Meet the Team
Purely Pregnant was founded on the vision of creating a specialist service in the areas of pregnancy and childbirth based on principles of holistic health and yoga.
Emma
Emma is the owner of Purely Pregnant and Pregnancy Yoga Bristol. Emma teaches HypnoBirthing, Pregnancy, Post-natal, and Mum and Baby Yoga. She regularly teaches Post-natal Yoga for The Bluebell Trust as part of their 12-week programme to support new mums. Emma also volunteers for Project Mama as a Mother Companion supporting refugees in pregnancy and birth. Emma trained in Pregnancy Yoga in 2009 with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli at Yoga Campus in London. She later completed the Well Woman course with Uma to support women from puberty through to menopause. Since then, she has completed the HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator course The HypnoBirthing Institute.
A number of years ago, Emma attended the birth of a private client in London and was in awe of the mum’s confident and calm approach to labour. The experience planted a seed: that labour and birth can be a calm and positive journey. It was a revelation that continues to inspire Emma’s own path. Since then, she has birthed her own son, using the breath to remain calm throughout.
Emma’s teaching style is all-encompassing and open. She is dedicated to sharing little seeds of wisdom that can help women thrive in pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Helen
In addition to practising yoga for over 20 years and teaching for 11, Helen studied pregnancy yoga with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli during her first pregnancy, six years ago. This, combined with her Doula training, enabled Helen to have a swift, smooth and empowering birth experience.
Helen is passionate about preparing women to have the most positive birth experience possible, through looking after the body, working with the breath and sharing her ‘hands-on’ experience of pregnancy and birth.
Helen is a mum to two beautiful boys.
Charlie
Charlie has been practicing yoga since 2004 and teaching since 2010. After the birth of her first daughter she wanted to be able to offer the practice of pregnancy yoga to women expecting a baby and to share practices with them that can help take the fear out of labour and birth. As a result, Charlie completed her pregnancy yoga teacher training with Ali Woozley and Laura Gilmore at Bristol City Yoga in 2016, and has been teaching for Purely Pregnant since the beginning of 2017. Charlie has since qualified as a Mum and Baby Yoga Teacher through Birthlight.
Charlie’s classes offer movement to ease the body, breath awareness to calm the mind, breathing practices for birth and the opportunity to relax and restore. She offers modifications and adjustments where needed, so that each woman can experience the practices being taught and participate at their own level. Charlie aims to provide a space where mums to be can meet the physical needs of their changing body during pregnancy, as well as connect to their developing baby and prepare for birth.
Suzi
Initially Suzi came to yoga in 1994 to get a bit of exercise, but over the years she was intrigued by the deeper layers of it. When pregnant with her first child in 2002, Suzi found that the gifts of yoga movement, breath and mindful attention eased her through the pregnancy journey with more joy and excitement than she thought possible.
In 2010 Suzi was awarded the British Wheel of Yoga Pregnancy Yoga Teacher Diploma. Then, in 2016 she trained as a Hypnobirthing Teacher with Purely Pregnant.
Suzi aims to pass on a sense of calm and self-compassion in her teachings, and helps her students to find comfort in the support given to them by nature and the wonderful NHS.
Jess
Jess has been practicing yoga for over 17 years, initially starting at University as a way to manage stress.
In 2015, after the birth of her first child she struggled with her mental health and the momentous transition into motherhood. Jess’ priorities shifted and she re-discovered yoga and found a way to heal through the practice.
Jess completed her Yoga Teacher training at the Bristol School of Yoga and then started to teach Parent and Toddler Yoga classes shortly after. She now also teaches yoga to children in primary school across Bristol.
In 2020, Jess completed her Pregnancy and Post-natal training with Birthlight whilst pregnant with her second child.
Jess is very passionate about teaching pregnancy and post-natal yoga and focuses on ‘mothering the mother’. Jess aims to create a safe and nurturing space for women to explore their practice through the amazing journey of pregnancy.