The Yoga Center of Minneapolis

Testamonials: JAI Prenatal Yoga Classes and Workshops

Some of our most precious yoga moments happen before we're ever born... in the mother's belly! This page is dedicated to the practice of yoga - meaning "union" - of the mother and child both before and after birth. If you have a photo of your new child birthed by yoga or a testamonial on how Pre or Postnatal Yoga classes have enriched your life, please email us and we'll put it on the web to share with others.

Prenatal Testamonials: Kathy Seipp \| Carla Mankowski \| Anne Murphy \| Cindy Stauffer Prenatal Testamonial from Kathy Seipp This is a testimonial to your Prenatal Yoga class. I have been practicing yoga on my own for about 6 years. Since September 2003, my regular practice has included Ashtanga yoga classes taught at the Yoga Center of Mpls. While I was pregnant with my second child and entering the 6th month of my pregnancy, I started taking Jen's Tuesday night Prenatal classes. I also attended the Prenatal Yoga for Labor and Delivery workshop with my husband/birth partner. The birth of my second child was dramatically different than with my first. So many of the yogic techniques used in your classes were beneficial and created a very positive experience. The breathing I used when I was pushing was all yogic. My mind was focused, and I was present. The doctor, nurse and my husband all noticed my that I was concentrating on my breathing and commented on how smoothly things kept going. The regulating of my breathing allowed my mind to go through the pain without getting caught up in it and letting the pain control me. It was like learning to surf or snowboard. You get into a rhythm, and the energy from that rhythm is like a protective force. It gives you the strength and the concentration you need, by freeing your mind from negativity and fear. I had 15 minutes of pushing as opposed to 3 hours with my first child. The entire labor took a fourth of the time. It was an amazing experience. I recommend the Yoga Center Minneapolis' Prenatal classes to people all the time. Not only was my son's birth a very positive event, but the yoga I have been doing throughout pregnancy, and am doing now, is happily and quickly healing my body and mind. Thank you so much Yoga Center for all of your wonderful classes and teachers! Peace Kathy Seipp Prenatal Testamonial from Carla Mankowski Dear Jennifer, I just wanted to take this time to thank you for the wonderful experiences I had in your PreNatal Yoga class. I feel the classes helped me to understand my body during pregnancy and then helped me to be more comfortable, confident and in charge during my labor and delivery. Which by the way was very quick and easy which I attribute to the classes. I would recommend PreNatal yoga to anyone. I can't thank you enough for a wonderful experience from beginning to end. Sincerely, Carla Mankowski Prenatal Testamonial from Anne Murphy Hi Jennifer, The splits worked! We're happy to announce the birth of our first child Eleanor "Ellie" Hammes Murphy. Elllie was born on July 24th at Saint Joesephs in downtown St. Paul. Ellie weighed 8.4 pounds when she was born and is a very healthy baby. Labor went very well and everything on our birth plan was respected by the hospital staff. Labor contractions began at 5 a.m on the 24th and we managed to stay at home until 1:30 with the help of our Doula. By the time I got to the hospital I was a 6 and by 5:00 I was 9 1/2. I started pushing at 5:30 and had her at 6pm. Although painful at times, I was able to go through labor unmedicated. This was due to staying in the present, breathing inbetween contractions and positioning. Three things I learned in your class. Although I can't say I breathed very well during contractions; I did try my best. When it got time to push, I knew what to do and it felt very natural. The Doctor reminded to push into the burn. It made perfect sense to me and Ellie was born shortly afterwards. I always looked forward to coming to your class every week and I do believe that it helped me through out my pregnancy and durring labor. Thank you for your enthusiasm and your candidnance during class. Looking forward to bringing Ellie in for a little post partum yoga. Thank You, Anne Murphy Prenatal Testamonial from Cindy Stauffer I just wanted to pass on my positive experience with the prenatal yoga classes and the breathing workshop in my recent labor & delivery of my little boy, Adrian Douglas (August 3, 2007). I had hoped for an all natural delivery, but my water broke in the middle of the night (coincidentally, just hours after a prenatal yoga class). I wasn't progressing fast enough after 12 hours, so they had to induce me with pitocin. After the pitocin, the pain was too much, and I opted for an epidural. So, I didn't have to use as much of the techniques as I originally thought I would, but everything I learned at the Yoga Center was still valuable. In particular, the breathing techniques were priceless in getting me through the pain as I had to make it to 5cm dilated in order to even get the epidural! Also, the pushing techniques we learned made the pushing a breeze. I pushed for 25 minutes (I think the midwife was surprised with how easily it went for me). I am very grateful that I had a place to learn some of the things they don't talk about in childbirth classes at hospitals. All in all, it made me much more comfortable with my impending labor and gave me an attitude of "Hey, maybe i can do this!", not to mention how much it helped me have an easier pregnancy by having a class to go to that would keep me active. I think having remained fairly active during pregnancy is helping my body recover postpartum. Thank you all for your help and i hope to be around in "normal" classes again soon. - Cindy Stauffer		Dylan Seipp


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