
It's time to GATHER.
It's time to GATHER.
GATHER is a creative, trauma-informed facilitator training from the heart of circle work.
Begins Monday, September 22, 2025 on the Autumnal Equinox.
What is GATHER?
GATHER is my love letter to the practice of circle. It’s a multi-week, creative, trauma-informed facilitator training for people who feel called to hold space, for healing, for grief, for parenting, for community, for whatever threshold you’re standing at.
GATHER is a dream I’ve been carrying for a very long time.
Three years in the making, yes. But really… decades in the growing.
Long before I was a doula, I was a performer, a writer, a teaching artist, a community facilitator. I was someone who was drawn, again and again, to spaces where people sit in a circle, share their truths, listen deeply, and are witnessed.
Since 2016, I’ve been mentoring doulas. Since 2020, I’ve held between three and five circles every single week, for expecting parents, new parents, care workers, healthcare providers, and birth workers.
And somewhere in the quiet between all of that holding, a little whisper kept saying:
It’s time to gather the gatherers.
GATHER is for:
🌙 Doulas
🌙 Birth workers
🌙 Healthcare & care workers
🌙 Community builders
🌙 Anyone who wants to learn the art of spaceholding in a deeper, more grounded, more soulful way.
This is not just training for people working with new parents (though you’ll feel my postpartum lens woven through everything, because that’s part of who I am). This is a training for humans who want to hold space that feels real, brave, soft, and alive.

What We’ll Do Together
We’ll move through 13 spiraled modules, each one anchored in a phase of the moon because circle work is cyclical, not linear. It ebbs and flows. It mirrors the rhythms of nature, and the inner seasons of our own lives.
You’ll learn how to:
🌙 Plan, structure, and sustain nourishing circles
🌙 Hold space online and in person
🌙 Tend to group dynamics with compassion and clarity
🌙 Create rituals, themes, and content that feel alive and relevant
🌙 Anchor your facilitation in equity, inclusion, and trauma awareness
🌙 Care for yourself as a spaceholder (because you matter, too)
🌙 Bring creative practice and seasonal rhythm into your facilitation
🌙 Understand the business of circle work—how to promote, fill, and sustain your groups
You’ll Also Receive
📓 A full workbook built from downloadable templates and worksheets
🤝 Peer support and community connection throughout
📣 A spot on our facilitator registry, if you’d like to be listed
🌱 An invitation to join the Birdsong Patreon at a discounted rate for continued kinship and support
And, something I’m especially excited about…we’re partnering with a platform called Togather, where you’ll have the optional opportunity to pilot your own circle with my support, the Birdsong community, and the Togather team behind you. This part is totally consent-based, but if you want to try out your idea in real time, we’ll be there to help you bring it to life.

The Rhythm of the Moons
Each week of GATHER is paired with a moon phase, and with one of the 13 moons of the year, like the Strawberry Moon, the Harvest Moon, the Cold Moon.
These phases are not just poetic. They are anchors. They remind us that this work is living, breathing, and full of seasonality.
We’ll explore:
🌒 Waxing Crescent for intention
🌕 Full Moon for visibility
🌘 Waning Gibbous for gratitude
…and everything in between.
Because facilitation isn’t about staying “on” all the time. It’s about knowing when to shine, when to rest, when to reflect, and when to rise again.
Why me? Why now?
I’ve led thousands of circles. That number still surprises me, but it’s true.
From postpartum support groups to doula mentorship spaces. From grief gatherings for providers to circles for community health workers.
This has been the center of my heart work and care work for the past decade.
And I want to share everything I’ve learned with you.
Not just the tools and templates, but the heart of it.
The magic and the mess of what it means to hold people well.
I teach from the belief that you have to feel what it’s like to be in an incredible circle in order to know how to create one. So inside GATHER, you will be both a student and a participant. You’ll learn by being held.
The Details
Start Date: Monday, September 22, 2025 (Autumn Equinox)
Start Time: TBD
Structure:
🌙 12 live weeks + a “Week Zero” that unlocks as soon as you register
🌙 13 modules total (one for each moon)
🌙 Live gatherings, recorded content, creative resources, and lots of heart
Cost: Because true community is built on access and care, we hold space with a sliding scale and scholarships, so everyone has a seat at the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Calls are not automatically recorded, but if someone specifically requests a recording, I will do so. Attending live is highly encouraged for the sense of community and connection.
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Each month, a Doodle poll is posted to find the best time for the group. Calls are typically 90 minutes long.
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TBD
Led by Erica Livingston
Erica is a postpartum centric full spectrum doula passionate about driving change at the intersection of public health and social justice, I am dedicated to advancing systemic change in birth, postpartum and reproductive equity.
As Co-Founder and CEO of Birdsong, this dynamic doula-centered maternal health and education brand, including comprehensive doula trainings and mentorship programs, I've spearheaded rapid expansion and transformative impact in the field. Training and mentoring brand new doulas serves as a grassroots approach to catalyzing systemic change from the ground up and it’s something I LOVE TO DO!