This week’s Yogi in the Community is author, yogi, and wellness/birth coach Latham Thomas! You may be familiar with her latest book, “Mama Glow: A Hip Lifestyle Guide to Your Fabulous Abundant Pregnancy”, or maybe you have seen her sharing her knowledge and light on The Dr. Oz, Essence Magazine, and a host of other media platforms. It was really refreshing interviewing Latham. Her enthusiasm for life and yoga certainly exudes through all she does! Be inspired!
Name: Latham Thomas
Location: New York, NY Hometown: Oakland, California
What led you to the practice of yoga?
I came to yoga when I was in college. I started with Bikram which really worked for my athletic nature, a few years later I discovered the intoxicating vinyasa flow and my life was forever changed.
What inspires you to pursue your passion of working with women during their journey to motherhood?
My own experience being pregnant with my son has inspired me to work with other pregnant women. 
I want to shift the way our culture perceives pregnancy and childbirth and I want to help women as they enter the rite of passage- offering support, guidance, and encouragement, and believing that they are capable of this miraculous act of bringing a child into the world.
I have seen you make many appearances lately throughout different media outlets, I am sure that gets hectic. Can you talk a little bit about how you balance being a mother, entrepreneur, and wellness coach? Does your yoga practice help you maintain this balance at all? If so, how?
I don’t believe in balance. I believe in dynamic equilibrium- there is always constant movement, we are always engaging in a divine cosmic dance. Breathing deeply is my peace. Breath is a bridge for consciousness, so if you want to achieve a certain state of being- breath precedes that state. If you breathe deeply you can find relaxation softening opening that helps to deal with a fast paced schedule, deadlines, shoots, etc. My son is my guru, he is always reminding me of the lessons. And he uses the tools himself- meditation, tapping, it’s amazing. My personal glow time routine consists of a morning meditation ritual burning resins and candles, then dynamic movement at some point during the day, by evening a hot salt and herb goddess bath, then reflective time for giving thanks and story telling with my son. I created a life that I love so nothing really ever feels hectic, even when things are moving at lightning speed.
I was introduced to your work through your book Mama Glow. What fueled your ability to accomplish writing the book?
I felt compelled to write Mama Glow because I didn’t have a guide to work with when I was pregnant. I was figuring it out as I went along. I want women to not only feel supported and empowered but mobilized to take healthy action in their lives and make choices aligned with a positive set of beliefs. I wanted to promote green living, I wanted to share a different story, one that wasn’t fear based or hokey, one that spoke to modern women living in big cities and in suburbs to address all aspects of their self care- in the kitchen, on the mat, and in their lives.
Are there any tips you can offer women beginning their motherhood journey? (This can be either pre/during/or post pregnancy)
The building blocks to a successful pregnancy include:
1. preconception detoxification– which I outline in the pre-pregnancy section of the book.
2. a healthy plant based diet of whole foods with a focus on what I’ve termed “glow foods” for optimal wellness.
3. yoga or other dynamic movement supporting your joints, muscles and needs of your changing body.
4. mindfulness practice including journaling and meditation as well as an affirmation practice, this helps us to develop coping tools that will be helpful in our birth and motherhood
5. glow time- take personal time to focus on you– that’s right be selfish, take baths, get a massage, get your hair and your nails done, do a facial at home, relaxing and decompressing helps to reduce stress- putting yourself first is one of the most important things you can learn while pregnant.
If you are interested in keeping with Latham, you can check her out at the following places:
twitter – @GlowMaven
Facebook- Latham Thomas- MAMA GLOW
