"Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured."

                               ~BKS Iyengar

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Your Fit Pregnancy
Moms discover benefits of exercise during labor and delivery.
By: Linda Dums

Katy Shaffer of Neenah took her doctor's advice when she took a prenatal yoga class over two years ago. Now, with another baby due in the fall, she hopes to try yoga again.

"Prenatal yoga focuses on helping you prepare your body for birth," said Shaffer, 29. "It helps with keeping focused, breathing and opening up your hips. There was also a cool-down period at the end of the class that focused on bonding with the baby, which was really great." Shaffer noticed how the yoga techniques helped during labor and delivery. "I did use some of the focusing to get through some of the earlier stages of labor," she said.

Catherine Zehner, owner of the Sanctuary Center for Yoga and Healing in Menasha, said yoga works all of the body's systems. However, when doing any exercise during pregnancy, it is important to be mindful of the body's response, Zehner said.

"When women are pregnant, they release a hormone called relaxin that makes you more flexible," she said. "So being aware of this, you want to avoid going too deep into stretches that may have been difficult before pregnancy."

Yoga and other relaxing exercises can help pregnant women focus and create tranquility when giving birth, Zehner said. "Yoga not only focuses on the body but on the breath as well, which is vital in the act of giving birth. The breath is an important tool. It can create a calming effect to the nervous system, thus helping to subdue the flight or fight response when fear is lurking."

Lisa McCarthy of Grand Chute said her first labor was relatively easy, thanks to exercise. "I think I was conditioned for it," said McCarthy, 30, who is taking the Pregnant and Fit class again as she expects her second child in a month. "It didn't seem as strenuous as it could be."

Quick has been encouraged by the testimonies from the women who have taken the Pregnant and Fit class. "It's really assuring that I made a good choice by doing this," she said.

Linda Dums is a freelance writer for WisMoms.com.

Post-Crescent article: March 20, 2006

About Us

Erika KleinschmidtErika Kleinschmidt, CYT, RYT, CAE, CAIntern
Co-Founder
Erika is a Neenah native and began practicing yoga in 1999. Yoga became a therapeutic healing tool for her angioedema, back problems and stress.  Since then yoga has become a journey of self-discovery that has deepened her awareness of the world around her. The inspiration of her three children has lead her to the path of encouraging others to incorporate yoga into their family’s lives.  Erika is a Certified and Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance.  She has been inspired by Tias Little, Seane Corne, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, as well as others through workshops and training’s.

Erika is currently studying to become an Ayurvedic Practitioner through Kanyakumari.  She is dedicated to helping others heal themselves through Yoga and Ayurvedic lifestyle changes; Her passion is to making the world a more peaceful place, starting with our inner self.  “Become the change you want to be.”

 

Catherine ZehnerCatherine Zehner, CYT, RYT, Co-Founder
Catherine began practicing Yoga in 1999, after suggestion by her mother, who was concerned about her coping with anxiety and depression. She had found her own personal practice to be such a positive transformational inner process, that she decided to teach Yoga to others. After the diagnosis of her youngest son having Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and other challenges put in front of her, she is ever thankful to have found her "healing tool". Catherine has received extensive teacher training from various teachers, is certified, and is registered with the Yoga Alliance. Along with being a teacher and practioner of Yoga and meditation, Catherine has also been trained by Renee Beese of Health, Hope and Renew all as an Ancient Stone Healing Practioner, as well as being attuned to Reiki I. She enjoys and incorporates an eclectic blend of Yoga styles in her classes including: Iyengar, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Viniyoga, and Kundalini.

Feeling the need to bring Yoga awareness in the community, Catherine has taught various classes at The Christine Ann Center in Oshkosh, The Gardens in Appleton, The Woman's Center at UW Oshkosh, she has also been featured on Fox 11 News Good Day Wisconsin, and has taught at various schools in Neenah and Appleton. Always having a student's mind, and wanting to help others, Catherine plans to continue her education by becoming a Yoga Therapist. She draws inspiration from her two children, friends, students, and family, as well great teachers: Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Tias Little, and Seane Corn, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. Catherine feels grateful to have found Yoga and meditation, and feels blessed that she can share this gift with others.

 

Tina LyonTina Lyon, Reiki Master/Teacher
It is in my heart to help those who are seeking relief. Relief from old patterning from their childhood or their past life. Relief from the daily grind and pressures of life. Relief from over medicating ones self with food, drugs, alcohol, or other self destructive habits. Let me help you rebalance your life and bring calm into your world.

I am 46 and been through and used some of the self destructive habits in my past to try and cope with my world . Knowing there are better ways to deal with life, I started searching for something to change the way I handled my stress. I started asking spirit to show me a better way. Spirit showed me a couple that radiated love, and a peacefulness like I never seen before. I wanted to know that love and that peace. The couple were in training to be shamanic healers. Months later I myself joined the training to be a shamanic healer. I studied and practiced for three years. That is when I realized I had a natural gift in healing.

In the year 2000 I moved to Wisconsin. I wanted to learn Reiki and sought out a Reiki teacher. I have gone through all the levels of Reiki and am now a Reiki Master/Teacher.  Reiki  is a gentle yet powerful way to rebalance ones self and others. I have been a Reiki practitioner for three years now. I love the amazing results it gives. To see the stress melt away and a calm peacefulness enter, is very gratifying to me.

 

Wendy SiracusaWendy Siracusa, Shamanic Practitioner and Trance Dance Facilitator
In 1998, Wendy began to study dance as a path to wholeness. Her goal was to become a dance therapist. Her study included workshops in sacred dance, belly dance, creative dance, continuum movement, ecstatic dance, and therapeutic dance. These experiences reinforced her belief that dance/movement connects us to spirit and puts us into our natural state of balance. It was through these free movement experiences that Wendy found her earth connection and through trance dance that Wendy found her spiritual connection.

In 2004 Wendy became a trance dance facilitator which prompted her to begin her study of shamanism. She completed a 12-month shamanic apprenticeship training program in the spring of 2007 and changed her healing practice to concentrate on providing shamanic energywork. Shamanic energywork is based upon ancient knowledge of indigenous societies who lived in communion with the earth. A shamanic practitioner contacts the helping spirits and teachers in the spiritual world and brings back information to help others heal. Shamanic energywork removes the blocks that prevent us from experiencing the world through love and joy. Wendy continues to study shamanism and feels blessed to be doing the work of spirit.

Julie ZuelegerJulie Zuleger
Julie Zuleger is a certified Thai Yoga Practitioner and member of I.T.T.A. International Thai Therapists Association. Julie received her training with Chuck Duff at Thai Body Work School of Thai Massage. www.thaibodywork.com  She has completed more than 250 hours of training in traditional Thai Massage including Northern and Southern styles of traditional Thai Massage. Julie has also studied with Dr. Anthony James who was the first United States instructor to receive recognition in Traditional Thai Medical Massage by both US and agencies in Thailand. Julie is also a registered Yoga teacher at the 200 hour level, a Licensed Athletic Trainer with extensive training in anatomy and musculoskeletal evaluation and treatment.


Andy MertensAndy Mertens

Andy began playing music professionally at age 16 and has played almost every conceivable style of music from Symphony Orchestras to musical theater, rock, funk, and reggae bands, jazz combos, folk acts and gypsy swing ensembles. While in his late twenties, Andy experienced a serious heath crisis, and through a series of connections with martial arts masters and Quantum Energetic healers, he was able to transform from a sick, toxic, poorly digesting, negative and depressed “old man” to a happy and vital, positive person, easily digesting life. In his early thirties the “old man” felt half his age. Andy credits the dramatic change not just to his amazing teachers but to the powerful methods that they use. T’ai chi with its core principals of body mechanics and alignments allows profound physical relaxation and its Taoist philosophical ideas of clear mind, and acting through non-action, combine to powerfully strengthen the body, mind, and spirit of the practitioner. Quantum Energetics has an amazing ability to find the root cause of a problem and address that issue there, at the source. Through the use of diet, herbs and clearing energetic blockages QE practitioners are able to help build a strong foundation of overall health rather than masking the problem through painkillers or other pharmaceuticals.

Andy lives in Oshkosh and continues to play music professionally and is the founder and director of the Oshkosh T’ai chi center. He holds a degree in music from Lawrence University and a degree in science from the New Physiology Institute and is a certified quantum energetics practitioner.


Bobbi Jo Trader, Licensed Massage Therapist
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Bobbi is a certified and licensed massage therapist and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association. She received her formal massage therapy education and training at Blue Sky, School of Professional Massage and Therapeutic Bodywork, in Grafton, WI. Bobbi has received additional training in neuro muscular and trigger point therapy as well as pre- and post-natal massage therapy. She is currently studying myofascial release. Bobbi offers customized massage therapy sessions to reduce muscular stress and tension as well as a time to relax and restore your health and wellbeing.


Cassandra Blashka
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Cassandra’s love of movement began at a very young age while growing-up in a dance studio in Manitowoc, WI. Upon graduation from UW-Oshkosh with a degree in Physical Education – Health and Fitness Management, Cassandra enjoyed working with special populations assisting with fitness sessions. It wasn’t until after she gave birth to her third child that she discovered Pilates. Although she was familiar with Pilates through her dance training, she was finally able to work towards becoming an educated and certified trainer. Cassandra has her matwork certification through the Physical Mind Institute and continued her training with Body Integration in Appleton to achieve a comprehensive certification (over 500 hours) in matwork and all equipment. She just recently attained her national certification through the Pilates Method Alliance in February. She is proud to be one of only two trainers in this Fox Valley with this credential. Cassandra is also an ACE-certified personal trainer and enjoys teaching dance-based fitness classes and yoga-fusion workouts. When she is not teaching, she loves spending time with her husband Scott, their two sons Mack and Wes and their two Weimaraners!

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