Blooma is a cozy studio nestled in the Tangletown neighborhood in South Minneapolis. With a coffee shop, grocery store, and pharmacy nearby, it’s a convenient location to squeeze in a class between errands.
Recreating the Village in Modern Minneapolis
You’ve likely heard the well-known African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Blooma aims to recreate that village experience in today’s busy city life. Dedicated to creating the space and community to support you, they want every new parent to know they aren’t alone, no one births alone, and no one raises a child alone.
Blooma was founded by Sarah Longacre in 2007. Longacre is a birth doula and yoga teacher, and she noticed a lot of crossover between prenatal yoga, doula birth support, and perinatal care. Longacre created Blooma out of the need to bring all aspects of prenatal and postpartum care under one roof.
Today, Blooma’s mission is to create community. The space is warm and inviting and truly a gem. As proof of the success of their mission, they have students who have come for years, from pregnant to perinatal and onward. And the studio isn’t just for parents-to-be. They welcome all genders, and those of all ages and stages of life. Often a multigenerational space, parents, grandparents, and children frequently attend classes together for wellness and bonding time.
While many of their students are parents, some aren’t. Yet they keep returning for the welcoming surroundings and fantastic movement classes.
Something for Everyone
Despite being Minneapolis’s preeminent prenatal yoga studio, Blooma is not singularly focused on babies or targeted at kids. They consider themselves to be women, family, baby, and community-centric. It’s a space for adults welcoming babies and kiddos, too.
One of the most unique things about Blooma is their ability to provide whatever you need for class. No yoga mat? No problem. They offer free mats, water, tea, and plenty of props. All you have to do is walk in the door. Speaking of, their forgiving “You’re Never Late” policy is considerate of new parents and busy professionals alike. They invite you to slip into class and join when you can. They’re happy to see you whenever you arrive.
With over forty weekly classes on their schedule, there is something for everyone. Flow Yoga and Barre offer a well-rounded experience you might not even notice, and they provide built-in modifications for those expecting. Candlelight Restorative is a great wind down for anyone who could use a break. And there are Kids Yoga classes for the little (9 months-4 years) and not so little (ages 4-8).
Longacre created a birth-themed Prenatal Yoga class to guide expecting parents through relaxation and strength-building to support their bodies through birth and postpartum. Her unique approach to prenatal yoga creates a class designed to nurture and challenge with gentle yoga and breathing techniques.
They also offer class formats for new parents with babies in tow. The babywearing-friendly Barre class uses the additional weight of a swaddled infant to amp up the movement practice. Their BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) class offers “mommy and me” time and the relaxation and strengthening a postpartum body needs. It also creates a welcoming space for new moms to be in a community with each other.
Prenatal Yoga Training Going Beyond the Basics
Prenatal Yoga training at Blooma, an extensive 85-hour Yoga Alliance-certified RPYT program, treats pregnant people as a whole person. It doesn’t tiptoe around their condition or focus on injury prevention. Instead, it emphasizes teaching classes that focus on flexibility and strength.
Training also includes detailed anatomy and pelvic floor education. Blooma even brings in a chiropractor and other guest speakers. Most students of Blooma’s prenatal training are 200-hour graduates or those looking to deepen their own knowledge and practice. Complications like diastasis recti or urinary incontinence, as well as postpartum depression, are common, but Blooma knows they’re not normal. They educate their students and staff to notice clues that someone may be suffering in silence.
Genuine Empathy and Care
Focusing on the agency and empowerment of pregnant people, Blooma wants to ensure no one goes into birth afraid. Through their many services and classes, they provide evidence-based information to those about to give birth. They want expectant parents to feel confident in setting themselves up for a good birthing experience, no matter how it goes.
In addition to movement classes, Blooma offers many education classes regularly. Some are for parents-to-be, including infant care and first aid. And some are great for anyone, like Wake Up Your True Core (who doesn’t need that?). You can also receive bodywork such as chiropractic, massage, or even yoga therapy to help you feel good in your body, no matter what stage of life you’re in.
They aren’t afraid to get real and encourage authentic sharing in their free group for new moms. The group offers a chance for new parents to get out of the house and ensure that perinatal time isn’t isolating, as it often can be. These non-movement-based community sessions are often the first place new moms take their infants.
They are also ready to hold space for everything encountered on the sometimes bumpy road of family planning. At Blooma, it is a safe place to share stories of infertility and loss or for those who may find themselves not yet ready to celebrate their pregnancy. It’s a safe space to explore the many complicated feelings around fertility.
Our society tends to treat pregnancy like a goddess, opening doors for expecting parents, offering advice, and inviting conversation. Too often, that special treatment goes away once someone gives birth. Blooma intends to change that.
If you’re curious about trying Blooma for yourself, they offer a New Student Special ($20 gets you unlimited classes for a week) to try the many different offerings on the schedule. They also steadily schedule education classes, and their annual free event, Bellyrama, will be held on September 21st at the Peace Garden near Lake Harriet.
Ashley Vasas is a yoga teacher and founder of Nourish & Grow Yoga, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She poured more than 500 hours into her yoga education studies, earning her RYT 500 from Yoga Alliance in 2022. Ashley studied several yoga modalities to offer students whatever their unique body needs, including Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, Prenatal, Yoga Nidra, Meditation, and Yoga Tune Up®. She helps her students discover their potential through yoga, meditation, and self-love, and works with people of all ages, flexibility, and physical fitness levels.
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