Yoga & Birthwork for a Better World | Ellen Hunsaker

The provider you choose shapes the birth you have, but most families make that decision without ever really knowing who they are choosing or why it matters.

That is why I created Birth Your Way - so you never wonder if you chose the right person.

This week I sat down with Ellen Hunsaker, a birth doula and yoga teacher in Fort Collins, CO.


Connect with Ellen
Instagram: @goldbug_yoga_doula
Website: goldbugyoga.com

Links and Resources:
Website: www.greatestjoydoula.com
Listen to the Birth Your Way Podcast 
on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/birth-your-way/id1891727848
and Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5XaaUhUPmPUB3497gTQSje
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@birthyourwaypodcast

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Welcome to Birth Your Way for Collins. I am thrilled today to have Ellen Hunsaker here with us. She is a local doula and special to me because you're one of the first doulas I met here in the community when I first started working. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Thank you for being here today. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

I'm really excited to be here. Yay! Yeah, I'm excited for the community to get to know you. Tell us what brought you to birth work.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

I started working as a nanny when I first moved out here. And that just brought me into a few different families, intimate space and helping to care for their new babies, and they were still in the postpartum time. And it just really was eye-opening for me. I learned a lot about breastfeeding and just got to see intimately and close up some struggles that happen in postpartum time. And it really got me thinking. I was like, I could do this one day, maybe, and I don't know anything about any of this. And that's crazy that we don't learn more about it, or it's not talked more about. And so I just got really interested in learning about birth. And then I also had taken a 200-hour yoga teacher training a little before this, or at the same time as nannying. And one of my teachers was a death doula, and that was the only time I'd ever heard of doula work. And I just really loved her energy, and there was something about the whole Death Doula thing that she had that I was really interested in. And so one day I was at a coffee shop and in a rabbit hole researching birth stuff and death doula stuff, and then I found out that there were birth doula's. And I just looked more into it and I was like, oh, this really seems like exactly the kind of thing I would want to do, what would go well with my personality and the ways things I like to do. And then from there, everything just fell into my lap. The next day I met Abby Schiffris, who is a wonderful part of the peaceful birth company community. She moved, but I met her the next day, and she was gushing about her birth work and doula work. And I was like, oh my gosh, I just researched this for hours and hours yesterday, and I'm really interested in it. She told me about the training. And it was great that I met her too that next day because I was feeling really weird about the fact that I hadn't given birth yet. And I was like, can I, can I? Like, is it allowed for me to do birth work when I haven't experienced it or is it weird and that I want to? And she hasn't had kids of her, hadn't had kids of her own either. And so when I expressed that to her, she was very reassuring. And it just made me feel very like, okay, I can do this. And and I'm glad I did because it, yeah, it's been amazing.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

So yeah, I always love to talk to people who are drawn to birth work before having children themselves or having seen a birth, right? Because both of those things were true for you, right? You were just drawn to you had seen these families in postpartum. Yeah. And lecture you to it. I'd love to hear a little bit more about what about birth specifically and supporting people in birth spoke to you.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

I just saw like how there wasn't enough support, or people were suffering in silence, or just some of these struggles. And there are so many ways that women in our society and in the world struggle. And I already am passionate about helping those not be things anymore that we have to deal with. And birth is just such a huge one. The more I learned about it, that yeah, there are just so many ways that it could be better supported. And we all come here through birth. It affects every single person on this planet, I believe. And when we better support the people who are creating life and bringing it here, I think things will just go better for everybody. And when you properly support parents in that endeavor, there will be less trauma, there will be just more beautiful things in the world. And yeah, it just seemed so clear to me. I know a lot of people say that they're called to birth work, and and it really does feel like that because I hadn't known anything about it, and then everything was clear to me and like right in front of my face. Do this. This is needed and important, incredibly important for everybody, not just birthing people, but all of us, because we all are affected by it in one way or another. We all come from it.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

That's true.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Tell us a little bit about your training. Once you decided, okay, this is something I definitely want to pursue. What training did you get? And what specific skills or gifts do you bring to your work?

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Yeah, I took the peaceful birth company training, and so I'm a full spectrum doula trained by them. And I also am a yoga teacher, and I've now been trained to teach prenatal yoga, postpartum yoga, and I also teach baby and me yoga too. And so those lend well to each other. I did yoga before, and then I went into birth work and I was like, oh, these are so interconnected and help, you know, yoga really helps. And a lot of the things taught in yoga really help with birth. So I bring a lot of that into my birth work. And I'm also a Medicaid-approved doula, which is so exciting. That's the thing. And I've been doing it now for a year and a half. And about 25 births now. So that's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

That's great. Thanks. And this is year 2026, just in case. Yeah. And now that you've been to a number of births and you've had this training, what does support mean to you in the birth space? Like when people say, I want you to support me.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Yeah, it can look so many different ways, but I think in a nutshell, it means protecting their space. And that can look different for everybody, but making sure that they're really listened to, that they have all the information that they need to make informed decisions for themselves, that full consent is given for everything, that things are going at a speed that they need it to, if that's possible, unless it's emergent. And that includes a ton of different tasks, but just making sure that that's protected. And not everyone views it as sacred, but the sacredness of it is held. That's what it means to me. And supporting partners means that I'm there to help them know things that could be helpful and things that doing all the little tasks so that they can be really present with their partner. And just staying grounded and calm so that their partner can, if they need to look over and be like, is this normal? Okay, they're being calm. I can be calm and modeling the calmness and yeah, yeah, and helping them know that yeah, things are okay. It's okay to just let go into the experience and be present with it.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

I'd love to hear because you mentioned earlier how what drew you to this work is that supporting women in birth during such a vulnerable time when there's often a lack of support can really create a better world. When you envision the support that you described and your vision for why this work is important, how does holding space and modeling calmness in the birthroom help create the world that you want to see?

SPEAKER_02 8:05

Because I think that if you can be calm and have that space protected, or that you can give birth in a way more empowered way and probably experience less trauma doing so. And if you have proper support going into postpartum, you can enter it in a space of abundance instead of a space of overwhelm and lack of knowledge and lack of support. I think it affects everybody involved, the whole family. And so, yeah, if you can go through that experience calmly and in an empowered way, then you can enter parenthood more calmly and empowered. And yeah, does that answer your question? It does.

SPEAKER_01 9:09

I wanted to ask because I also agree with you. I think that we birth how we live. Yeah. If you can bring new life into the world feeling supported and secure in your decisions, you bring that into your first moments as a parent. It's really powerful.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Yeah. It can stay with you. Yeah. And that's not always prioritized all the time in birth spaces. And I think it absolutely should be.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Yeah, it's yeah, a unique thing that a doula can provide as well, because you're not tasked with any of the medical or clinical side of things. You can just hold that.

SPEAKER_02 9:39

Which are all really important. Yeah, we need all of this.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

We need all of them. Yeah. When clients meet with you and they're doing a consult with you and setting if they want to hire you, what are some of the top questions that they ask you?

SPEAKER_02 9:52

I think one of the top ones is what's the most important thing to have figured out before giving birth? And that's a really hard one because there's so many things. But I think two main things are making sure that you pick a provider and a team that is really aligned with your goals for your birth.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:15

And also taking the time to explore your inner world beforehand and not being afraid of what's there because you're going to be drawn to that deepest part of yourself when you're in labor. And it's important that you kind of know what's happening in there.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Yeah, you're not surprised by it.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Yeah. And have spent time connecting with your intuition because I think that's hugely important in birth. So yeah, picking a team that is really aligned with you and connecting with yourself beforehand, your inner world really well. Another question is what kinds of hands-on support can you offer me and show my partner how to offer me? And for that, I would say counterpressure. We do a lot of counterpressure on the lower back when people are experiencing painful back labor. Hip squeezes are really, really helpful to people when the baby's making their way down into the pelvis. And then things like things for relaxation, like massage, shaking the apples. So yeah, shaking the hips. We can offer help with that and show partners how to do all those things and know when they're needed and help show how to do it or you know, take turns doing it.

SPEAKER_01 11:45

I can can you kind of help explain the purpose of shaking out the apples for anyone who's not in the biz, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Yes. So shaking the apples helps can help the baby get into a better position in the pelvis, and also can help release your pelvic floor muscles, your glute muscles, all of your muscles that might be like tightening, gets everything loose and helps move, help your baby kind of shimmy. It feels kind of good. Yeah, and people are often like, oh, yes, it's a little, yeah, yeah. And then the last one is what kinds of questions should I know to ask there? What kinds of things would be helpful during my birth? Oh, like the birthing person asks you what questions they should like for advocating for themselves. Like what kinds of things do I need to know to ask? And for the I give the brain acronym, it's really helpful for advocating in any scenario. But so B is for what are the benefits of this? What are the risks of it for R? A is are there any alternatives to what you're suggesting? And I is what does your own intuition tell you to do? And then N is what if we do nothing? Is there time to just do nothing? Can we let things play out? And usually when you go through those, it helps you really understand exactly what's going on, exactly why something's being suggested, and get to the bottom of whether or not that thing is the right thing for you to do for your birth.

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Helpful tool in your life, not distant birth. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I know. I I use it all the time now. It's great, it's great information for everyone. Yeah, great for decision making of all kinds. Yeah. And are there any questions you wish clients would ask you? And they haven't. Or they don't usually.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

I I don't think that they'll need to ask me this, but it would be fun if they asked me what my favorite part about birth is. Just fun to talk about. Yeah. And that is, I really think it's so powerful to witness the strength of birthing people. It's such a complex kind of strength because it's obviously very physical, and so it requires a lot of physical strength and stamina, but it also requires that you soften completely and that you let go and trust and that you are as vulnerable as you can be. And I just love that that it really showcases how strong vulnerability is. Yeah. And it's so beautiful. And yeah, it's an honor to witness that and see people's first moments as parents, and to hopefully help that be as joyous as it can be for people and help facilitate that in any way that I can. That's that's my favorite part. It's the best.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

It's the best. When I was growing up, we had one of those quotes on the wall that I would read over and over as a kid. I was like, there's nothing so strong as gentleness, and there's nothing as gentle as real strength. And like all of the messages that I would see in movies and in general society is like physical strength isn't gentle. It's like really messes with your definition of strong. And then once, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:17

Birth, though. Well, like absolutely. I always remember that quote. I'm like, oh, that's what it was talking about.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

Yeah. Yeah. And that's the kind of strength that's praised so much in our world. Like, is the masculine view of strength? And and yeah, feminine strength is so important. It brings us all here, and it's so beautiful, uniquely powerful. Yeah, it's cool.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Yeah. What beliefs do you hold about the body's ability to give birth?

SPEAKER_02 15:47

I believe that our bodies are made to do this, to give birth, and that everyone has the strength within them to do it. And that just like anything here, any of our experiences here, it requires support and people and help. And that sometimes birth can require more medical help than some births can than others. And that's why I'm really grateful that we have medical interventions that we have. It requires support, and you absolutely have the tools within you to do it, I think.

SPEAKER_01 16:26

Yeah. What do you do to help prepare clients prenatally? What do visits look like? How many visits do you do? And how do you help prepare them during the visits?

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Typically, like two to three visits prenatally, and we'll go over what their birth plan is gonna look like. So their top priorities for what they want their environment to be like, and preferences for how they want certain procedures to look and all that stuff and help them explore situations to help them identify what their preferences are if they don't super know yet. I go through my doula bag to show them all of my things that I'll have with me. Yeah, all the good gadgets and gizmos to help with hands-on support, and I also explore with them what their own internal supports will be. So those grounding techniques that they already use in their lives and how to build upon those, or with meditation, breath work, visualization, any of those things that help them feel at peace and grounded because the things that you already work with are going to be more helpful to you than more accessible, yeah, easily accessible. And then we also talk about the postpartum time and things to be aware of that people have said are most challenging during that time and ways that they can prepare and get as much support as they need. We'll talk about feeding if they want to body feed or bottle feed and all that stuff. And so they feel really prepared. We'll talk about advocating, stuff like that. And then I'm there for support for at the birth on call for them. And then in the postpartum visits, I'll do usually two or three. One, two or three. It kind of depends on what people how much support people are needing. And we'll just talk about how things are going and you know, check in on mental wellness, physical wellness, give ideas for ways to help with sleeping or nutrition support, any of that stuff in the postpartum time. And sometimes help with little tasks around the house.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

And yeah, that's what overall what the support looks like. Yeah, it's a little bit, it can be like a little bit of mothering the mother, mothering the family, really. Yeah, yeah. In addition to what yeah, the birthing person is doing taking care of the baby typically. You yeah, added added your support. Yeah. A big part of working with clients, I know, is managing fear and uncertainty. So I'm curious what is your approach to helping people manage their fear or uncertainty they may have, both before birth and during the birth.

SPEAKER_02 19:21

Yeah, uh, I help them get curious about if they can identify something that is causing the fear or anxiety or about what it's most about, and if there are ways that we can get more information or about something to help them feel more prepared, or if we can identify that there's maybe an emotion that needs to be processed, or an experience that needs to be talked about, or whatever it is, just helping them narrow down what is the fear nudging you to explore more. And it might your fear might not completely go away because it's an uncertain thing and it's the unknown. And I think that's normal to feel that when we're entering the unknown. But a lot of times fear can be a motivator to get more information or prepare in a different way than you're thinking of to help soothe that fear and help you enter it feeling more prepared and empowered. So I'll work with them to figure out what we can do to better prepare when you're feeling that. And then in the birth space, I remind them that they're safe, that they can lean on their supports, remind them of information that we've talked about. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:46

Remind them how strong they are. Remind them of their strength. Uh, I'm curious to what extent does your yoga training and the fact that you do teach yoga and operate in that space in addition to birth, how does that inform how you support clients? I can imagine there's some crossover there.

SPEAKER_02 21:03

Yeah. Yeah. Uh, I think that all my experience of breathing with people in yoga classes and with breath work and leading visualizations and meditations helps me to drop in and helps me with helping people with breath work and modeling it, and also it helps with the physical like postures, movements, position stuff. And then I beforehand offer some helpful movements that can prepare the pelvis or prepare the pelvic floor with some breath practices, and then in the postpartum time, also meditation and breath work stuff that can help restabilize the core and pelvic floor. Because a lot of times people, I don't know, sometimes breath work is overlooked. Of oh, like we're always breathing. It's not what is it really doing for me? But if you can do it intentionally and be consistent with it, it can really do a lot for healing your core and pelvic floor and also preparing your body. And when you're laboring, if you can use your breath intentionally, it can really, really help your nervous system and the physiological process that's happening too. So yeah, I would say breath work is probably the biggest thing because yoga's just like constantly focusing on your breath and moving with your breath.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

I think it's so fun how everyone brings their own flair to breath work. And can imagine your yoga practice and your sense of calm is really present and your support. Can you tell me what advocacy means to you? And then maybe give me an example of a time that you had to use that skill.

SPEAKER_02 23:00

Yeah, so advocacy to me means making sure that the client is really being heard and listened to, and that they are getting all the information that they need and that they're not being rushed into anything. So a lot of times in my birth work, I found that my advocacy looks a lot like just asking if they need more space and time to think about something to just slow things down, to allow your body to catch up to your mind or your mind to catch up to what's happening. And the experience that I'll talk about, you were actually there.

SPEAKER_00 23:44

I wonder if we're gonna talk about this one.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

Exactly what I'm talking about, which I'm so grateful you were there for, because it was like one of my first births that I was doing by myself, and basically the situation was that my client wasn't receiving support with breastfeeding, and there were some reasons that the hospital staff was saying that they couldn't. And you had come in to help me as my backup because I'd been there for a long time, but I didn't want to leave at the end, you know. I was like wanting to stay, but I knew that my brain was getting a little fuzzy. So you came in right when this was happening. But I called my network of doulas because that's such a wonderful thing that we have working at a peaceful birth company in this community. And somebody had seen this scenario before, and so they suggested that I go ask the staff if they could pull up the policy and show it to me and you know, talk me through it. And that was yeah, I went up and asked the nurses, you came with me. We asked the nurses to pull up the policy, and they spent some time doing that, asking around and talking more about it themselves, and basically it took some time, but they came to the conclusion that they actually could offer support. And yeah, we they came in later and started offering support to our client and helping her breastfeed and giving advice and stuff, and she deserves to have that support.

SPEAKER_01 25:26

So I'm glad that we were able to help that happen.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

I think that's such an example of how you have really well-meaning, very highly educated people, but who are operating within a system with a policy. Yeah. But doulas coming in from the outside are like, what? Yeah, why isn't this available? And we just have doulas have the ability to ask questions that people within the system often don't feel is accessible to them. And clients who have just given birth to a baby also are really not in a position to be, can you show me the policy? Can you explain it to me? Yeah, I think it's just such a powerful role of a doula.

SPEAKER_02 26:00

Yeah. And it really shows probably how much how often those things are happening, that there's policies or or things that become this is the norm or this is how it's done here, that maybe could be changed or different actually, if we spent more time and dug into things more for people and could improve their experiences a lot.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

Yeah. And I can really take an external source asking that question because often people who work within it, I mean, they're maybe not wanting to cause any problems because that's how they make their living. Yeah. They don't want to be the one. There's a lot at stake for them.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

That's their livelihood, and there's a lot that goes into it, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_01 26:43

So yeah, but as the doula, we're only working for the client. And so well, the client needs support. So we were fully equipped and not tied to any sort of system. Yeah. And able to ask those questions. And ultimately, yeah, she got what she needed. Yeah. Yeah. Felt really good. Yeah. Yeah. Got what she needed, and then you were able to go home and sleep. And then you went into work. And then I went to work. I had had a full night's sleep, but who do you feel you're the best fit for?

SPEAKER_02 27:15

I think I am the best fit for someone who wants to be really intentional about their birth, who wants to be intentional beforehand, during, after, and wants to utilize the supports around them and knows that they're open to that.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

I think that's probably the best fit for me.

SPEAKER_02 27:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

I also just as a personal having seen you at births, I think if you want a calm presence in the room, Ellen is your girl. You just walk in the room and it's just feels yeah, like that calmness that you mentioned. I think that's a real strength of yours.

SPEAKER_02 27:53

Thanks. Yeah. It feels weird to say that, but that's been said to me before. So I should say that people have said that I'm calm and grounding. And so if somebody wants someone calm and grounding, I can't well again.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

I think about people who are like, oh, I have a lot of anxiety around birth. I really want.

unknown 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:09

Again, I'm afraid that's going to come up. I'm not sure how to manage it. Having a calm presence, someone to model being calm is very powerful. Yeah. To lean into that strength for sure. Thanks. Yeah. Who might not be the best fit for you?

SPEAKER_02 28:23

I think it goes hand in hand with that. Someone who is maybe more planning to kind of like wing it. Or if you know you like to go it alone or have a hard time accepting help, I would say probably not for me. Yeah. It makes it hard to offer support when you're in the situation and it's not received.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Yeah, they're not open to receiving it. Not open to receiving it, yeah. Yeah, they want they need to be actively wanting someone to support them. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

And able to be vulnerable enough to accept it and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:03

That makes sense. What would you say is your greatest hope for families in our community?

SPEAKER_02 29:08

My greatest hope is that we just continue to talk more openly and in a real way about birth, and that it's listened to and that the supports available to birthing people increase and get better. And especially for marginalized people, that their care gets better, and that everyone has the care they deserve to have, and that it's equal for everyone in our community.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

And if someone is listening or watching right now and they're just feeling unsure about birth or who to select on their team or all the decisions that come with being someone who's about to have a baby, what might you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 30:03

I would say that you can trust your intuition and you can do it. I know that sounds so silly, but you can. You may not be able to picture yourself doing it because you haven't done it before, but you can do it. And there are people out there who want to support you in the ways that you want to be supported. So make sure that you don't settle until you find those people and who will help you feel empowered. You deserve to not just be like, oh, I want a safe, safe baby, and I want to be safe. Or you know, I want to be alive. You deserve more than that. Yeah. And you can have more than that. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

Oh, that's beautiful. Oh, we're so lucky to have you, Alan.

SPEAKER_02 30:56

Where can the people find you? My website is www.goldbugyoga.com. It's my yoga website, but there's a tab for doula services and peaceful birth company's website too. That's it.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

Alan's one of the PPC Doolas. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, are you able to share a little bit about the name, like Goldbug Yoga?

SPEAKER_02 31:16

Yeah, like why I'm from Idaho, and there's uh hot springs there called Goldbug Hot Springs. And when I was forming all of this, like building my own company, I really just liked the name Goldbug, but also it was like a the experience that I had there that day when I went a few years ago. It was very calming and it felt very safe to me. And it was with people that I loved. And so when I was coming up with a name, I was like, oh, that it's cute and it fits what I want to give to people. I want to have a safe and calm space for people. So I love it. Yeah, the logo is very cute. I love your things. You're yoga. Yoga my friend drew that bug and sweet.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

They did a good job. I'll tell them. Yeah, pass that along. Ellen, thank you so much for coming on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:10

So glad you're here in the community. Thanks. I'm glad you're here too. It was fun.