Today we’d like to introduce you to Veronica Stevens.
Veronica, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up surrounded by yoga, trying to practice alongside my mother during her home practice and doing headstands with my aunt who also teaches yoga. In college, I practiced regularly and shortly after I graduated I completed my 200-hour Vinyasa teacher training and have studied/ taught ever since (about 8 years now).
I am forever studying yoga and have completed thousands of hours of training. My teachers include Sara Strother, Maty Ezraty, Jessica Carlin, Annie Carpenter and many more. Shortly into my teaching career, I shifted from my roots in a flowy Vinyasa style into a more mindful alignment-based flow. In addition to teaching and leading teacher trainings in Chicago, I have taught yoga/lead retreats in Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Haiti.
Teaching yoga has been an excellent foundation for becoming a birth doula and helping families/single mothers stay calm, informed and emotionally and physically supported during their birth experience.My mother loved telling me my 36-hour-long birth story with lots of pride and joy and I think that really shaped my view on childbirth in a positive way, even in a culture that creates a lot of fear around the act of delivering a baby. I did my first training in 2012 through DONA and started volunteering as a birth doula shortly after.
I completed my second training with ToLabor in 2014 and I’ve attended over 100 births in birth settings all over the city and suburbs. A huge part of my training happened when I gave birth to my son Ozzy in July of 2016. That has obviously transformed my view on childbirth and life in a powerful way. I’m also currently on a path to becoming a lactation consultant and I’m excited to help families on their breastfeeding journey.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As a highly sensitive person, the world can often be overstimulating. I have very strong, visceral reactions when I am reading people’s facial expressions and I mean, who hasn’t made tons of weird faces in yoga? Once I established a regular meditation practice things became easier and I think more than anything yoga has taught me that my greatest strength is my sensitivity, kind of like my superpower.
My heightened awareness of subtle energy and rich inner life give me the ability to connect on a deeper level with people. Also, much like most other teachers when I first started I was running around the whole city teaching 20+ classes a week and barely getting by. Now that I scaled down to 4 classes I show up with enthusiasm and energy for each class and it’s much more fulfilling.
From the start, yoga was something I did for fun and it still very much is, I think this is reflected in my teaching style. However, what I didn’t see coming was how much yoga would heal me from trauma and abuse.
Facing that darkness can be tough but ultimately it has empowered me as a woman, wife, mother, and teacher. I often feel like I must be a bit insane juggling births, yoga classes and motherhood but at the same time, I feel so lucky to be living my passion.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Waking Yoga – what should we know?
Through my business Waking Yoga I offer yoga and birth support, I borrowed the name from my husbands’ small business since we collaborate often and it just fits. As a yoga teacher, I offer mindful vinyasa classes with an emphasis on breath-synchronized movement. I also invite my students to explore the inner workings of their heart since I believe there is a strong connection between the body heart and mind.
Beyond the four public classes that I teach weekly at Tula Yoga and Nature Yoga Sanctuary, I offer workshops, teacher trainings, prenatal and postpartum yoga, yoga for scoliosis, restorative/yin, yoga nidra, privates and semi-private classes. In addition, I lead retreats locally and internationally. I love sharing my practice through volunteer work as a meditation teacher at a homeless shelter.
As a birth doula, I offer prenatal support in the form of private childbirth education and private prenatal yoga and meditation. I use many meditation and visualization techniques to guide my clients through each contraction and keep them calm and focused. In addition, use my hands and offer position changes to help mothers release tension, increase optimal fetal alignment and find comfort.
Finally, I am there to help families navigate decision making so that they can advocate for themselves and feel empowered throughout their birth. Your partner knows you best but I know birth, and together we make your ideal team. As a future lactation consultant, I am there to help you with your first latch and offer postpartum support via phone and text. I am also there for general postpartum support.
I feel like there are some misconceptions about what a birth doula does and doesn’t do. While we specialize in unmedicated birth, we are also experienced in supporting families through inductions, cesareans and all interventions that become necessary in certain situations. Often times when intervention is needed its even more important to have an objective, calm voice to support you through it all.
In my own birth experience, I labored for 64 hours and eventually needed an epidural before my son finally decided to make his entrance. Every birth is different and every family deserves a chance to feel confident and supported, however, their birth story unfolds.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Compassion. Sharing copious amounts of love and compassion towards myself and others has been the driving force in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: waking.yoga
- Phone: 3125766117
- Email: vcrottman@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wakingyoga108/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veronica.rottman
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
