OBN Graduate Interview: Cat Gieser of Mama Flow Studio
Cat Gieser is a yoga/mat pilates instructor, certified postpartum corrective exercise specialist, Certified Nutrition Consultant, and founder of Mama Flow Studio. Mama Flow is a virtual yoga and sculpt studio designed to help moms have an empowering pregnancy, a more positive birth experience and a smoother postpartum recovery. Cat utilizes a unique approach to perinatal movement that focuses on the full body with core and pelvic floor health at the center of it all. Cat is also a mother of two and is a Bay Area native.
Cat's favorite form of self care is waking up 30 minutes before her kids to take a cold shower and meditate for 15 minutes. She shares that "starting my day off this way is non-negotiable! If one of my little ones wake up, I have them sit quietly with me while I meditate."
Words of advice from Cat:
Something is better than nothing. When I first started the Oh Baby training, I was so diligent about scheduling out study time and keeping up with the release of new content. But a few weeks in, life became really full, and I quickly fell behind. It was easy to get into the mindset of guilt and shame. At some point, I decided to take my own advice. If I was on the stationary bike, I’d read while doing it and swap Netflix watching for reading. All those little regular nuggets of 15-20 minutes added up and I was able to move through the modules more quickly than I did when I was struggling to find 1-2 hours of time.
What effects has the Oh Baby certification had on your business and life?
As I was going through the OBN course, I used myself as a guinea pig with many of the protocols and recommendations that were outlined in the program, particularly around hormone balance and blood sugar regulation. Since I cook all the meals in my family, I slowly adjusted their dietary habits as well and we’ve all really been positively impacted by these changes. Now working with clients 1:1 on their pregnancy and postpartum nutrition, I feel like I can really authentically speak to my own experience about how making these small changes can make a huge impact.
Tell us about how you’ve navigated your business.
In 2020, I decided to start my business and venture into the perinatal health world after having a very tough birth and postpartum recovery. Learning how to heal and strengthen my body holistically, I was inspired to help educate and support other moms through the process too, since postpartum support felt like it was non-existent. I started out really small — working with just a few clients here and there, always knowing I had a dream of opening up a virtual studio and scaling my impact. Juggling a young family while chasing my dreams and building a business turned out to be quite a wild ride. Even when it felt impossible, I just kept going, no matter how slow it went, and I’m just so proud of what I’ve built and how it continues to grow and evolve!
Join Cat’s community and be a part of her journey on Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube.