A Letter to You
Hello!
Thank you so very much for joining me for the launch of my new website. Zenbari is the culmination of a few of the many dreams I have had since I became a doula in 2015. I originally decided to take the training as I wanted to immerse myself in the birth world before finishing my degree and applying to midwifery school.
During my doula training, I was completely in awe of all of the information that was new to me, not only about myself as a woman, but all of the incredible things I learned about birth – the physiology and miracle of it all. I knew at the very least, I wanted to share all of this newfound information with my girlfriends when it came time for them to become mothers. So, I studied a bit more and attended my first birth the following year and had never felt more like myself. I quickly realized this was where I was meant to be.
Supporting birth brings about a calm focus and an intuitive self that I have never felt in another space or during any other activity. I feel so lucky to have found doula work and decided to continue helping mothers in this capacity. By working this closely with them, I began to see the gaps in healthcare between office visits, during labor, and in the precious postpartum phase…and beyond. I knew I wanted to continue following this passion and Zenbari was born.
The name Zenbari is one I made up. In the early days, I used Zen Mama NYC but I started noticing that name popping up elsewhere and wanted something of my own that had meaning. I began looking up words like home, love, and mother in ancient languages and found bari. It means “home” in West Bengal, which is, ironically, where my husband’s mother is from. Zen in the Home felt right. It represents the feeling I would like to help mothers achieve not only in their physical bodies, but also within the spaces they share with their families. The derivation is also a representation of my budding family, and that not only feels exciting but like something I can pour my heart into on a daily basis.
With this website, I hope to bring resources to mothers who need them and also reach women who may not be able to access these services. This is why a portion of Zenbari’s income each year will be donated to an organization that is near and dear to my heart – Every Mother Counts. This organization is dedicated to making childbirth safe for every mother, everywhere. I ran my first race as an ambassador on Team EMC in Big Sur in 2018 and am so grateful to be a part of this amazing group of individuals. They inspire me and motivate me to be a better doula, citizen, and community member with all of the incredible public policy, documentary, and grant work they create and have been a part of every year since the origin, over ten years ago. Thank you to the greater Team EMC doing the hard work every day.
Therefore, I better get to work! Here on the new Zenbari site, you will be able to find digital and IRL doula, wellness, and design services, along with nutritional, movement, and educational resources. There will also be room for fun things like fashion and beauty, and we also look forward to highlighting Mamas We Admire and Birth Stories that are both diverse and empowering in the very near future.
This is a personal passion project of mine in an effort to share all of the information I have bottled up inside and I am so excited to share it with you! I have begun by writing a few posts to give you a feeling of what you can expect from the website and will continue building with more detailed information on fertility, pregnancy, birth and postpartum as we go. I hope this website helps you find what you are looking for, and maybe even adds a a bit of inspiration to your day.
Thank you again for being here. It is an honor to share my work with you!
Much Love,
Rachel