THE ART OF OPENING
Nicole Morales is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a midwife, a doula, a friend, and a mentor. Empowered by her own very different births of her three children at home, Nicole is drawn to assisting families in birthing and parenting in awareness and to appreciating the sacred relationships throughout the childbearing years and beyond. She has worked as a doula for many years and has benefited from the apprenticeship model of midwifery.
Nicole is a co-founder of ReStory Birthwork, an Approved Spinning Babies Trainer, and a Certified Birthing from Within Mentor. She blends these tools in her midwifery practice as well in instruction from both perspectives of the mind and body. She also is an instructor for Nizhoni Institute of Midwifery and is part of breechbirthsd.com which helps breech families navigate the systems as best as possible by being an online resource center.
Lindsey Oakes (they/them) is a Licensed Midwife, Certified Professional Midwife, and Spinning Babies Aware Practitioner. They apprenticed with many midwives throughout their midwifery education, but committed to the practice of Nicole Morales, who post licensure is now their mentor and friend. Through midwifery, their extensive training in bodywork has blossomed into a passion. Currently they’re adding to their knowledge base while enrolled in the program Scar Tissue Remediation Education and Management (STREAM). Lindsey grew up in South Lake Tahoe, and has lived in San Diego since 2013. In their down time, Lindsey spends time with their wife enjoying the fresh air, exploring the world, and dabbling in various arts and crafts.
Phoebe Velazquez Islas is of Mixteca, Zapoteca, Lipan Apache, Spanish and Sicilian descent, rooted in her Mexican Indigenous and Sicilian cultures. She is a homeschooling mother of four, Traditional Birth Worker, Student Midwife, Herbal and Natural Medicine Practitioner, and lifetime student of Ancestral Medicines and traditions as an act of cultural perseverance. She resides with her family in the mountains of Kumeyaay Land where they live in close relationship to the land and continue to learn through the natural world. Phoebe’s path in birth work has been deeply connected to her path as a young mother and her personal healing journey. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Alternative Medicine with an emphasis in Women’s Health received from Everglades University. She completed Doula training with Thérèse Hak-khun of ToLabor in 2014, continued Spinning Babies and Breech Body Balancing education with Nicole Franklin Morales and Tema Mercado, CPM since 2017. In addition, Phoebe has been blessed and honored to learn from and sit in exchange and circle with Indigenous Birth Keepers from all directions of Turtle Island. She has received formal and informal herbal, bodywork and Traditional Midwifery studies with Traditional Indigenous Healers and Midwives of her ancestral cultures.
Phoebe is dedicated to honoring the sacred passage of birth for life givers and families, empowering them in their rights of autonomy, holding space for healing, ancestral remembrance, and serving her community by sharing in a way those before her have, as we collectively work to reclaim sovereignty over the way we tend our reproductive health and birth our babies.