Rather than chase what's trending, invest in what is timeless.
At The Soma Center we share knowledge, tools, and transformational practices.
All with the intention of supporting you in feeling more resourced
and living with greater clarity.
All with the intention of supporting you in feeling more resourced
and living with greater clarity.
While you are preparing for the arrival of a new baby,
tending to ones who have already been birthed,
or caring for aging loved ones, you'll find a respite here.
tending to ones who have already been birthed,
or caring for aging loved ones, you'll find a respite here.
Clients say Lydia is easy to talk to and deeply educated. They appreciate her tender care during times full with question and unknowing.
With her expert guidance, clients become more confident advocates and better equipped to be active participants in their care.
The practices she shares are deeply nourishing and revelatory, unique in their ability to dissolve unhelpful patterning and cultivate a sense of abiding satisfaction.
Clients see and feel how Lydia's work is inspired by her lived experiences and fortified by her training and continued studies.
She too has weathered the upheaval that comes with transitioning from a couple to a family. Come through the other side of birth feeling a messy mix of triumph and defeat. Leaned into uncomfortable conversations to advocate for herself, children, and elders. Trudged through the intensity of caring for loved ones as their health conditions evolved. And taken paths less traveled to uphold what felt most resonant.
Most essentially, she has become skilled at caring for herself in ways that allow her to show up even more fully -- to herself, to others, and to her responsibilities.
She too has weathered the upheaval that comes with transitioning from a couple to a family. Come through the other side of birth feeling a messy mix of triumph and defeat. Leaned into uncomfortable conversations to advocate for herself, children, and elders. Trudged through the intensity of caring for loved ones as their health conditions evolved. And taken paths less traveled to uphold what felt most resonant.
Most essentially, she has become skilled at caring for herself in ways that allow her to show up even more fully -- to herself, to others, and to her responsibilities.
Lydia knows how hard it can feel to hold so much and to navigate the complexities of these seasons.
When you choose to work with her, you can trust she will show up with depth and a commitment to supporting you on your individual path.
Education, Certifications, and Influential Studies
Education & Certifications
• Hands-on Supreme Release Yoga Level I with Kaya Mindlin, 2025
• Nectar of Yoga: Illumination Certification with Kaya Mindlin, 2025
• Supreme Release Yoga Fundamentals with Kaya Mindlin, 2021 and 2020
• Parenthood Guide Certification, Becoming Us, 2020
• Childbirth Educator Certification, Lamaze International, 2020
• Childbirth Educator Certification, International Childbirth Education Association, 2019
• Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga Teacher Part I Certification with Jane Austin, 2015
• 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification with Maile Sivert, Caroline Kelley, and Kari Marble, 2015
• Master of Arts in Educational Technology, University of San Francisco
• Multiple-Subject CLAD Teaching Credential, University of San Francisco
• Bachelor of Fine Arts with High Honors, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Influential Studies
With Kaya Mindlin
• Sanskrit Pronunciation and Transliteration, 2026 and 2020
• Hasta Samudrika, 2025
• Nectar of the Bhagavad Gita, 2024, 2022, and 2020
• Supreme Subtle Body Revealed, 2024
• Nectar of Patanjali, 2023 and 2022
• Healing Hypermobility, 2023
• Vastu: Divine Patterns of Life & Yoga, 2022
• Minimal Props SRY Training, 2022
• De-Mystifying Karma, 2021
• Agni & Soma Ayurvedic Digestion and Nutrition, 2020
• Ayurvedic Yoga: Sequencing for the Seasons, 2020
• Nectar of Yoga Nidra, 2020
With Peter Levine and/or Somatic Experiencing International
• Case Consultation & Live, In-person Demonstration with Peter Levine, 2025
• Awakening Aliveness: A Somatic Approach to Healing Attachment Trauma with Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller, 2025
• Awakening Aliveness: A Somatic Approach to Healing Attachment Trauma with Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller, 2025
• Basic Principles of Somatic Experiencing with Mashid Hager, 2025
• Healing the Body's Response to Attachment Trauma with Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller, 2025
• Healing the Body's Response to Attachment Trauma with Peter Levine and Diane Poole Heller, 2025
With Evidence Based Birth
• Induction Bootcamp, 2026
• ARRIVE Trial, 2026
• Evidence on Doulas, 2026
• Evidence on Vitamin K, 2026
• Evidence on Cervical Exams, 2026
• Newborn Procedures, 2026
• Big Babies, 2026
• Chorioamnionitis, 2026
• Evidence on Hypertension, 2026
• Supporting Advanced Maternal Age & IVF Clients, 2026
• Chorioamnionitis, 2026
• Evidence on Hypertension, 2026
• Supporting Advanced Maternal Age & IVF Clients, 2026
• Southern Traditional Herbs in the Perinatal Period, 2026
• How to Help Families Get Evidence Based Care, 2021
• Overturning Hospital Bans, 2021
• Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, 2021
• Evidence Based Care for Suspected Big Babies & Gestational Diabetes, 2021
• Premature Rupture of Membranes, Group Beta Streptococcus & Newborn Procedures, 2021
• Inducing for Due Dates and Advanced Maternal Age, 2020
• Friedman’s Curve and Failure to Progress, 2020
• Overturning Hospital Bans, 2021
• Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, 2021
• Evidence Based Care for Suspected Big Babies & Gestational Diabetes, 2021
• Premature Rupture of Membranes, Group Beta Streptococcus & Newborn Procedures, 2021
• Inducing for Due Dates and Advanced Maternal Age, 2020
• Friedman’s Curve and Failure to Progress, 2020
With Lamaze International
• Reimagining Postpartum Support, 2026
• Not Just Mechanical Birthing Bodies: Birthing Consciousness and Birth Reflexes, 2026
• Empowering Birth: Evidence-Based Strategies for the Second Stage of Labor, 2026
• Not Just Mechanical Birthing Bodies: Birthing Consciousness and Birth Reflexes, 2026
• Empowering Birth: Evidence-Based Strategies for the Second Stage of Labor, 2026
• Freestanding Birth Centers: An Evidence-Based Option for Birth, 2026
• From Margins to Center: Centering Accessibility in Childbirth Education, 2026
• Access, Interest, and Barriers to Incorporation of Birth Doula Care in the United States, 2026
• Who's Stressed? Social Factors and Women's Stress Experiences 2 to 22 Months Postpartum, 2026
• The Integration of Doula Care: Exploring Doulas' Role in Addressing Maternal Health Disparities Through Collaborative Practice, 2026
• In the Eye of the Beholder: Understanding Trauma in Childbirth, 2026
• The Effect of COVID-19 on the Six Healthy Birth Practices, 2021
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