A little more about me...

My journey to becoming a doula started in childhood. From a very young age, I had a love of babies and eventually became drawn to working in the health field & helping others.

After a high school athletic injury & subsequent knee surgery, I decided to pursue a Physical Therapy degree. Not too far into my first year of college, it became clear to me that Western medicine was not my path. I made a pivot and dove into all things alternative healing, women's studies & began my trainings in Herbalism. Around this same time, I learned about midwifery & homebirth and was absolutely mesmerized. When a friend who was expecting her first baby told me about the doula she planned to have at her home water birth, my eyes lit up...I knew this was the work I was called to do!

In 2000 I eagerly pursued birth doula training and was obsessed with all things birth! Right after completing my training, I conceived my first of three sons. I approached his birth with massive amounts of confidence and, admittedly, a bit of arrogance. I thought, "I've done all these trainings, read every book & watched every video I could get my hands on...I got this!" Boy, was I humbled! From the first contraction, all the knowledge I had acquired flew right out the window.

Crystal Lyons, a doula, shown being active outdoors and connecting with nature

I quickly learned that the only way I was going to get through this was to completely surrender to the process, trust my body, tune in to my instincts and navigate labor in my own unique way. Once he was earthside, I was immediately struck by just how many things about postpartum I felt completely unprepared for. I felt cheated. "Why doesn't anyone talk about this??" I thought. Of all the trainings, reading & studying I had done, there were still so many gaps in the information regarding what it's *really* like & what women *really* need after giving birth. Layer on top of that this country's utter disregard for postpartum women...a society that sweeps it all under the rug, finds *one* check up at 6 weeks to be sufficient and otherwise regards the new mother as being invisible while the baby is doted on, unless, that is, the mother is being praised for "bouncing back" quickly (insert disgusted eye roll).

It was in those early weeks, marveling over my brand new baby, that I knew another pivot was called for. I changed the course of my doula focus to help mothers in those precious, raw & tender weeks after birth. After taking an extended break from birthwork to have two more children and homeschool all three using the Waldorf method for over 10 years, I also used that time to deepen my training. When I returned to postpartum work, I brought with me a wealth of both academic knowledge and personal experience.

In my work with mamas, babies and families, I bring a calm, reassuring energy and greet each visit with a clean slate, an open mind, and adaptability to respond with love to whatever needs that day presents. My main priority is to hold space for the mother to feel safe and well nourished on all levels so she can ease into her new role with peace, confidence and new found strength. I am also there to support her partner and any other children as they find their new roles alongside her. This is true heart work and I feel deeply honored to be a part of this sacred journey with the families I serve.

When I'm not doula-ing, I love to spend time with my family being active outside soaking up the natural beauty that surrounds us. I love going to the beach, working out, hiking, camping, dancing to reggae music, tennis, volleyball & catching up with friends. Our health is our greatest wealth and life is a gift so let's live it well!