As Seen on Voyage LA

A space to be seen and heard. That’s all so many of us need. I’m grateful to the folks at Voyage LA who helped make this interview possible.

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole La Cour-Wordlaw (aka Dancing Moon).

Thanks for sharing your story with us Nicole. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After having children, my work was not the same. As a former professional dancer, I was unable to juggle the needs of my children with the demands of learning choreography and being in late night/early morning rehearsals and performances. Becoming a mother was a huge learning curve for me.

One huge impact into my current work was seeing for the first time what it meant to be cared for HOLISTICALLY by my midwives. While in their care, I felt a sense of feeling heard, witnessed and honored that left an imprint. I saw the dire need we as women have for this. Later, when I took a job at my midwives’ office, I saw women breaking down in joy because they’d felt truly listened to for the first time. I heard about women not crying and cringing in fear from a pap smear that had once felt violating, rushed and intrusive.

Shortly after the birth of my two children, I decided to switch careers. I began a birth and postpartum doula training, a business mastery program, life coach training, pre and postnatal dace certifications, women’s holistic sexual wellness practitioner training, cardio dance instructor and PeriSteam Hydrotherapy (vaginal steam) practitioner training! Whew!

I immersed myself in it all. I wanted to know as much as I could about women’s bodies and how unique and intricate they are, in particular from the perspective of our sexual beingness. Having been molested and verbally and physically abused as a child, I knew that I wanted to learn more about the Spirit/mind/ body connection, especially as a woman. When I began all these trainings, I did not know I had more healing to do but I welcomed it with open arms knowing that it would lead to a better version of myself. I also knew that I was not alone and that countless other women could benefit from what I had learned along my journey.

This is when I turned my passion into my profession. I’m so excited to be able to help educate and empower women! This has been thru my services as a birth and postpartum doula, life coach, speaker and mentor, dance instructor, health and wellness advocate, and peristeam hydrotherapist.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road was definitely not smooth nor straight. First of all, I had to balance a full-time job and being a wife and mother through it all. I’ve had to learn how to be patient with myself and my process. Work and business pre-kids was also pre-social media, so I had to learn the nuances of what it means and looks like to have an online presence. Just as with any new business, it’s a huge commitment that requires lots of patience, time and self-compassion.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Currently, I offer an array of services catering to expecting and current moms. As a speaker, teacher, and mentor, this shows up in many fashions. My ultimate goal is to help mothers live FULL OUT. Just as in dance, on stage, we have to perform FULL OUT and LEAVE IT ALL ON STAGE – the same is true in life. When we live life to our fullest and bring our best selves forward we tend to enjoy life immensely, live all aspects of life passionately and have no regrets. This is what I desire for my all of my clients that I work with, whether our time together is brief or elongated.

My signature life coaching program is called HOW MAMA GETS HER GROOVE BACK. This program takes mothers on a journey to help bring renewed clarity, strength, sense of purpose, aliveness, and passion once again, or sometimes for the first time.

I also offer pre and postnatal dance to bring a sense of connection to one’s body and baby. Whether I’m sharing how dance can be a tool for birth workers to utilize with their clients, or I’m sharing it with the general public and with my own personal clients, dance is a common language across cultures, genders, and generations that is such a powerful tool for healing, support and expression!

My vaginal steam services brings education, healing, wholeness, and empowerment to women and their bodies. Often times, steaming is a first resort for women with gynecological issues from PMS, cysts, recurring infections, and so on. Other times, it’s a bit of a last resort for women who have felt that their OBs and traditional western medicine model has failed them ~ either offering little to no support, removal of the uterus or other parts of the womb, or merely a pill which has compounded issues or done nothing to help their concerns at all.  Vaginal steaming, when done properly, can be life changing!

As a doula, I help support, educate, and normalize the transition into motherhood.  Seeing how huge my own transition was has made it clear to me that there are many more families who can benefit from the education and truth about what it looks like to birth, care for, and parent children. Our culture tends to silence this time of life, when in fact we need quite the opposite. We need support, community, and conversations about how we can continue to thrive into the next phases of life.

I’m most proud anytime I see a smile on a client’s face when I know they’ve made that mind – body – spirit connection. When something just clicks and they are feeling sooooo good!

What sets me apart are a few things – as a person of mixed racial ethnicities, I have an innate connection with EVERYONE on a human level. We are also so different yet can feel so much the same.

I also have been told I’m very grounded and have a calming presence. Having gone thru sexual, physical, verbal and emotional abuse as a young child, this means so much to me to hear. It’s a daily practice for me to remain calm and centered so I’m grateful it’s being received and can have a huge, positive impact on my clients.

Lastly, as an LA native, I’m aware that I’m part of a group that is a bit of a unique find in my own city!!! I’m a 3rd generation Angeleno and proud!

Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years?  Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc? 
With regards to dance – I see a growing group that truly understands the importance of moving our bodies. With such a strong emphasis of using technology and being connected online, we’ve lost touch with our bodies and with life in the physical form. There are more people leaning into the bodies’ innate wisdom and expression which is so exciting to see!

With regards to life coaching, I see a huge network happening. It’s becoming more accessible to folks which is great! The more we can all reach our goals that are close to our hearts, the happier our world will be.

As far as doula and vaginal steaming services – the same is true as well. It’s gaining more popularity and the need for support, tools, and resources outside of the mainstream medical model is making a loud statement about what’s not working and what is truly needed for our health and well-being.

With business overall, the concept of multi-level marketing (or affiliate marketing) is growing more and more. It’s not the same to just put out an ad, billboard or commercial. With word of mouth still being the best way to grow a business, companies like Amazon and Uber, have added some sort of incentive/kickback to sharing their services. Just like old school Tupperware and Avon, the new school sole multi-level marketing companies are on the rise and it makes sense. With a network/team working WITH one another, the stress level diminishes because more support is present.

SUPPORT is the key word here and with LIFE in general. So many of us have a strong desire to be in community, when things are hard AND when they are more joyful!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mrsdancingmoon.com

• Phone: 323-538-3393

• Email: info@mrsdancingmoon.com

• Instagram: @mrsdancingmoon

• Facebook: https://facebook.com/mrsdancingmoon
  

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Why Would I Want A Birth Doula?

To begin, the word doula comes from the ancient Greek and means "a woman who serves".  This is no doubt what a birth doula does for the expecting and laboring mama.  Birth doulas provide continuous, non-medical care which can include:

• physical support
• emotional support
• information
• breathing techniques
• relaxation techniques
• laboring positions
• comfort massage
• ensuring you are fed and hydrated
• cues on when to travel to your delivery destination

Per a published 2012, Hodnett et al. updated Cochrane review on the use of continuous support for women during childbirth, the randomized results of over 15,000 women in 22 trials who received continuous, one-on-one support during their labor expressed that women with continuous support were more likely to:

• have a spontaneous, vaginal birth
• have little or no pain medication
• experience less pain
• have fewer epidurals
• have positive feelings about childbirth
• have fewer vacuum or forceps-assisted births, and C-sections
• have shorter labors
• lower blood pressure during labor
• have higher success with breastfeeding

I'm having my baby at the hospital ~ can I still have a doula?

ABSOLUTELY!  Considering that floor doctors and nurses work in shifts, they may end their shift while you are still laboring.  Your doula, however, will be with you throughout the duration of your labor and delivery. 

Often times, hospital deliveries are more ideal with a birth doula present.  Hospital protocol tends to undermine a woman's confidence to give birth and a reassuring doula can help resulting in a lower need for interventions. 

I'm planning a home or birth center birth ~ is there a point to having a doula?

Birth doulas are still great to have for home or birth center births.  The medical staff (typically midwives) need their energy to focus on the medical portion of your care rather than on your emotional and physical support.  This is where a doula makes a great addition to the birth team.  A birth doula will work in conjuction with your medical staff to help achieve optimal positioning and comfort for you and your baby.  A doula can also help by giving your partner a break when they need it. 

How can a doula help my partner?

Doulas are experts with birth.  Not only can they offer information and comfort to mama, they can do the same for the partner who may be experiencing their own fears and anxieties.  A doula can also guide the partner with tips and strategies for making mama feel safe and at ease, or they can step in where a partner's strengths may be lacking.  Sometimes the doula or partner need to step away to eat or use the restroom.  Having them both present during the birth of a baby allows the option to tag team so that a laboring mama is never left alone. 

Are Doulas and Midwives not the same? 

Doulas and Midwives are not the same.  Doulas are not required to have any training, however most do and receive certification.  Midwives are medically trained and licensed by the medical board.  Unless a doula is also a medical professional (like a nurse or midwife), a midwife can do such things as:

• take your blood pressure
• take your temperature
• perform a vaginal exam
• perform routine blood work
• catch your baby

Midwives typically arrive once a woman is in active labor or in transition and 'catches' the baby.

A doula on the other hand, is limited to the emotional, physical and informational support UNLESS they have additional training and have been hired to perform under that license.  Doulas arrive when a mama feels they are in need of support.  This can often times be much earlier that the arrival of a midwife or before heading into the hospital or birth center. 

Birth Doulas can really offer much needed and even unexpected support to a laboring mama.  The newness and unfamiliarity that birth brings is like no other on this Earth.  A doula reminds women to hold on to a deep trust and surrender beyond ourselves to help create and experience the most precious, memorable, and profound time of a woman's life.

I'm happy to connect with you about my birth doula services. Feel free to schedule a brief call HERE, or email me at info@mrsdancingmoon.com.