Marise Hyman is our very first Becoming Us Facilitator in Europe! Marise originally hails from South Africa and is now living in stunning Luxembourg. Please, meet Marise:

How would you describe what you do?

I empower individuals and future parents worldwide from preconception all through the transitions into parenthood as a Holistic Maternity & Empowerment Coach/Educator. As a Becoming Us Facilitator, I also thoroughly enjoy teaching expecting couples from all over the world, sharing with them the “Becoming Us” skills so they are able to provide a "warm nest" for each new baby on the way. I have used the Becoming Us approach with copules from the US, UK, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Tunisia, Romania, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Poland, Bulgaria and Portugal!

How did you start on this path?

Becoming a parent myself in a foreign country and then re-evaluating my life in 2013 caused me to ditch a fast-paced and painful 18 year corporate career as a chartered accountant & auditor - and to dive into another world of possibility and growth. While certifying as an IMHI Maternity Coach and IMHI Holistic Pregnancy & Child Sleep Practitioner, Elly Taylor’s book Becoming Us was recommended to me.

Within the mist of motherhood, I felt the intensity of my emotions increase, childhood memories resurface and my whole being calling out for something new. Elly’s book connected all the dots, and combined with the insights from my now holistically minded education, led me to embark on a deep journey of Self-discovery of my formative imprints and trans-generational healing through various modalities which answered my soul’s longing to awaken.

What other professional approaches have you found helpful?

Realising the need for humanity to evolve, combined with a new passion for healing, I trained in the Birth into Being method, the Head-trash Clearance Method and Reiki and started holding space for individuals saying yes to empowering themselves consciously and freeing up their life potential. I also provide Birth Empowerment for body, mind and soul with said skills combined with certifications as Dancing for Birth instructor, IMHI Holistic Childbirth Educator and Fearless Birthing Professional and she also works preconception with couples towards a Conscious Conception.

In my community, I also run a NGO, creating a community for expecting and new parents (mostly expats) and raising awareness for Human Rights in Childbirth, Perinatal Mental Health and Green Parenting.

What do you enjoy about using the Becoming Us approach?

As Becoming Us Facilitator I can facilitate the Becoming Us program for expecting couples in small groups in Luxembourg as well as privately for couples in-person or online virtually. I also teach the Becoming Us skills to already parents, if they missed the prenatal program. Seeing the “aha” in couples’ eyes with each "Becoming Us seed” planted through the program, excites me so much I become giddy! Knowing first hand how empowering it is to learn emotional skills, communication skills, conflict-resolution skills and more, I’m grateful to be able to play a role in facilitating these journeys for new families as they cross the sacred threshold into parenthood. 

What do you think are the main benefits for parents?

I’m often told by parents that they haven’t come across this prenatal approach to parenthood elsewhere and the program is just as thoroughly appreciated with couples welcoming a second or third baby. The continuity that the Becoming Us program offers as I come full circle again with each couple/group postpartum is also such a great opportunity to stand still and acknowledge the “new normal”.

Are there any challenges with doing “Becoming Us” work? 

The only challenge is sometimes for expecting parents to fit the sessions in prenatally or for expecting parents to have the timely awareness that this type of work can be so fundamentally helpful and so I encourage couples that’s it’s never too early (or too late) to explore Becoming Us.

Do you have a favourite part of your Becoming us training?

One of my favourite nuggets of wisdom from Becoming Us, that I also experienced myself, is that parents are biologically primed to attach with their baby, which offers the possibility for them to “unlearn” old attachments patterns and become more securely attached to each other. Seeing as how profoundly attachment patterns impacts us as humans and that more than half of couples grow apart, I finds it very satisfying to play a role in helping couples instead grow together to create more warm, loving nests for humanity’s future. 

For more, please visit Marise at her website: www.marisehyman.com