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 …

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 …

The Isolation of the First Trimester

Let’s talk about this time because I have a hunch that we’re lacking support in a really big way. Some might say this could apply throughout the trajectory of the perinatal time, but today I want to address the first trimester.  This can be a window of overwhelming change, erratic emotions, adjustment and sometimes fear. In working with women throughout the years, one thing is crystal clear.  We need more support during these first few months. Initially I thought that …

Why I’ve Been So Quiet Lately

If you’ve been a part of this community for awhile, you may have noticed that it’s been a bit quiet on my end for some time now.  I apologize for the silence, but I’m happy to be back! The past six months or so have brought a tremendous amount of personal struggle. …including a miscarriage, witnessing my mom experience both a heart attack and receive life saving treatment in our own home, a move to Edmonds and the relocation of my …

Meditate Your Way!

You know I’m a huge fan of meditation and if you’ve attended group training, you’ve likely given it a try! It seems like everywhere you turn, there’s a “mindfulness” meme and/or someone else is shouting the benefits from the rooftops. It’s kind of like when someone begins exercising for the first time and then goes around telling everyone how amazing it is and the benefits they feel
even to those people who have been exercising forever
any maybe to the very people …

Five Ways to Optimize Preconception Health (Even if You’re Not Trying to Conceive)

Five Ways to Optimize Preconception Health (Even if You’re Not Trying to Conceive) Lately, I’ve had the great fortune of working with more and more “Preconception” Clients, individuals who are working to enhance their health prior to and while trying to conceive. I cannot tell you how excited I get about working with this population! And, you should know that many of my postpartum clients (those who plan to try for subsequent pregnancies) fall into this category as well! In …

When Self-Care Becomes Toxic

I’m totally guilty of this.  We all know the seasons of life when our focus on wellness/health/healing, comes naturally.  Perhaps you’re focused on a specific goal:  trying to conceive, training for an event, weight optimization etc. The list is well intentioned and it’s created with great enthusiasm
but it’s only sustainable for so long.  During these times of focus, the self-care to do list can become REALLY lengthy and really overwhelming. I’m talking about those rituals and routines that we would …

Your Unique Self-Care Prescription

What are you doing for yourself today?  What does your morning ritual look like?  Do you have one? Setting the tone for each day with energizing, mind clearing rituals, with gentle movement, with meditation, journaling, breathing…or simply with intention can make a huge difference. I know it can sound positively daunting–especially if you’re a new mom.  So where do you start?  Well, you just simply begin and take it one step at a time. My mom always references a beautiful book by Anne …