Leading Light – Sally Lomas

In 2010, local businesswoman Alison Duff opened the Calmababy in Peterborough – the first centre to bring together a whole range of new baby relaxation and bonding techniques under one roof, including baby and pregnancy yoga, baby massage, birthing education, newborn flotation and baby swimming sessions. It proved so successful that she has now been accepted onto the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses programme. One of her key inspirations was Sally Lomas of Birthlight, an educational charity dedicated to promoting an integrated, holistic approach to pregnancy, birth and babyhood. Now, the wheel has turned full circle as Sally Lomas joins Calmababy to teach and plan new classes. The Moment talked to her

What exactly is it you’re coming to do at Calmababy?

I met Alison through working with Birthlight, which is now an international organisation. She’d found Birthlight too, and was completely inspired. I’ve been involved for nearly 20 years now, and have been a long-term friend and colleague of Alison’s, so when she opened Calmababy of course it was very exciting to me that she was taking on and developing all the Birthlight techniques there. My involvement now is to come in and help develop the pregnancy and childbirth preparation side of the business. I personally teach all different areas in my own business and life, but this collaboration with Calmababy will be that particular aspect, which is a real love of mine. It’s bringing in the knowledge and shared understanding that we’ve had over the years to this amazing place that she and her family have organised and developed, and which I really, really want to support!

So you will be teaching?

Yes, I’ll be helping to develop the courses and content, and will be coming in to teachmyself, as well as training new people for the future. I know from teaching for many years – or, at least, I feel I know! – what helps parents in their journey, feeling relaxed and reaching better understanding, but of course we have to make it work for Calmababy. We need to make sure it will fit into their programme, and need to consider every aspect of it to get it really right. So, there’ll be lots of discussions to make it right for the parents who will come there and for Calmababy.

Alison was inspired when she discovered Birthlight, but I understand you had a similar moment of inspiration when you first encountered its founder, Françoise Freedman?

Yes! It must be nearly 20 years ago now, because I first met Françoise when I was pregnant and went to one of her pregnancy yoga classes. I had been interested before, and had explored different avenues, having had changes in my life with my first baby. But I was very interested in, and drawn towards, the changes that happen to people – and not just women – around having a new baby. Then I went to one of Françoise’s classes for yoga and meeting her was completely life-changing [see separate panel]. She was an extraordinary woman, with enormous insight, yet very easy to talk to. It was wonderful. So that’s where my journey really began. There weren’t training courses at that time, so she just took me under her wing really, and I learned with her, then began to teach. From there – along with many other people – we developed the Birthlight training courses, which now we offer internationally.

What was it that made you want to pursue it as a career, rather than just benefitting from it personally?

Well, initially I had thought I wanted to follow my father, who was a psychotherapist, and my mum also worked with families, so I think it must have been in me to help people. I know what that sounds like… But I just thought “How can I not make use of this to help people around me?” I felt very moved to bring it to other people. And it changed my life because I continue to feel that, every day, and you see the results before your eyes. It’s not just making the birth experience itself – those few hours – better. It lays the foundation for wonderful bonding with your baby, and a happier journey into parenthood. I do fundamentally believe that. We’re not saying all these births are going to be the perfect experience, or are going to be a particular type of birth – but it is helping prepare people for all kinds of possibilities, and all different kinds of experiences, and I think that’s really what we all need in life. Life is not always easy, so we need ways to see the positivity and pass that on to our children – and I do see it moving through the years. One of the birthlight teachers wrote “baby yoga can change the world” and that’s how I see it – if we can help people at the beginning of babies’ lives – from birth, or before birth, even – we can make fundamental changes instead of spending the rest of our lives trying to heal.