Emily Harding

BIRTHWORK

I knew from the age of 9 that I was destined to work with newborns and pregnant people in some capacity. The birth of my mom's goddaughter Megan was a pivotal moment; any measure of time spent around her, holding her, smelling her new baby smell transported me to a place of peace and calm. 

 

Over 18 years later, and now as a full spectrum doula, I find much remains unchanged, and that my sense of calm translates well to my clients, both newborn and adult.

 

After falling in love with prenatal bodywork at massage school in 2012, and with the help of my instructors at FLSM who also happened to be birth workers, I was guided to become a doula myself, starting with postpartum. I became a postpartum doula with DONA International after attending an approved training at Bini Birth in Sherman Oaks, CA, and just 8 months later returned to Bini to complete a birth doula course with the then-president of DONA, Ana Paula Markel. 

 

A few weeks later, I began a course for bereavement support, allowing me to support families through miscarriage and stillbirth; miscarriage is common, affecting 1 in 4. The knowledge gained during this course was instrumental in becoming well-equipped to hold space in those delicate moments.

 

In 2021 I became certified with Doula Trainings International (DTI), as both a birth and abortion doula, rendering me officially full-spectrum. 

 

My philosophies as a doula and birthworker are that of nonjudgmental support, accompanied by evidence based information. I support my clients how they choose, adapting to their needs, because one style of support does not fit all.

​

BODYWORK

I became a bodyworker at the insistence of my mother - this path was not something I initially felt drawn to until she urged me to sit in on a class at FLSM in 2012. But it was during that Saturday class, a class on tapotement, I knew. I was destined to be a healer and bodyworker. Call it fate, kismet, destiny, or maybe a mothers intuition - it all resonates.

 

Because of my mothers intuition and the gravitational pull FLSM had on me, I graduated from the Finger Lakes School of Massage in Mount Kisco, NY in April 2013 and became a NYS LMT that fall.

 

After several years of managing day spas in Westchester County and specializing in sports therapies in my work with professional athletes, my focus naturally shifted when I began birthwork, and I now focus exclusively on women's wellness and the perinatal phase as one of three perinatal massage specialists in Westchester County, encompassing the journey through fertility and conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum and newborn work.

 

From a young age, I believed in the power of touch, as I experienced the healing art of reiki routinely from my mother. I am trained in various therapeutic massage modalities, including advanced certifications for fertility, prenatal and postpartum, infancy, connective tissue therapy/myofascial release, Swedish, deep tissue, and reflexology, as well as a level II reiki practitioner, and hold certifications in crystal healing, hypnosis, and cranio-sacral therapy.

​

Each bodywork or energy healing session is carefully crafted and curated specifically for each client to treat their individual needs.

​

While I specialize in women's health and the perinatal phase, I continue to actively work with clients who are not pregnant. 

​

As a specialist of perinatal health and women's wellness, I no longer work with cis male clients. However, as a fierce advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, my practice is inclusive of trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming clients.