Meet Our New Prenatal Yoga Teacher Kimberly Neer

We're excited to announce our new Prenatal class on Mondays 10:45am-12pm and Saturdays at 9-10:15am with Kim Neer!

Meet other future mamas and get your yoga on ODD style. Improve circulation, ease digestion, maintain a healthy spine, strengthen your uterus and pelvic muscles, and feel at ease throughout your pregnancy. For all stages of pregnancy - get your bump to class!

Read on to learn a little bit more about Kim and click here to sign up for class.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am playful yogi who loves puppies and babies. I don't have any babies of my own yet, but I do have a doggie named Peanut and I am mildly (maybe severely) obsessed with her! Besides practicing and teaching yoga and talking about birth and general female empowerment; I enjoy traveling, being outside, trying new foods, listening to music, and learning new things.

How long have you been teaching prenatal yoga and where did you do your training?

I have been teaching yoga for three years, and prenatal for a year and a half. I did my training with Jessica Jennings of Ma Yoga, which is a really cool yoga community that has yoga classes all over LA.

What drew you to teaching yoga/prenatal in the first place?

I remember being quite interested in prenatal yoga when we talked about it during my 200 hour training, especially when my teachers made us practice with a rolled up blanket under our shirts so we could get an idea of what it's like to practice with such a different body! But it wasn't until I was teaching a regular class at a shelter for survivors of domestic violence that I decided I wanted to learn more. Many of my students there were pregnant, and I felt that I needed more tools to offer them.

What do your students gain from doing prenatal yoga?

I think the most important gain from a prenatal yoga class is the sense of community. It's so important for new mamas to surround themselves around others going through something similar because at least from what I gather, becoming a mom is a pretty wild ride and it helps to have a good support system! I like to leave time for my students to talk to one another; who better to share stories with about how crazy it is to have a different body everyday than another woman who is also experiencing that!

Plus, many students have reported back to me that the breathing techniques they learned from yoga helped them immensely during their labor. There are also many yoga poses that useful to do during labor, such as resting in child's pose in between contractions!

What is your favorite pose to teach and why?

My favorite pose to teach in prenatal is probably supta baddha konasana (reclined bound angle pose) using a bolster up on blocks and a blanket to support the legs. I love teaching that one because of the reactions I get from the mamas! That pose is so supportive and comfortable, and during pregnancy, comfort can be elusive. I also really enjoy teaching poses that I call "endurance poses." This is when we do somewhat intense poses such as wall chair or do some punching for an entire minute. I like teaching these poses timed because contractions last about a minute, so it's helpful for mamas to start to realize just how short that is and also to practice using their breath to stay present even amidst physical intensity.

What is one ODD fun fact about you?

I have seven tattoos and four of them are matching with someone else (all good friends of mine). My mom claims that someday she will get a matching tattoo with me, which would bring me up to five matching tattoos. That makes me feel pretty loved.