Dance of the Womb, a beginner’s introduction to the ancient Arabic art of belly dance as a prenatal and birthing modality is an award-winning (Living Now Book Awards Gold Medalist USA 2009), world first book to explore the ENORMOUS physical, emotional and sacred benefits of using belly dance or mindful movement to awaken birth wisdom, as a prenatal exercise and process through labour.

Dance of the Womb is MORE than just a detailed instruction manual for exercise in pregnancy, it is also a beautifully crafted story of Maha's own life!

Maha shares her personal journey from maiden to mother through the eyes of her East-West cultural perspective. Her tale of self-discovery is beautifully interwoven with the teaching of simple, practical prenatal belly dance moves.

By focusing on the heart of belly dance (which is traditionally a birth dance, NOT the cabaret style dancing for an audience that you are probably more used to seeing), Maha encourages all women across the globe to tune into their primal feminine power and innate birthing knowledge, following and using the dance movements to experience a safe and natural birth with her baby. The dance is also a metaphor for the movements of our lives as we transition from maiden to mother.

Dance of the Womb is a practical manual as well as a deeply personal and inspiring tale.

The book begins with a dedication to Maha's Palestinian grandmother Aminah who birthed her 9 babies in the family birthing house in a small village, Al Qubab in Palestine and how the legacy of Aminah has informed Maha’s own journey to alchemise her ancient roots into her own family.

Or as Maha says being inspired to,
"Dance the Rhythm of Her Birthing Way".

It then moves forward from Aminah’s story, exploring the twists and turns of Maha’s life journey including her kidnapping from her mother and being brought to Australia. Her experience of growing up in a foreign land, trying to fit in, returning to her roots and finding her blood mother. These stories are interwoven through the belly dance movements as Maha shares how they can be used as a prenatal exercise modality to using in labour.

The movements beautifully support your birth preparation as they condition your body in a sensual way so that you can become a strong. They are an energetic anchor that guide the opening of your pelvis during labour and support your babies navigation. These movements are self referenced intuitive moves that speak the language of the womb.

Mindful dance can also help us to move through the layers of our psyche and body to “self-discover” and embody our “true voice and vision” which is essential for birthing. Middle Eastern dance used specifically for birthing, at its core, is a traditional dance of the feminine, hence Maha likes to call it the Dance of the Womb.

And despite many in the West describing the “belly dance” as a cabaret style perfomance for an external audience, Maha brings the beauty of the dance into an inner to outer orientation as mothers and babies dance the intelligence of birth wisdom together.

We embody the Earthy, grounded and feminine language of belly dancing and mindfully modify it so that we can trust and open to surredner as we meet the power of our birthing rhythms with our baby.