of safety, threat, and protection, we realize that timing, tone, and attunement matter more than any single technique.

This isn’t about throwing away what works. It’s about understanding why it works, and what’s happening when it doesn’t.

Birth work is evolving.
Are we evolving with it?

09/23/2025

Foundations Birth Doula Training: Enrollment closes November 1

Doula training is about building the skills and confidence to meet the intensity of birth with steadiness and clarity. The Nona Foundations Training is rooted in understanding the interaction of the mind and body during birth and translating that into practical ways to support families.

In this training, you’ll learn how to:

Explain physiologic birth simply and clearly

Use comfort measures and positioning with purpose

Communicate with language that is respectful and trauma-informed

Build trust and hold space in the birth room

Support coping through presence and practical tools

What makes this program different is the cohort model. You’ll learn live, alongside peers, with structured opportunities for practice, feedback, and accountability. That structure helps ensure you’re not only absorbing information—you’re able to apply it confidently.

Program details:

Live online cohort + guided practice

Accountability and community support

One year of access to course materials

Tuition: $1500 or 4 payments of $385

Enrollment closes November 1

If you’re ready to feel prepared and confident in providing labor support, this training is for you.
👉 Learn more and reserve your spot:

Foundational Doula Training with advanced content integrating the neuroscience of the mind-body connection. Columbia, Mo

09/21/2025

Birth unfolds through the nervous system.

When a birthing person feels safe, contractions find their rhythm and coping feels possible.
When safety slips away, labor can slow and the work feels harder.

As doulas, noticing these shifts gives us a different lens. It helps us respond with presence, compassion, and practical support that meets both body and mind.

✨ I wrote more about this on the blog:

https://www.nonabirtheducation.com/blog/why-nervous-system-awareness-belongs-in-birth-work

09/20/2025

Registration is open for the next Nona Birth Doula Training cohort! The training has been going through a significant transition over the past couple of years and is now finalized into what I think is going to an amazing foundation for new and experienced doulas. Check it out:

- Cohort learning and accountability
- Online community access
- 4 months of ongoing training both live and asynchronous
- Assessments to support your learning
- Mentorship
- lots more!

Registration closes November 1st! I must have 8 registrants to hold the training and will limit it to 12.

Foundational Doula Training with advanced content integrating the neuroscience of the mind-body connection. Columbia, Mo

08/25/2025

Expecting a baby? Join me for a 6-week Prenatal Yoga & Support class starting October 2 here in Columbia.

This isn’t just a yoga class. Each week we combine movement, mindfulness, and group discussion to support both your body and your mind as you prepare for birth and the transition into parenthood.

Together we’ll explore:

• Gentle yoga to ease common discomforts and prepare for labor
• Breathing and relaxation tools that calm the nervous system
• Education and open conversation about pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery
• Emotional support for navigating the changes of this transition

You don’t need any prior yoga experience — just a willingness to move, breathe, and connect.

📍 In-person in Columbia, MO
📅 Thursdays, October 2 – November 6
🕖 6:00 – 8:15 pm

Space is limited so early registration is encouraged. You can reserve your spot here:
https://www.nonabirtheducation.com/nonaprenatalyoga

I’d love to have you join us.

08/23/2025

In-Person 6-Week Nona Prenatal Yoga & Support session
Starts October 2, Thursdays 6-8:15pm

Nona prenatal yoga sessions are offered 3-4 times a year. Join me for the last session of 2025, held in my home airbnb studio located in central Columbia.

What you’ll enjoy:

-Safe, practical guidance, connection, and childbirth education with prenatal yoga for all bodies.

-Safe movement for all trimesters to ease common aches

-Guided discussion about the transition of the mind and body through pregnancy, birth, and early parenting

-Clear, simple birth physiology and coping skills, including my model: Rhythm, Rest, Receive™

-Trauma informed support, inclusive language, and a welcoming circle

-online access to yoga flows and lectures for 9 months

-online private cohort community to stay engaged, offer and receive support, ask questions between sessions

Details

Start date: October 2
Length: 6 weeks, one session per week + ongoing access online
Format: in person, small group
No prior yoga experience needed

How to join: go to
https://www.nonabirtheducation.com/nonaprenatalyoga

If you’re supporting a friend or client who is pregnant, please pass this along.

Prenatal yoga that aligns the mind and body for birth through embodied practice, childbirth education, neuroscience, and group support. Online and in Columbia, Mo.

08/05/2025

Enrollment is open for the next Nona Prenatal Yoga & Support class!

Prenatal yoga that aligns the mind and body for birth through embodied practice, childbirth education, neuroscience, and group support. Online and in Columbia, Mo.

08/02/2025

Attention Birth Pros! CEU opportunity!

Thrilled to share that Applied Polyvagal Theory in Childbirth is approved by DONA International for 4 hours of continuing education. The course integrates current neurophysiology with practical tools for recognizing nervous system states, cueing safety and co-regulation, and providing deeply attuned labor support

Learn more here:

Advanced doula training for learning the physiology of the mind-body connection in birth and how to apply that for deeply attuned labor support.

07/30/2025

“Birth is not a test of strength, faith, or trust.”

That’s a message we don’t hear often enough.

Birth isn’t something to achieve. It’s not something you succeed at by doing it the “right” way.

Birth is an autonomic physiological process, governed by your nervous system, hormones, environment, and relationships/support—not your beliefs, mindset, or how hard you tried to stay calm.

You don’t control your heart rate through willpower. You don’t digest food by trusting your stomach.

When we understand birth this way, it becomes easier to stop asking, “Am I a failure?” or "Was it my fault?" When things don't go as planned.

Because the answer is no.

You were never meant to control the entire process.
But you were meant to be supported through it.

07/24/2025

Hi everyone! I could use your help to improve my reach to folks who would benefit from my courses and trainings.

Trust on the internet is at an all time low, so even though I have been doing this with great reviews and word of mouth referrals for 25 years, I need to increase trust and break through the noise on the internet.

1) If you've taken a course or training, please write a review here on my Nona page.

2) Comment, like, and share posts. It helps more than you think!

3.) Post a testimonial in the comments below that I can share on my website.

MUCH appreciation!

-Erica