Guardians of Birth,

a 4- Month Immersion

on the Art of Birth Care

WAITLIST FOR SUMMER-FALL 2025 IS OPEN

We begin August 07 2025

EARLY ENROLLMENT WILL OPEN ON

April 12, 2025 + CLOSE April 26, 2025

REGULAR ENROLLMENT WILL OPEN

July 10, 2025 + CLOSE July 24, 2025

Be the first to know when applications + early enrollment rate for summer-fall 2025 open!

Guardians of Birth is,

“…beyond a birth training, its a step closer to liberation…”

Blaine @sanasanawellness

“...a transformational experience that empowered me to self direct my birth & pregnancy & facilitated much needed healing for my partner and I”

Alisa Gonzales @terrabonitabndita

“…opened the path for me to connect to my origins & return to my practice in greater vitality”

Jillian Murphy LMT, IBCLC

a non-clinical immersion for those who recognize that our collective health & power relies on the reclamation of our birthrights and who want to empower women and families through their gestational and birth initiations.

a series of didactic, creative & investigative opportunities to connect you to what lies beyond titles, roles, and identities so that you can give birth and/or accompany birth processes in coherence.

"...guardians of birth has brought spirit and balance back to my life as I move through my clinical midwifery program..."

Anaya Wilson, LMT

𖦹

You will receive knowledge, practices, resources, and inspiration to support you in becoming a resource to your community. And, it will require you to face your own programming, activate your investigative sovereignty, and commit to your personal evolution.

𖦹

Whether you are taking an initial step into your birth-work journey, have already been serving your community as a midwife or doula, or simply recognize the importance of holding this knowledge and wisdom for your family, this space is for you.

This formation offers:

~20 classes

~4 Integration Sessions

~2 Arte-Sana Workshops

~3 Breath, Sound + Movement classes

An integrative & comprehensive understanding of the anatomy, physiology & energetics of menstruation, conception, gestation and childbirth.
The art of preventing or Inviting pregnancy consciously
Orientation to the hormonal matrix of pre-conception, gestation & birth.
Holistic, ancestral-elemental approach to prenatal care.
Health history + Lineage Mapping.
Tending to common discomforts & challenges
Physiology & energetics of the phases of labor.
Orientation to the cervix as a living & responsive space + benefits and pitfalls of cervical exams.
Benefits & pitfalls of natural inductions.
Integration of intuitive technologies (sound, breath & movement) in prenatal care & childbirth.
Brain waves & the transformation of consciousness.
Ancestral rituals + practices to support your inner work so that you can discern your authentic way of providing birth-care.
Reflection, Accountability & Responsibility to support women and families authentically and with integrity.
Dispelling the pathologized-medicalized perspectives of gestation & childbirth.
Supporting grief processes and holistic pregnancy release.
Orientation to the Nervous System & Endocannabinoid System and their role in healthy pregnancy and birth.
Honoring Placenta Birth
Nature as our mirror & how the elements serve to prevent and resolve imbalance in gestation & childbirth.
Activating the power of our hands.
Sacred Lactation & Innate Immunizations.
Original Birth Arts for personal and community care.

& Much more.

"Maria's Guardians of Birth Immersion was the most comprehensive and integrated birth training I have received. Her teachings helped me to bridge the gap between the necessity of practical knowledge, ancestral wisdom and my own embodied experience within them as a birth worker. Guardians of Birth and Maria's guidance have helped me to forge a foundation of deep knowing, relative to how I show up for myself, and the families I serve at the thresholds of birth. Maria's mentorship was so very welcomed at a time of transition in my work, and I am grateful to walk forwards with her teachings.

Alli, Birth + Postpartum Care Provider

Canada

“The Guardians of Birth immersion was pure medicine. As a practicing midwife, I was called to join because I felt like the spiritual component of my work was underdeveloped. I knew that the difference between how I practice now and how I want to practice was a matter of introspection and self-exploration. I knew this but I needed a trusted guide to “midwife me” through the process. Aya Maria’s gentle guidance and programming prompted the self-reflection needed to put me on the path to better develop and understand myself as a midwife. What Aya Maria gave me were the tools to uncover and deepen my spiritual relationship to my work/calling. I felt held and cared for. I now have life-long tools and practices to incorporate in order to have a healthy, balanced and aligned relationships with myself and my clients. ”

— Janell Moore CPM, LM

“I remain amazed at the depth of knowledge and applied wisdom that is woven together in this curriculum and how deeply transformative and illuminating it is. I remain amazed at how I feel so much clarity about my path and what I am here to do, my confidence and inner fire of inspiration remains lit as I walk deeply listening, trusting, and using some tools I learned in this immersion. This is more than a knowledge based learning course.. this is also an immersion into our inner world where there is a living memory of who we are and why we’re here.. and we are able to touch that and actualize it into our lives. Before Guardians of Birth Immersion I had taken many of Aya Maria’s courses online which were also rich with knowledge and wisdom that I feel propelled me deeper into the path of my heart— the work I am here to do. With all my trust, I would (and do) 1110000000% recommend any of her online courses and if you can, any future in-person immersions where you will for sure leave with your basket full. <3 Gracias Aya Maria for deeply listening, trusting, and leading by example!!!”

— Wasi Rivera @wasiflora

Guardians of Birth is for aspiring, new or established birth-care practitioners who recognize the importance of:

Elevating their birth-care by connecting to Original Birth Arts,
Reclaiming pregnancy & childbirth as natural rites of passage,
Weaving together evidence based science & ancestral science, to provide integral birth-care,
Dispelling the indoctrination that pregnancy & childbirth are inherently medical events,
committing to their own personal evolution.

This is also for you if you recognize the value of preserving this knowledge and wisdom for your family and feel called to embrace the path of self-directed pregnancy and birth care.

What to expect:

Twenty (20) approximately 2-3 hour long, class sessions (LIVE & Recorded)
Opening & Closing Ceremonies
Four (4) LIVE Integration Sessions. These spaces are designed to support you in metabolizing the potent transformational journey inherent in GOB, providing an opportunity to ask questions, share reflections, and deepen your understanding of class content.
6 Rituals:
- Conception
- Lineage
- Nesting
- Protection
- Earthside - Placenta
- Sealing
2 Guided Manual Arts arte-sana workshops; textile & clay (LIVE & Recorded)
- Clay with AYASHAM
- Fiber with Senna
3 Sound, Breath & Movement classes with Kia
Exercises, and initiatives for integrating information in theory and practice.

Guardians of Birth emerged in 2021 to create an evolutionary space for birth-care providers, mothers, and families to connect with the art of birth care. Responding to the polarized landscape of the birth world—either firmly rooted in allopathic, clinical approaches or swinging to the opposite extreme of rejecting all aspects of modern medicine —Guardians of Birth offers a balanced framework. This approach integrates ancestral wisdom with modern science to meet the genuine and unique maternal-infant needs of our times. By honoring and elevating all tools, resources, knowledge, and wisdom to an art form, it creates an empowering pathway for comprehensive birth care. Central to this mission is the belief that individuals must assume their rightful place as the ultimate authority over their sexual and reproductive health in order to be able to inspire this in others. Maternal and neonatal well-being relies on environments that safeguard natural physiology, support the transformative journey of gestation and birth, and expands our ability to channel life-force energy. By doing so, we initiate a journey of consciousness expansion that society often neglects to facilitate.

This immersion has proven to provide:

The environment and opportunities to build or transform your practice, aligning it with your unique gifts and the needs of your community
The conditions to catalyze pilgrimage and rekindle ancestral memory—literally many past participants journeying to their matrilineal homelands and/or healing estranged or fragmented relationships—and emerging with greater clarity and purpose.
The framework to inspire clients, families, and communities (yourself) to connect with the transformative power of their creativity and he(art) throughout gestation and birth.
A space that grows meaningful connections and community. Many past participants have formed lasting friendships and professional alliances—becoming roommates, supporting each other in career transitions, and actively collaborating in motherhood and birth work.

Sessions

We will meet on Mondays and Thursdays starting August 7, 2025, at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM Bogotá time (please check your local time zone).

all sessions will be available for replay for 6 months.

Each session will open up with an exercise (sound, breath & or movement) for synchronizing our energies & presence through the internet.

During each session there will be a space for questions, reflections and collective dialogue.

First Session: Opening Ceremony

Introductions + Orientation.
Conscious Conception Ritual-despacho earth offering

Second + Third Sessions: Origen pt 01 & 2

Reclaiming our origin stories.
Womb-complex anatomy and physiology.
Elemental fertility awareness & cycle mapping
Anatomy & physiology of
- menstruation,
- conception & implantation.
Anatomy & physiology of the placenta.

Fourth Session: History & Anthropology of the Evolution of Birth Guardians

Overview of the History & Anthropological Evolution of Parteras, Midwives + OBGYNS.
Discerning our authentic way of care-giving and guarding + who we’re meant to serve.
The art of interweaving ancestral + allopathic birth-care models.
Visioning pathways

Fifth, Sixth, Seventh + Eighth Sessions: Sacred Systems pt 01, 02, 03, 04

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Nervous System & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.
Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Lymphatic system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.
Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Endocannibinoid system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.
Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Endocrine system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.
Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Musculoskeletal system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.
Father/Partner Matrix and their Preparation for Childbirth
Foundational Neurobiology; biochemical changes in pregnancy and birth

Ninth Session: Lineage Mapping + Health History

Introduction to the Seed To Body; Lineage mapping & devotional observation modality for practitioners, care providers, and family units

Tenth, Eleventh & Twelfth Sessions: Elemental Gestation pt 01, 02, 03

Anatomical, Physiologic & Spiritual Development 1st-3rd Trimester.
Tending to common imbalances and discomforts
Benefits & pitfalls of Medical Protocols & Diagnostic Testing.
Ancestral analysis and assessment.
Palpation, pulse, breaths + fluids
Understanding the culture and law around birth locally and collectively.
A la carte - self directed care
Benefits & pitfalls of due dates and inductions.

Thirteenth, Fourteenth & Fifteenth Sessions: Elemental Childbirth pt 01, 02, 03

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of Labor
Brain waves + expanded states of consciousness
Understanding inductions and their effect on labor outcomes
- Clinical induction
- Phyto-therapeutic induction
- Ancestral-Elemental perspectives of induction
Babies as active participants in their Birth.
Childbirth as a psycho-spiritual initiation & social transformation.
Childbirth as a hologram of family/communal health.
True informed consent + response-ability
The art of intrpartum assesment and analysis
- Maternal Vitals
- Baby Vitals

Sixteenth & Seventeenth Sessions : Honoring Placenta Birth

Physiology & Energetics of Natural Placenta Birth
Dispelling collective fear body of 3rd stage.
Discerning projections from emergencies; consciousness prevents negligence
Blood essence and sacred offering
Physiology and energetics of fluids/blood
Placenta curing & seeding

Eighteenth + Nineteenth Sessions: Golden Hour + Sacred Grief pt 01, 02

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of hormonal matrix during the golden hour.
- Laction & Innate Immunizations
Immediate postpartum infant observation + care
Immediate postpartum womb/perineum care
Physiology and energetics of miscarriage and pregnancy release.
Psycho-social initiation into matrescence and fatherhood.
Addressing common realities, discomforts and needs within the immediate postpartum.

Twentieth Session: Praxis in coherence + the art of sealing

Birth guarding as an infinite non-linear tending to the umbilical cord of continuity
Group Q+A and integration.
Presentation of Inititatives
Closing- Sealing Ceremony

I am (Aya) Maria Jose Maldonado Leon CPM, TAMP.

I've had the great privilege of attending over 300 births, giving birth to my own children at home on my terms, and supporting women and families through their perinatal journeys, both within clinical settings and outside of the healthcare system, for the past eight years.

I recognize my path of parteria-midwifery as an ongoing apprenticeship to the elements, physiology, and the intangible mysteries.

Guardians of Birth is an extension of my practice and lived experience, where I interweave ancestral and original birth arts with clinical skills and resources when needed, to provide impeccable, heart-centered care. It reflects my embodied journey of gestating and birthing my children at home, in alignment with my terms and innate coherence. And the pivotal role creativity and art hold in this process.

All the content of Guardians of Birth is rooted in the teachings that sustain me on this life path. These teachings come from ancestral plant medicine work, traditional First Nations doctors, eclectic urban physicians, comadronas and matronas of Central and South America, OBGYNs, animal births, the mothers in my life, and every woman and family that has invited me into their sacred process.

arte-sana; art heals

Central to this immersion are the ancestral arts and the activation of our intuitive technologies—sound, breath, and movement. These practices nourish the soul and spirit, and form the foundational formula for ceremony. They also serve as a powerful remedy for health-care systems that have lost touch with the transformative power of the he(art).

Clay: arte-sana workshop with AYASHAM

learn to mold & fire the vessel for your initiative *details upon registration

AYASHAM

Maria Del Mar and Maria Jose are Colombian twin ceramists, currently based in Miami and Colombia. Founders of Ayasham, a project dedicated to rituals through the process of
sculpting. The sisters have been studying sculpting techniques from western and traditional indigenous practices and have merged these two styles as a statement of migration and the intertwining of two cultures.The process of making these creations is a journey of remembrance and the return to ancestral practices.

Fiber: arte-sana workshop with Senna

learn to weave / work with fiber for your initiative *details upon registration

Raised in rural Canada on Sinixt Territory, Senna has deep ties to her community, which inspired her to earn her Emergency Medical Responder license. She spent her young adult life working on ambulance and in harm reduction clinics, supporting individuals navigating addiction and homelessness. During this time, she developed a passion for practices and teachings that helped her maintain emotional and spiritual
well-being. She leaned on the methodical, meditative handworks introduced to her
during her formative years at the Nelson Waldorf School. Believing in the connection between head, heart, and hands, she sees the potential for grounding, deeper learning, and processing experiences through craft. After leaving health services, she attended
the Kootenay School of the Arts in 2024, where she deepened her sewing skills, learned
about plant dyes, and was introduced to weaving on floor looms. As an emerging textile
artist, she is excited to share her love of working with her hands, natural fibers, and
plants!

Sound, Breath + Movement with Kia

activate your intuitive technologies

Kia Islam is a yoga & meditation instructor, multidisciplinary artist, the co-founder of Good Juju and a Nike Well Collective Trainer. Growing up between the East Coast and the Middle East, Kia has been exposed to a plethora of devotional and cultural practices from a young age. Kia is a graduate of the New School, where she double majored in Photography and Culture & Media. During this time she was introduced to Hatha Yoga under the teachings of Sri Dharma Mittra. Asana practice totally transformed her understanding of the mind body soul, truly igniting a deep sense of wonder about the transformation that this practice encourages. Kia completed her 200 Hr RYT through the Bhakti Center in 2016. She has studied Meridian Yoga Therapy under Science of Self Yoga, 75 Hour Spiritual Warrior with Jivamukti and completed both 200 Hr Meditation and 200 Hr Yoga Teacher Training at Three Jewels NYC. Kia has dedicated herself to a lifelong study of the healing arts, creative expression, culture and spirituality. Kia's classes are focused on awareness of the breath while making shapes, using intuitive movement and music to inspire and nourish on all levels.

reflections

Tlamatquiticitl, Huachaychiq, Yatuqa, Partera, Midwife, Doula are some of many names for those who carry the organic technologies of Guarding Birth. Although they express themselves uniquely within their cultural context, they channel a universal ability to tend to the physical, psycho-emotional, and spiritual requirements of pregnancy and childbirth.

We are now in a collective time-space where Pregnancy & Childbirth have been absorbed by the medical industrial complex, and most people have been indoctrinated to believe that Pregnancy & Childbirth are inherently dangerous medical events. We see reflected in the failing health of mothers & children worldwide, and the high rate of maternal and infant mortality in hospitals, that this system is not serving our collective wellbeing.

Additionally, we now see the way that many licensed and certified midwives & doulas are conditioned to be agents of the medical industrial complex and are beholden to regulations and laws that don’t always reflect the best interests of women and families. Unless the individual practitioner is committed to honoring physiologic birth and chooses to answer, above all, to their conscience, they simply perpetuate the same fear-based and pathologizing programming, just at home.

Furthermore, in order to truly reclaim birth, families have to commit to the journey of connecting with their lineage history, health history, and orient themselves to their reality so they can make empowered decisions about their birth and reproductive care.

Guardians of Birth is a non-clinical immersion for those who recognize that our collective health & power relies on the reclamation of our birthrights + creativity and who want to empower women and families through their gestational and birth initiations.

This space will provide information, practices, resources, and inspiration to support you in becoming a resource to your community. And, it will require you to face your own programming, activate your investigative sovereignty, and commit to your personal evolution.

Your ability or readiness to accompany a gestational-birth journey is determined by your coherence, your embodied knowing, and an organic recognition of your abilities by your community. This is a lifelong path, and the learning is infinite.

In recognition of the fact that we live in times where many compounding factors affect our fertility and the health of pregnancy and birth, Guardians of Birth will explore the art of interweaving ancestral birth-care with certain elements of allopathic medicine.

FAQ

Is this a doula or midwifery certification training?

It’s a formation-apprenticeship. It’s an opportunity to form your own authentic expression of self as a birth-care provider and VISION new pathways to meet the infant-maternal-familial needs of your community.

It’s a space that will provide you with resources and information AND will also require you to develop your own investigative sovereignty and commit to the activation of your innate wisdom. I know many professionals with all of the certifications and accolades that do not know how to support themselves, natural birth or how to accompany birth in integrity. I do not certify anyones skills or knowing, I support your development for the benefit of the collective. Your validation will come through the impact you have on the women, families and communities you serve.

Guardians of Birth began as a 9-week immersion, designed to complement various professional programs such as medical school, midwifery school, massage therapy, and chiropractic training. It then evolved into a 13-week program and is now a 4-month immersion. In response to the significant benefits experienced by previous participants—who wish to reference the modalities and framework in their practice and apply these techniques with their clients—a Certification of Completion + Coherence program is now available.

The certification program acknowledges the completion of the program and competency of the modalities with the highest standards of integrity among participants, allowing practitioners to formally reference their studies and apprenticeship with Guardians of Birth. Below are the details regarding the certification requirements and the associated benefits.

To be eligible for certification, candidates must successfully complete ALL of the following:

Four-Month Immersion Program: Complete the full four-month program. Previous graduates of the shorter GOB immersion program are required to complete the updated curriculum.
Initiative Submissions: Submit all required initiatives: (all initiative instructions will be sent in PDF format upon enrollment)

Elemental Guardian (s)
Anatomy (Terrain) & Physiology (Dynamics)
Placenta Work
Vessel Work
Lineage Map
Health History Map
Reflection on All (6) Rituals

Case Studies: Submit (9) nine completed case studies detailing your work with families.
Family Testimonials: Obtain a paragraph-length testimonial from each of the nine families you supported, detailing their experience with your services and modalities.

Submission process:

Application Fee: A non-refundable application fee of $443 is required for certification review.
One-Year Submission Deadline: All requirements must be submitted within one year of program completion.
All initiatives must be submitted in PDF format
To submit client/family testimonials, please use the form provided upon enrollment

Post-Certification Benefits:

Empower Families with Elemental Childbirth Preparation: Receive the comprehensive six-part Elemental Childbirth Preparation course curriculum upon successful certification. This empowering resource guides families in discerning their ideal birth path, understanding various models of care, and utilizing vessel, placenta, and lineage mapping techniques. You'll be equipped to offer this course to clients, charging between $343 and $500 USD.

Directory Listing: Gain visibility by being listed in the Seed to Body Guardians of Birth practitioner directory.
Affiliate Program: Earn 30% commission on tuition fees from every student who enrolls using your unique affiliate code.
Your certification includes lifetime access to all Seed to Body Community classes.

Guardians of Birth,

a 4- Month Immersion

on the Art of Birth Care

We begin August 07 2025

EARLY ENROLLMENT WILL OPEN ON

April 12, 2025 + CLOSE April 26, 2025

REGULAR ENROLLMENT WILL OPEN

July 10, 2025 + CLOSE July 24, 2025

Guardians of Birth is,

a non-clinical immersion for those who recognize that our collective health & power relies on the reclamation of our birthrights and who want to empower women and families through their gestational and birth initiations.

a series of didactic, creative & investigative opportunities to connect you to what lies beyond titles, roles, and identities so that you can give birth and/or accompany birth processes in coherence.

"...guardians of birth has brought spirit and balance back to my life as I move through my clinical midwifery program..."

Anaya Wilson, LMT

𖦹

You will receive knowledge, practices, resources, and inspiration to support you in becoming a resource to your community. And, it will require you to face your own programming, activate your investigative sovereignty, and commit to your personal evolution.

𖦹

Whether you are taking an initial step into your birth-work journey, have already been serving your community as a midwife or doula, or simply recognize the importance of holding this knowledge and wisdom for your family, this space is for you.

This formation offers:

An integrative & comprehensive understanding of the anatomy, physiology & energetics of menstruation, conception, gestation and childbirth.

Orientation to the hormonal matrix of pre-conception, gestation & birth.

Holistic, ancestral-elemental approach to prenatal care.

Health history + Lineage Mapping.

Physiology & energetics of the phases of labor.

Orientation to the cervix as a living & responsive space + benefits and pitfalls of cervical exams.

Benefits & pitfalls of natural inductions.

Integration of intuitive technologies (sound, breath & movement) in prenatal care & childbirth.

Brain waves & the transformation of consciousness.

Ancestral rituals + practices to support your inner work so that you can discern your authentic way of providing birth-care.

Reflection, Accountability & Responsibility to support women and families authentically and with integrity.

Dispelling the pathologized-medicalized perspectives of gestation & childbirth.

Supporting grief processes and holistic pregnancy release.

Orientation to the Nervous System & Endocannabinoid System and their role in healthy pregnancy and birth.

Honoring Placenta Birth

Nature as our mirror & how the elements serve to prevent and resolve imbalance in gestation & childbirth.

Activating the power of our hands.

Sacred Lactation & Innate Immunizations.

Original Birth Arts for personal and community care.

& Much more.

— Janell Moore CPM, LM

— Wasi Rivera @wasiflora

Guardians of Birth is for aspiring, new or established birth-care practitioners who recognize the importance of:

Elevating their birth-care by connecting to Original Birth Arts,

Reclaiming pregnancy & childbirth as natural rites of passage,

Weaving together evidence based science & ancestral science, to provide integral birth-care,

Dispelling the indoctrination that pregnancy & childbirth are inherently medical events,

committing to their own personal evolution.

This is also for you if you recognize the value of preserving this knowledge and wisdom for your family and feel called to embrace the path of self-directed pregnancy and birth care.

What to expect:

Twenty (20) approximately 2-3 hour long, class sessions (LIVE & Recorded)

Opening & Closing Ceremonies

6 Rituals:

Conception

Lineage

Nesting

Protection

Earthside - Placenta

Sealing

2 Guided Manual Arts arte-sana workshops; textile & clay (LIVE & Recorded)

Exercises, and initiatives for integrating information in theory and practice.

This immersion has proven to provide:

The environment and opportunities to build or transform your practice, aligning it with your unique gifts and the needs of your community

The framework to inspire clients, families, and communities (yourself) to connect with the transformative power of their creativity and he(art) throughout gestation and birth.

Sessions

all sessions will be available for replay for 6 months.

Each session will open up with an exercise (sound, breath & or movement) for synchronizing our energies & presence through the internet.

During each session there will be a space for questions, reflections and collective dialogue.

First Session: Opening Ceremony

Introductions + Orientation.

Conscious Conception Ritual-despacho earth offering

Second + Third Sessions: Origen pt 01 & 2

Fourth Session: History & Anthropology of the Evolution of Birth Guardians

Overview of the History & Anthropological Evolution of Parteras, Midwives + OBGYNS.

Discerning our authentic way of care-giving and guarding + who we’re meant to serve.

The art of interweaving ancestral + allopathic birth-care models.

Fifth, Sixth, Seventh + Eighth Sessions: Sacred Systems pt 01, 02, 03, 04

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Nervous System & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Lymphatic system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Endocannibinoid system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Endocrine system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.

Anatomy, Physiology & Energetics of the Musculoskeletal system & its role in preconception, gestation & birth.