Claudia Florian-McCaffrey

Claudia is wonderful. I took her post natal classes after both of my sons were born and it was my favorite part of the week. She has a way of making you feel strong and powerful and nurtured during such a vulnerable time in a mother’s life. I was devastated when I had to stop going because I went back to work! If life allowed it, I would still be going twice a week without hesitation. I can’t thank her enough for the service she provides, truly invaluable.
Thank you Claudia from the bottom of my heart!

I took Claudia’s prenatal yoga classes at Namaste Yoga for about the last half of my pregnancy and have now been taking her postnatal yoga with my two-​month-​old. I can’t say enough good things about Claudia. Her energy and mood are just right for these classes. Very gentle, relaxed and supportive. She takes a little time at the beginning of each class to quickly check in with each person and see how they’re doing. She then tailors the class that day to include poses that seem like they would be most beneficial for them. Her adjustments are gentle and spot-​on and she’s always ready with modifications or alternate poses if something’s not feeling right.
As a new, first-​time mom, I am infinitely grateful for the postnatal yoga. There are BABY HOLDERS! I can walk into this class with a fussy baby, and a smiling baby-​whisperer will take him to the baby-​wonderland of bouncy balls and playmats on the far side of the room. Claudia herself is a master baby-​whisperer and can sometimes find the trick to calm your baby’s particular brand of fussiness. It’s also a great place to meet other new moms and hear about what has been helpful for them. Breast (or bottle) feeding in the class is also no big deal. Pretty much every single person will end up nursing at one point or another. You just sort of go with the flow and jump back into the yoga when you’re done.
If you’re thinking of taking a class that Claudia is offering, do it! You won’t regret it.

I am so grateful for Claudia’s post natal class at Namaste. We started going when baby was 8 weeks.
First of all, it was a real yoga class, with wonderful stretches targeting problem areas for new moms. Claudia gives a great class, gives excellent corrections, and balances energetic poses with relaxing ones. She is supportive, nonjudgemental, validating, caring, and calming. Second, there was a baby area with multiple play gyms, bouncy chairs, boppies, and exercise balls and baby holders who, for $ 5 per class (a really good deal for childcare), would allow mom to take class by playing with your baby. I was definitely paranoid about child care during the early months (still am) and it was great to be able to see and hear my baby while I took class. Also, during class, you could also nurse, change diapers, and give baby to babyholder while you went to the bathroom. Finally, it was a joy to be around other moms and babies — e.g., to hear other baby gurgles that were similar and different to my own, see older and younger babies.
The baby massage component was also a treat, and it’s a good tool to calm baby and mom. I really enjoyed sharing this time with my baby, and it was at a good time of the day to help reset a somewhat normal schedule after baby is born.

My husband and I took Claudia’s hynobirthing class before our son was born. Even though we had an ObGyn we wanted to have a natural birth as much as possible. Claudia was very supportive and guided us to be calm and peaceful when everyone else was telling us horror stories about birth.
As first time parents her class helped us get all the basics we needed to know about childbirth. But the main thing was to be not scared about birth but approach it as the natural thing that it is.
At 8 months we discovered that our son was in breech. Claudia held a separate session with us to show me positions that would help him turn. She pointed to resources we could use and was very involved through the process.
Her meditation techniques were very helpful during my delivery. She is a kind person who truly believes in everything that she teaches.
Her class was also a fun social event as we bonded with other couples and did mini-​potlucks. I would encourage all first-​time couples who would like to go through natural birth to take her class.

We attended Hypnobirthing with Claudia at Bloom Retreat in Walnut Creek. We signed up for the course because some friends of ours had their baby using the hypnobirthing techniques and they really felt the benefit. We signed up and were slightly resistant to the techniques. Over the 5 week course, Claudia really made the content easy to understand and we could feel the benefits of the HB program. Leaving the course we felt prepared to move closer to our due date with a good understanding of how our delivery would go. We enjoyed this course and would recommend it.

I’m writing this belated review for Claudia’s infant massage class, which I attended with my family October 2013. My wife has taken prenatal yoga classes with Claudia since week 16 of pregnancy with our first child. Now that our son is born, she takes postnatal classes with the baby in tow. The infant massage class was a 3 hour session in the same Berkeley studio that hosts the yoga class, and Claudia set up the space in a cozy and comforting way, making sure the infants had plenty of room to wiggle around, pillows to nurse, etc.
Our son was about 8 weeks old when we took the class, and very fussy. Under her instruction, we were able to calm him with massage and have a wonderful bonding experience. It was so nice to see him calm and content, and be taught how to touch him in ways that were soothing. The handouts reinforced everything she taught, and also prescribed certain motions for various ailments (i.e. congestion, indigestion/​gassiness). We’ve put them to use, and although I don’t know how effective they are, it makes us feel like we’re helping in some way!
Now that our son is nearly 5 months old, I can say that my wife and I use the techniques that Claudia taught us every day, whether it’s a quick «I L (ove) U» pattern on his chest during diaper changes, or a more extended massage with naked time and oil. It’s great that our baby loves to be touched, and it strengthens the bond we have with him. We would recommend learning infant massage to everyone.

I recently attended Claudia’s Preparation for Labor workshop and really enjoyed it and found it very enlightening and empowering as a woman. She draws from her experience, not only as a great yoga instructor and dancer but also from her knowledge of hypno-​birth and personal journey as a mother. She is very grounded, knowledgeable, sweet and truly teaches from her heart. I highly recommend her workshops to mothers who want to feel less afraid of labor and who want great tools to go through that intense experience as graceful as possible.

Claudia is the most nurturing, compassionate, intelligent and practiced yoga instructor I have ever known. Even though I recently moved further away, I am still driving almost an hour to attend her classes twice a week. I have been attending her prenatal class since week 14, and am looking forward to her postnatal class in the very near future. She is very well informed regarding postures and positions for those in all stages of pregnancy. After her class, I feel both mentally and physically rejuvenated. She is truly wonderful and I’d recommend her to anyone.

I have taken Claudia’s pre-​natal since week 14 and then her post natal with my son until he was around 10 months old (and refused to stay put anymore!) but until then he just loved coming to yoga with me. She is compassionate, gentle, truly respects your limits and really encourages us to trust our bodies, and is so so nurturing. I love her approach to both pre and post natal and she creates a really nurturing yet challenging environment. I also love how she has baby holders lovingly holding babies while mom’s do yoga in post natal.
I really felt like a «mom», even in pre-​natal, honoring my baby inside of me and my body. She encourages the moms to form community and support each other both pre and post natal. I met some mom’s that I am still close with.
I also took her «preparation for birth» workshop with my husband, which i highly recommend. It helped us bond in preparation for the baby and spend an afternoon doing yoga and practicing breathing techniques, months before the baby was due. It was my husbands first exposure to the baby prep and a very gentle and easful way to do it together.

I have taken Claudia’s prenatal yoga class throughout my pregnancy, starting around 16 weeks. As a yoga instructor, she has a very sweet and inviting demeanor, which is only enhanced by her wealth of information about pregnancy related issues and how yoga can help. Claudia genuinely cares about the well-​being of her students, and won’t hesitate to offer an alternative pose for women who are experiencing discomfort in an area of their bodies.
As an added bonus, Claudia also works to help mamas-​to-​be to feel a connection with their growing babies. This connection can be continued once the babies have arrived, in her post-​natal yoga classes. These include infant massage techniques and mommy’s helpers who support new mothers and babies.
You cannot go wrong taking a class with Claudia.

I am a yoga teacher and chiropractor at 7^th Heaven yoga studio in Berkeley, and I have volunteered as a «Mommy Helper» for Claudia’s post-​natal yoga class. I was so impressed with her teaching style and demeanor that I asked her to teach a private class for my best friend’s baby shower. The shower was a huge success and everyone in attendance loved Claudia. We had a mix of ladies — some had never done yoga before and others were experienced yogis, 2 of the women were more than 4 months pregnant, and we had an age range from late 20s to early 60s. Claudia was the perfect choice for this kind of event because she is so adept at handling all different types of student at the same time, which, as a yoga teacher myself, I know is not an easy thing to do. In addition to this, she added to the celebratory nature of the day with her warmth, positivity and genuine good will. I HIGHLY recommend working with Claudia for a group or private class. She will make your baby shower a truly special event!

If there’s one yoga teacher I can recommend to everyone, it would be Claudia. Claudia is your quintessential yogi instructor. She’s the most nurturing and guiding teacher I’ve come across ever. I started taking Claudia’s prenatal classes while I was 35 weeks pregnant and resumed with postnatal classes as soon as my daughter was 3 weeks old. I look forward to her classes every week for the yoga workout but more importantly, to find healing and spirituality in her 1 ½ hour class. Her postnatal class setup is extremely well organized with baby assistants who are all so wonderful with babies. My little girl is now 7 months old and I wonder how much longer we’ll be allow in class. It’ll certainly be sad when that day comes… :)

I am a professional ballet and modern dancer who occasionally takes yoga. Last year I injured my groin and couldn’t dance in my second trimester. At that time I started exploring prenatal yoga as an alternative. i tried many teachers at Mountain Yoga and the Yoga Tree in The Mission (SF). Finally I tried Claudia at 7^th Heaven and got hooked. Claudia is awesome… she is experienced, patient, caring and has a very generous spirit. Her class is organized and efficient, yet she always leaves room for requests. After delivering my 9lb son, with much success, I continued with Claudia by taking her postnatal yoga. Again, the continuation of yoga with Claudia has been wonderful. I started bringing my son at 3 weeks to class and we both love it. He is now nearly 6months and we are still going strong with the postnatal classes. The baby helpers are great and Claudia continues to support her students’ journey through pregnancy and new motherhood. My body has recovered very quickly from birth (and I’m 40!) and my son has adjusted really well to being around lots of people and doing the infant massage and exercises. Really, her classes are good for you and so much fun!

I have been taking prenatal classes with Claudia throughout my pregnancy at 7^th Heaven Yoga (as this review, she teaches on M/​Th 10 – 11.30). I have been practicing yoga for several years (mostly vinyasa and some hatha based practices) but there are moms to be from all experience levels, and all are welcome in these classes. Claudia does not assume prior yoga experience.
I have benefited enormously from the prenatal yoga. Claudia’s class pace works well for me, its not too slow and easy, you get a good workout, but its of course yoga for pregnant women, so its also very therapeutic and accessible regardless of how far along you are in your pregnancy. I like Claudia’s teaching style, she is thoughtful and soft-​spoken, but gives direct and interactive instruction. That is, she is a hands on instructor without being too in your face. I highly recommend her classes. I tried other prenatal (at Yoga Mandala and at 7^th Heaven with other instructors) and found that Claudia’s style and technique worked best for me. I should mention that while we do check in for a few minutes with each other, almost the entire class is devoted to yoga, not a sharing circle, which I really liked.
I have also enjoyed meeting new moms to be and getting pregnancy and labor tips from Claudia.