Neelu Shruti

Founder, Midwife, Pre/Postnatal Movement Expert

Neelu is the founder of Love Child, a Certified Nurse-Midwife, Registered Nurse, Yoga expert specializing in Fertility, Prenatal, Postnatal and Baby & Me Yoga, a Full-Spectrum Doula, Childbirth Educator and Breastfeeding Counselor based in New York City.

Neelu was fortunate to be introduced to yoga at a young age while attending Rishi Valley, a boarding school in India founded by the philosopher J. Krishnamurti.  Neelu moved to the U.S. in 2003 pursuing a degree in architecture from The University of Texas at Austin and moved to NYC in 2007 to work in the field. After working at several high profile firms and only practicing and teaching yoga on the side, in 2015, seeing the impact she was having as a prenatal & postnatal yoga teacher and doula she quit her day job as an architect and founded Love Child and has never looked back. 

“I always thought that when you were pregnant, you sat back on the couch, took it easy, ate for two and somehow, somewhere, a doctor would deliver your baby. It wasn't until I went in to observe a Prenatal Yoga class during my yoga teacher training when I was blown away. I had never seen pregnant people, in their third trimester, moving, sweating and working. Immediately the parallel between prenatal yoga and birth became clear to me. You wouldn't show up to a marathon without training, so why not the same for birth. 

I dove in and completed my Prenatal Yoga teacher training, taught prenatal yoga but it wasn't until my yoga clients asked me to be present at their birth that I took on the role of a doula. It's such an honor to be asked to be present at such a special time, I couldn't refuse even though it meant being ready to go and cancel everything at the drop of a hat. 

Up until 2015, I worked as an architect in New York City. When I noticed that my work in the birth field was much more rewarding, I left the corporate world to create Love Child, a space that strives to be your touchstone for support through your reproductive journey. 

Seeing first hand the healthcare gaps in reproductive care and lack of birth centers in NYC, I received my masters to become a midwife so that Love Child can expand the services we offer from a place of clinical integrity.”

Brandi Ryans

Yoga Instructor & Massage Therapist

I have been practicing as a licensed massage therapist since 2011 and have just expanded my practice into Northern New Jersey as of 2025. I specialize in deep tissue massage through cross fiber friction, aromatherapy and the power of jazz music. I am also proud to be a part of the Love Child Yoga Studio and Collective in the West Village of Manhattan which serves prenatal and postnatal support.

I also am a registered yoga teacher and completed 200 hour plus training in 2014 in New York City. My specialties include Yin Yoga, Prenatal and Vinyasa.

Azuri Jenkins

Yoga & Pilates Instructor, Doula & Cranio-sacral Therapist

As a mother, doula, artist, and healing practitioner, my work is rooted in care that is slow, intentional, and real.

We live in a world that pulls us in a hundred directions, often leaving little space for rest or reconnection. I know this firsthand, and it’s what brought me to this path. Over the years, I’ve found that healing isn’t something we chase. It’s something we return to. It lives in the body. It lives in community. It lives in remembering. Through the practices of birth work, subtle body work and yoga, I’ve learned that care is most powerful when it’s offered with presence and integrity. These practices help us listen not just with our ears, but with our whole beings. They remind us that the body is not a problem to be fixed, but a story to be honored.

Birth work, in particular, has shown me what it means to hold space for life in all its forms: birth, loss, becoming, and letting go. As a mother myself, I understand the vulnerability and strength it takes to move through those thresholds. I bring that knowing into every session and circle I offer. My creativity and art are also part of this care when ways of translating feeling into form, of giving people something to hold onto when words fall short. Whether we’re breathing together in a yoga class, settling into a craniosacral session, or a your home, my intention is always the same. To support your return to yourself. I believe healing should be accessible, not exclusive. It’s not just personal, it’s collective. It ripples through our families, our communities, and the generations to come. This work is my offering. Rooted in love, shaped by experience, and guided by something far older than me.