Meet Laura Press of ʻĀina Hānau in Washington Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Press.

Laura, before we jump into specific questions about your practice, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been a caregiver for most of my life, working with humans in all forms, yet have always had an affinity towards working with and holding space for women. After six years in a Denver arts school, I had a hunger to explore and an adventurous spirit. I moved to Hawaii to study sociology and anthropology while working as a social worker in the only women’s shelter on the Big Island. While traveling and spending a year serving for Americorps in St. Croix, I enjoyed learning the importance of human experience, ancestral teachings, and our interdependence with the land. Unconsciously, I was being led to the ancient art of birth work and decided to become a doula. I was fascinated (and still am!) with different cultural birth practices and was unsettled by our disparities in maternity care. I eagerly wanted to improve women’s birth and postpartum outcomes, their rights to choices, while learning through their experiences and stories. Starting my own business seemed to be the only option at that point, still allowing me to be creative, practicing an art form in different ways.

I made my way down to the Yucatan and was taught Mayan medicine and womb massage from midwives and traditional healers. It was from there that another piece of my mission and purpose became clear. In many cultures, the womb space is revered as sacred and considered the core of our existence. Womb work is an important factor and one that can be weaved into every aspect of a woman’s life.

Always circling back to my own birthplace of Denver, I first established my business in 2015, knowing the name would soon come to me. I opened the Hawaiian dictionary for inspiration. On the first page I turned to stood the words ‘Āina Hānau. ‘Āina meaning land, and Hānau meaning birth. Birthplace. Land of Birth. They’re my creation was born and continues to grow and evolve.

Since creating ‘Aina Hanau, I have continuously been adding tools to support the women and families I serve, studying energetic and herbal medicine with an emphasis on women’s reproductive health, mountain west plants, and menstrual wisdom. Weaving in my skills, therapy techniques, and teachings to facilitate an empowering experience for all that I serve, while creating work for myself that nourishes and aligns with my lifestyle and soul’s purpose. I will soon be completing massage school with plans to incorporate more healing touch into birth work, postpartum care, and women’s health. I feel honored to be able to grow my medicines in the garden, sit with the plant energies, and create a safe space for the community to gather and be heard.

Has it been a smooth road?
Although everything I’ve done has led me on the next stage of my path, there definitely have been forks and bumps in the road! I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, yet I have never considered myself the type of person to run a business. In fact, the only class I didn’t like in college was an intro to business! Some of the greatest challenges have been finding the right mentors, constantly creating a social network of local practitioners, and carving out a place by discovering my unique services in a fairly saturated community. Maintaining balance with scheduling in the unpredictable world of birth, finding new clients while keeping current clients happy and their needs met is consistently a delicate dance.

I find it interesting the dichotomy that exists between traditional knowledge in which my offerings are rooted and navigating the age of technology with its high importance of online presence. Even naming my business in the Hawaiian language has made it difficult to be found on search engines and a challenge to provide people a better understanding of the work I do. Yet, the greatest rewards come from challenges which have given me the opportunity to connect with others through mutual storytelling.

We’d love to hear more about ʻĀina Hānau.
‘Āina Hānau is a business rooted in its name. All services are centered around that core womb space, providing nourishment through a combination of plant medicine, reiki, traditional cultural practices, foods, education, and hands-on, compassionate support. Empowering women and supporting families.

As a doula, I am providing education, resources, support and comfort measures to my clients through their pregnancy and during birth, making sure they are empowered by their choices. But what I’ve found to be my emphasis and niche is supporting women through the postpartum phase. I provide emotional processing and physical recovery to basic infant care techniques and everything in between. I’ve witnessed the critical importance of helping women heal after birth in a way that is missing from our culture’s healthcare system.

As postpartum caregivers, we’re creating a solid foundation for healing during those first few months that are essential for sustaining well being. I’m pulling from many traditional cultures to serve my clients with nourishing foods, and custom herbal blends based on their needs. I also work towards centering and clearing the womb space, both energetic and physical. One of the most favored and loved treatments by clients is the absolutely delightful experience of abhyanga, which is an ayurvedic practice of massaging and grounding the entire body with warm sesame oil.

As a western herbalist, my main focus and specialty are in women’s reproductive health, offering in-depth consultations to anyone who would like to add botanic medicine into their self-care practices. A lot of my work includes educating women about their menstrual cycles and diving into what may be causing imbalances. Teaching not only the physiological process but connecting them to ancient wisdom and how to work in harmony with each phase of their cycle. The menstrual cycle is part of our inner guidance system that acts as a barometer to what in our lives may need more nourishment or change. I work to instill confidence in my clients and provide a greater understanding that we receive and process information differently at different times of our cycle and that we are a manifestation of the seasons we go through.

After the initial consultation, I use reiki, spiritual plant brushings, and hands-on bodywork techniques to clear energy and blocks that get stuck in the body as well as create custom herbal formulas based on my client’s constitution and history. Some areas of focus when using herbs and energy work include traumatic birth experiences, sexual abuse, painful or irregular periods, uterine prolapse, fertility issues, pelvic congestion, postpartum recovery and realigning the womb space out of suboptimal position. All of the medicines I hand make with intention and have either been wildcrafted or ethically sourced. One of my favorite parts of the business is being able to go out into the elements collecting plant allies and having a deeper connection with their essence.

As a small business owner and self-employed woman having no previous experience in business management, the fact that I built this company from the ground up with an ever-evolving mission is truly something to be proud of. But the most satisfaction I get from my work is being part of that village care that has been lost in our society. It brings me relief to see the same on my client’s faces when I provide a bowl of nourishing food to warm the belly; a healing touch after breastfeeding all night; soothing tender tissues with homemade herbals; alleviation from painful periods, and allowing people to connect to their own divine feminine energy.

I am passionate about learning from others through an exploration of their cultural mores and rituals, and I have a unique perspective and skillset when it comes to caring for others without judgment. I recognize each stage of a woman’s life as a right of passage and support them through that with my offerings. When people work with me they get my whole self. I put intention, thought and love into all of the products and services that I provide.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Denver has been a wonderful place to start a business, and I do love the city I grew up in. Although Denver is changing, the one thing I would love to see is a more culturally diverse city and more collaboration of allopathic and traditional healers. I love that there are many options and resources for birthing families with a nice collection of holistic health care practitioners. Working with all sorts of providers in the birth community, doulas are generally well-received and appreciated for the extended care we provide. There are a lot of hidden gems to be found in the community of teachers and healers. One of my favorite resources, though, as an herbalist in Denver, is the close proximity to nature’s vastness and our access to mountain fresh plant medicines, including in our own backyards!

Pricing:

• Labor Doula $800-$1200
• Postpartum Doula $30-$45/hr
• Postpartum Healing Packages $100-$300
• Herbal Consultations $150
• Reiki/Body/Womb Treatments $75-$150

Contact Info:

• Website: Laura-press.com
• Email: ainahanaudoula@gmail.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/ainahanau
• Facebook: Facebook.com/ainahanaudoula

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