Episode 13: Dancing through Joy and Tough Times to Gain Trust and Find Freedom in Motherhood with Elisa Reineiro

“Joy, for me, comes from that freedom listen”

Elisa Reinerio is the creator of Barre and Baby, which runs classes and teacher trainings for mothers, during and after pregnancy. She started dancing at 6 in Italy, and after moving to London as an adult, reignited her passion for dance. When she was pregnant with her first son, she trained in Pregnancy and Postnatal Yoga with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli and Tara Lee. She realised how much she benefited from group dance classes after her second son, and decided to combine her passion for dance and yoga.

In this episode, we talked about:

Elisa’s passion for dance, that started when she was 6.
Growing from the first class of one person, to classes all over London and running her third Teacher Training to spread Barre and Baby further afield
Physical benefits of dance for posture, alignment, support, flexibility and strength
Dance as a way to reconnect to, trust and listen to the inner voice
Allowing mothers to become the mothers they want to be, and not who they are expected to be
The challenges of comparison and perfectionism
Conflicting advice and information
Supporting mothers to feel free to be who they want to be, in turn, gives freedom to the babies to express themselves
A safe space for mothers to reconnect with themselves
The power of music and dance to express and release emotions and facilitate bonding
Biological benefits of babywearing: carrying the baby in an m-shaped position to hold the hips and spine in a good position, stimulating the baby’s sense of balance
Dance is for people of all ages
Dance is a language, it’s free from restriction.
The need to learn to release the pelvic floor muscles, for women who have done a lot of ballet training or other intense physical exercise.
Support of the growing body in pregnancy from other areas such as the quadriceps, hamstrings and lower back muscles. Strength grows with the baby.
The importance of carrying children for healthy development instead of relying on buggies/ strollers
Teacher Trainings