How Does Mom & Baby Gym Work?! Here are the nuts and bolts: Mom & Baby Open Gym (MBG) runs from 11 AM -1 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. During this time, attendees arrive on their own schedule (with the last entry at 12:30 PM) to participate in a postpartum specific circuit. There are six stations set out in the group class space-each one has all the equipment needed to complete the workout. Each station also has a postpartum circuit on a …
Top 4 Things to Consider When Choosing a Maternity Fitness Program
Congratulations! You probably just found out you are going to be mom for the first (or fourth!) time. Perhaps you learned during your last pregnancy that you should have stayed more active? Perhaps you’re an athlete looking to safely continue your fitness routine? Either way, you have come to the right place! One only has to “google” maternity and fitness to know there are a lot of choices in the Greater Seattle Area. While there is no doubt studies have shown you CAN …
Chiropractic Care in Pregnancy, A Guest Post from Dr. Sharonrose Samelak
More and more women are seeking out chiropractic care to help promote a healthy pregnancy. Chiropractic care is focused on restoring and enhancing the function of the nervous system. Our bodies undergo stress throughout our daily activities; however, during pregnancy a mother’s body undergoes tremendous transformation as it changes to accommodate for the growing infant. Chiropractic care during pregnancy is focused on balancing the bones, ligaments, and muscles of the pelvis for optimal delivery. The changes in a pregnant woman’s …
Reiki for Mamas: A Guest Post by Stephanie Hunter-Dines
As I sit here writing to you on this stormy night in Seattle I am giddy I get to share my story about Reiki. I have the honor of expressing to you how this beautiful practice has changed my life. The wonderful thing about Reiki is that it touches everyone differently. Everyone will have a different Reiki story. Each person who chooses to explore this magical mode of self-care will experience something entirely unique. That is why I’m grateful that …
PNA Parent Spotlight: Maura Shirey
I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed for a Parent Spotlight feature for my son, Will’s pre-school recently. This is our third year attending the Phinney Neighborhood Co-Op Preschool and we have found such joy, such community and such fun through our experiences. It’s an honor to be alongside Will in the classroom and to witness friendships evolve, to watch parent-teacher-kiddo dynamics, the skills, struggles and triumphs! I feel loved and supported within the community from parents and …
Catherine Cram’s Review of Bodies for Birth
We recently had the amazing opportunity to host Catherine Cram for a full day of in-person, hands-on training at Bodies for Birth. What a wonderful day it was. For those of you who don’t know Catherine, she is one of, if not THE nation’s leading expert in Maternal Fitness and co-authored the book “Exercising Through Your Pregnancy” with Dr. James F. Clapp III MD. My well-worn copy has served as my perinatal fitness “Bible” over the past four years and …
Interval Training for Labor Preparation
While there is so much we can’t control in labor and delivery, we can control how we prepare our minds and bodies. With that said, this specific preparation looks so different for each one of us. For some of us, it means attending classes, for others, it’s reading books, having conversations or asking questions. Despite the variable means of preparation, there’s tremendous comfort from knowing deep down that you have done whatever you consider to be your necessary work. At Bodies for …
Alli’s Birth Story: Welcome, Margaux Grace!
Sweet Margaux Grace was born on March 28, 2017. My journey to becoming a mom is an unconventional one, wrought with much heartache and ultimate joy. I would be pregnant and give birth a thousand times if I could. Finding out in my 20’s that I was in ovarian failure was a blow to the vision I had for my life. I wanted a big wedding and five children. I imagined starting a family with my husband and the excitement …
My take on prenatal vitamins + supplements, A Guest Post from Emily Tennison of Healing Corner
Pregnancy is such a special time. For me, it was also crazy-making: not feeling great between weeks 6-12, dealing with weird food aversions (red peppers!) and worrying about eating correctly while warding off cravings was a lot to handle. Doing the best I could nutritionally, while safeguarding with vitamins and supplements, helped ease my anxiety. I truly believe it helped grant me the healthy baby boy that I have today. Here are the supplements that I enjoyed while pregnant as …
Why pregnancy massage? A Guest Post by Lize Williams, LMT
Pretty much anyone who has been pregnant has had someone tell them “Ooh, you should get a pregnancy massage!” And sure, massage sounds great, but what does that have to do with pregnancy? As it turns out, quite a lot. There are a number of reasons to get massage while you are pregnant, some of which are the same as the reasons for getting a massage in general, and some of which are specific to pregnancy. Here are some benefits …