Pommama

With network of yoga teachers across central London, Pomamma provide personalised female yoga sessions to support your busy London lifestyles and demanding careers. Pommama was set up in 2017 by Maria Kondrashova, who had spent ten years running an event management company, a business which took her all over the world. Maria practiced yoga as an antidote to her busy transatlanic career, but became seriously hooked on its mind and body benefits when she booked herself onto a yoga retreat with international teacher Mercedes Sieff. "Yoga grew on me, but I realised its true value when became pregnant with my daughter Ava in 2014" she explains. "Yoga helped me to stay focused both in mind and body. I did find it frustrating, though, that good pregnancy yoga classes were so hard to find and the offering limited to me as a woman who worked full-time (so many studio classes are scheduled during the daytime). Many of the classes I did find could (to be frank) be a bit boring, seemingly based on the assumption that pregnant women couldn't - or didn't want to - move a great deal. I was looking for a good workout for mind and body and in my experience, one class didn't fit all. Travelling to a studio wasn't always easy either. I looked for teachers to come to my home, but found the quality hugely variable. I was lucky enough to book myself a few of private sessions with Mercedes and for me her approach to teaching pregnant women stood head and shoulders above everything else. "I was so grateful to yoga for leading me through this time in a way that allowed me to remain calm and balanced. Yoga played a big part in my positive experience of birth and helped me meet motherhood with joy, despite my uncertain circumstances. I wanted to share the experience and help other women to go through pregnancy strong, calm and happy in body and mind. I also wanted to share what I'd learned through Mercedes' teaching with as many women as possible. "I could see that there was a gap in the market for pregnancy yoga that was high-quality, consistent, tailored to how pregnant you were and delivered where you want it, when you want it. "I was thrilled when Mercedes - the most inspiring teacher I've come across - agreed to share her bespoke pregnancy programme with Pommama. Now, via or network of teachers - every woman can have acces to her high-quality antenatal practice, without having to search, schlep or even leave home. "This is how Pommama was born.”