Hi, I’m Mary Jo Lowery. I am a doula and yoga instructor based in Richmond, VA. I am not great at speaking about myself, so it was a labor of self-love to allow this site to come to be. What I want you to know most is how passionate I am about what I do in supporting women and couples navigating pregnancy and birth, and seniors navigating aging.
I intentionally support people who are navigating new and often challenging changes in their bodies and their experiences. I provide nurturing support and guidance as they move through the physical, but sometimes more so through the energetic and emotional experiences of these transitions (pregnancy and aging).
Looking back on my journey, it is amazing to see how each step of my journey has led to the next. My first job (age 15) was in a nursing home. My adult career started as a respiratory therapist. At one point, I applied for a new job and was informed that there was not a respiratory therapy position available, but there was a recreational therapy position, and I took it. I became a recreational therapist and went to school for it to enhance my skillset. I worked in nursing homes for almost 10 years and then moved on to support seniors on a broader scale, managing the volunteers at the Area Agency on Aging. After supporting a dear friend through his illness and death, I knew I needed to leave my job, so I took some time off to be with my young son and recalibrate a bit. During that time, I started volunteering at a yoga studio in exchange for classes. They began a teacher training and invited me to join them. I didn’t have interest in teaching at the time, but I was interested in deepening my own practice, so I signed up. During that training, someone from a local hospital called to inquire about a prenatal yoga instructor. That piqued my interest - it just felt right to support women in this way. So I went to a training that just so happened to be starting very soon. At that training, I learned about doulas and then promptly began training to become a doula by one of the leaders of the doula movement.
This all happened within about 6 months from the time I quit my job. I have now been teaching yoga and working as a doula for 20 years since then. The path was not intentional, but it is clear now how perfectly guided it was. It feels like I am exactly where I am meant to be, doing exactly what I am meant to be doing. What is likely most important for you to understand is how I work.
My Style
Nurturing - I am nurturing and compassionate by nature, and my deepest passion is in supporting others.
Intuitive - I am pretty aware of what is going on for others - when they need something, when they’re uncomfortable. I naturally anticipate the needs of my clients and students and help them shift before they realize they need a change.
Encouraging - my energy is quite gentle and motherly, but I am also a cheerleader, encouraging and celebrating others as they move through challenges.
Loving - I am a relationship-oriented person. And I don’t shy away from supporting and being close with my clients and students. That’s part of who I am and how I work.