DTP Guest Blog – Renee Crichlow: REAC Fitness

In Part 4 of our continuing series on DTP’s offspring, meet Renee Crichlow, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer from Barbados, whose REAC Fitness business includes Mum-me 2 B Fitness Series (prenatal), After Baby Fitness Series  (postnatal) and 6 week Jumpstart Body Transformation Program (general female population). 

Renee (left) leads her moms-to-be in a well-rounded program that includes some cool moves in her aerobic dancing section!

The adventures of one of her students is featured in a recent series of articles in Barbados Today.

DTP:  When did you begin working with DTP?

Renee: I started studying in March 2012 and I completed the practicum in May 2012.

DTP:  Describe the focus or mission of your work.

Renee: I am a women’s fitness specialist, targeting all stages of a woman’s life cycle from adolescent, child bearing years, prenatal, postnatal to menopause. I design various exercise programmes to help women get into shape. As a trainer, friend and coach, I am committed to guiding, motivating and educating women to exceed their fitness goals and to permanently adopt healthy lifestyles.

DTP: What do you most enjoy about your work?

Renee: The good feeling associated with knowing that I am helping women to positively change their lives through exercise.

DTP: What is the most important or interesting thing you have learned from working with moms, moms-to-be, or other women clients?

Renee: I have learned that we are connected and not separate from each other. Sharing our challenges and triumphs enable each of us to grow and have a sense of belonging like a sisterhood. The baby and pregnancy stories always amaze me and I learn a lot considering I don’t have children of my own.  I am also fascinated by the fact that as the pregnant mummies bellies grow, they are still moving with lots of energy and I feed off of that energy.  I just love working with pregnant ladies and mothers.

DTP: What are your future plans for your program?

Renee: Starting in May, I will be adding an informational workshop to cover various topics and an outdoor stroller class.

DTP: What is the feedback you have had about your program?

Renee: They really enjoy the class and interaction with each other. Please see the testimonials below:

Latoya Greaves, Patient of Dr. Thomas

I’m Latoya and I’ve been participating in the class for the past 4 months. It is very exciting, energizing and fun. During the work out, we participate in various stretches, breathing techniques, and even a little zumba session. I never thought exercising during pregnancy could be so much fun. The exercises are simple to do, so anyone who is pregnant and still wants to look well toned, loves to dance or just want to learn to what to expect during labour and what techniques can be used to help, this is the class for you. I can guarantee you, that after one workout with Renee, u will feel sexier than ever. Try it and you’ll see. I’ve already spoken to her regarding post-natal classes, that’s how excited I am.

Janalee Harris – Patient of Dr. Tracy Archer

Being part of the Mum-me 2 B Fitness Series is incredible! Whilst at the doctor, I was introduced to Renee and decided to join the program and never once regretted it. The exercises are wonderful, they help expecting mummies stay in shape, one thing I thought, was pregnant women had to take it easy and exercise very slow; that I realized was not true especially with the aerobics session.

We do various exercises: strengthening, breathing, relaxation, stretching, cardiovascular… when combined helps you stay in great shape. I feel healthy and overall better about myself and thank God for the opportunity to be able to exercise during pregnancy. I would encourage any woman who is pregnant to join the class, it’s a wonderful experience! A great program to follow when expecting and I am sure benefits will be achieved and goals will be reached in order to maintain a good weight throughout pregnancy

Toni Moore – Patient of  Dr. James Boyce

I joined the Mum-me 2 B class in my 20^th week of pregnancy. I have found them to be very useful; not only in preparing me mentally and physically for welcoming my baby into this world but also in informing me of safe exercises that I can do on my own. Renee is very professional and makes the time to check-in on her preggers outside of class times: diet, doctor’s visits etc. I would recommend it to anyone; I would further recommend that you commence the classes earlier.

Contact info: Renee Crichlow (246) 242-2850, info@reacfitness.com

DTP Guest Blog – Elyse Hoffman: Live Fully Fitness

Elyse Hoffman, CPCC, is an expert in Fitness Training Specialized for Pre/Post Natal and Women Over Fifty. Her company – based in San Fransisco – is Live Fully Fitness, geared toward helping women be fit at every stage of their lives. Elyse has certifications and continuing education credits from Dancing thru Pregnancy, Health and Fitness Institute, Coaching Training Institute, Moms on the Move, Resist-a-Ball, Mat Pilates, and Zumba.

E-mail: elyse@livefullyfitness.com

Website: www.livefullyfitness.com

DTP: Describe the mission or focus of your program.

Elyse: To me, being healthy and engaged in every aspect of your life, at every stage of your life is what it’s all about.  I believe that integrating physical fitness and a mind/body connection plays a vital role in overall wellness.

My mission is to use both aspects to help women shift adverse patterns that may be holding them back and affect lasting change.  This way my clients create new patterns both in their muscles and psyche.

DTP: What do you most enjoy about your work?

Elyse: I love when a client accomplishes something they didn’t think was possible.  Whether that breakthrough occurs in increased strength, shedding of excess pounds, or releasing emotional blocks, it gets me so excited! Their success is my success. I feel elated and honored to be part of their process.

I especially love working with pre- and post-natal women. Helping clients get strong during pregnancy and helping them get back into shape after giving birth is very rewarding to me.

Simply put, I LOVE what I do.  Working with my clients is a real gift.  I’m lucky enough to get daily reinforcement that what I do has a positive impact on my clients’ quality of life.

DTP: What is the most important thing you have learned from working with moms and moms-to-be?

Elyse: I’ve learned to really listen to each woman individually–every woman has a different experience with her body. The same exercise is not always correct for each woman.

I have learned that although it’s important to stay healthy and fit, it is just as important to relax and breathe. I tend to ask women when they come in, ”What will best serve you today?” Sometimes it is a powerful workout and sometimes a slower pace and lots of breath. Each is wonderful and powerful in its own way.

I have learned that it’s really about listening and hearing my clients’ needs in the moment.

DTP: What is your future outlook for your program?  

Elyse: I enjoy working with pre- and post-natal women and with women over the age of 50.  I see myself continuing to blend my expertise as a life coach and as a fitness specialist to guide women to live the lives they want to live.

DTP: Any comments from clients?

“Just 4 weeks after having my second child, Elyse helped me to begin rebuilding the (core) strength I needed to keep up with the demands of caring for both a newborn and an energetic toddler. A year and a half later she continues to challenge my strength and I am stronger than ever.”
– Valerie Saroyan

This is the third in a series of Dancing Thru Pregnancy offspring program guest blogs. Elyse has a long history with our program and is one of the best trainers we know; we love being able to send her clients!

DTP Guest Blog – Cathy Moore, CNM: In the Belly of the Goddess

Cathy Moore CNM, is the founder of In the Belly of the Goddess in the Boston area. She earned her pre/postnatal fitness certification from Dancing thru Pregnancy® in 2006. She used much of what she learned to develop a series of classes in belly dance for pregnancy and birth. InTheBellyOfTheGoddess.com

DTP: Describe the focus or mission of your program.

Recognizing that Belly Dance has its origins as a Birth Dance

 we seek to restore it to its rightful place in this sacred process.

Cathy: My original aim was to teach belly dance to pregnant women as a tool of personal empowerment – both in the arenas of expressive creativity and for use in the labor and birth process.  My focus has evolved since I began the program.  I started with giving women what I felt was another “tool” to use to help them to cope with labor, and possibly to help them to achieve their goal of un-medicated birth, and so I taught just specific moves that I felt were useful for this purpose.  Over time, I added more aerobic movement, more “veil work” – (dancing with a silk veil), more “fun” exercises, and an end of class rest/shavasana period with either a guided meditation or affirmations.  Some of these changes that I made were a direct result of taking the DTP certification.

DTP: What do you most enjoy about your work?

Cathy:   I love to get women into some jingly hip sashes, and get them laughing and enjoying dancing with each other.  I love to see a group come together and start bonding and exchanging info and experience.  And I love to hear how great they feel after a class – they really do shake out many of the aches and pains!

DTP: What is the most important thing you have learned from working with moms and moms-to-be?

Cathy: Both my clinical work as a practicing midwife, and though my belly dance business, I continue to learn how strong and capable women are.

DTP: What is your future outlook for your program?

Cathy: In my clinical practice with the Brigham & Women’s Midwifery Group, many of the women we care for are socio-economically disadvantaged.  I am hoping to bring my program to these women.  Recently, I have been offering one-time mini classes in Centering Pregnancy groups, and they are always well received.

This is the second in a series of articles about the programs that have been built by individuals who have been through DTP’s pre/postnatal fitness instructor training programs. Previous entries in this series: http://dancingthrupregnancy.wordpress.com/2012/10/

DTP Guest Blog – Erika Boom: Belly-n-Kicks™

Erika Boom is the founder and president of the Belly-n-Kicks™ (B-n-K™) program, based in Miami FL. She is an ACE certified personal trainer as well as a DTP® certified pre/postnatal fitness trainer. Erika – an accomplished athlete – has been actively involved in the fitness industry helping hundreds of women for more than 10 years. Recently, Erika became a mother, gaining first-hand experience with her own B-n-K™ program!
Website: www.belly-n-kicks.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Belly-n-Kicks/

DTP: Describe the focus or mission of your work.

Erika: Belly-n-Kicks ™ (“B-n-K™”) is an individualized exercise training program for pregnant and postpartum women. It incorporates elements of strength training, isometrics, core work, and stretching.

DTP: What do you most enjoy about your work?

Erika: What I most enjoy about my work is that we are empowering women in the most vulnerable point in their life. I also love the fact that the health benefits of exercise are multiplied by two.

DTP: What is the most important thing you have learned from working with moms and moms-to-be?

Erika: Our bodies are perfect machines and we are strong human beings capable of multitasking. I started doing a bulletin to nominate some “femmes extraordinaire,” and I could fit in ALL of my clients!

DTP: What is your future outlook for your program?

Erika: I am in the process of writing and reviewing the B-n-K™ Training Manual. I am also moving in the direction of franchising the B-n-K™ Methodology.

What clients say about this program:

“Belly-n-Kicks™ was recommended by my OBGYN while I was pregnant with twins. I kept my weight gain under control and I bounced back in shape fast. My twins will turn three this year, and I am in amazing shape and leaner than I have ever been before.” – L.L.

“Working out with Belly-n-kicks™ during my pregnancy kept me feeling strong, healthy and energized all the way to the end. Erika’s knowledge and guidance was very important in having a healthy pregnancy. She focused on a safe exercise routine that promoted endurance for the birth process and overall fitness. My recovery after birth was extremely fast. I wouldn’t go through a pregnancy without her!” – C. S.

Dancing Thru Pregnancy 33; Ann 66

September is a big month on my calendar. It signals my birthday (1946), the birth of DTP (1979), the incorporation of DTP®, Inc (1982), and the month I met my husband (1983). All of this would be cause for celebration if it weren’t also the start of the semester at Yale and the arrival of 150+ individuals whose names I really want to learn! Consequently, here we are in October and I am just getting around to my ruminations on the fact that this year DTP is half my age.

Another milestone has me thinking a lot about this fact. This is the year I can apply for my full social security benefits yet continue working. The beauty of this plan is that I can start to work less!! Not that I will for a while, but reality is setting in. I have spent a significant portion of the last half my life preparing women physically for birth and recovery, educating movement teachers to do so as well, and researching, writing and speaking about the impact of physical fitness on maternal and fetal outcomes.

This has me thinking about my professional offspring. What I want to celebrate here on this blog are the pre/postnatal health and fitness professionals whose lives have intersected with mine. Individuals who have taken off from the training they received under our auspices and moved out into women’s health fitness in meaningful ways. So, in weeks to come, we will be featuring DTP “offspring” – discussing their evolution and current work. We have already prepared several posts and would like to hear from any health care or fitness professionals who would like to be included in our series. The only requirement is that you successfully participated in our education program at some point since 1984 when we began training teachers.

On the personal level, I have reaped many benefits from interactions with the millions of women who take classes, thousands of educators we trained, faculty members, research associates, and interns with the program. You have all enriched my life immeasurably and I celebrate you all!

To start this series, I am posting this very recent photograph of myself [left] with our current intern, Shannon [right], and one of our newest babies, Jack. The photo – taken by Jack’s mom, Angelica – provides a glimpse into the happiness that this program brings into my life. There are so many benefits that a healthy, active pregnancy provides to the mother and baby. This photo makes manifest the joy in the lives of those of us who work with the pre/postnatal population.

It is likely that Shannon is the last of the young women that I will personally take under my wing. I am so grateful to all of our college interns who have spent time here. But, it’s time for me to move into the next phase of my life. More writing, less teaching and – definitely – more time spent in my neglected gardens.

In a couple of weeks I will travel to Singapore to present a session on relief of the deep external rotators of the ilio-femoral joint at the IADMS dance medicine conference. This is one of the subjects in which my work as a ballet dancer, and now teacher, and my work in pregnancy fitness intersect in a meaningful way. From both fields I have learned a great deal about alleviating the biomechanical stresses that afflict both dancers and moms-to-be.

It is a great honor to work with moms-to-be and new moms. Over the next few weeks this spot will feature some of DTP’s “offspring” and their work. What a reward for me! Thank you all.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – book review

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin.

NY; Bantam, 2003.

The physiology of birth is complicated and still not well understood. Our subjective experiences of birth are richly textured. Personal accounts spill over with combinations of intense sensations, strong emotions, vague impressions and fine details. What is astonishing about Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth is how exquisitely she traffics in the language of an internal landscape to describe and explain this complex process. She truly captures the uniqueness and universality of birth. I am adding this book to the list of recommendations I give my clients, as well as suggesting it to other teachers.

Devoting nearly the first third of the book to positive first-hand birth stories provides a substantial grounding. Many times I found myself thinking: Yes! That woman is describing this or that essential bit of wisdom I want to impart to my clients. Let me point out one example.

On pages 24 and 25, one of narrators describes 3 slices of her experience. First, she got advice not to read or learn too much and not to make a plan because the more details she had in mind, the less likely she would get what she wanted. Too much reading would interfere with her ability to go with her body, she was told.

Second, she describes her experience of being in a tub and how she needed a lot of reassurance because she was both scared and aware of the great power in her body. The physiological phenomena occurring in her brain and motor systems indeed would be described as these subjective states of being. She definitely perceived what was happening.

Third, she describes turning from looking at things during a contraction to listening because looking made her think, while listening allowed her to feel and be instinctive, which felt better than thinking and was not so overwhelming. Thus, she was going with her body. We see her process in this narrative.

The stories all got me thinking about whether I am telling my clients too much or too little! One of my teaching goals is to insure that clients distinguish between strategy and tactics. Example:  In the case of the story above, the strategy was to go with her body. The tactics she used were to not get too much information so she did not have too many expectations and to use sound rather than vision as her way of connecting inner and outer reality.

As a teacher, I see my job as insuring that my clients who might hear this story do not think that they must use sound rather than vision in order to go with their bodies, but rather that this was a piece of the process for this woman to reach her objective. It might work, but it might not. To get this across to clients, I tell stories about births in which I have been present when opposite tactics accomplished the same strategy or where the same tactic led to different outcomes.

The multitude of stories she presents in part I allow part II – the textbook part – to come to life. Whether she is discussing stages of labor, pain or release, she calls up stories and because the reader is already receptive to the notion of examples, the illustrations help the reader grasp whatever point she is making about the process.

However, the complex physiologic sequence of birth, including its variation from woman to woman, is less well served – in part because there is still so much to be learned about how birth happens, and in part because the birth community in general (whether having had professional or academic training) is not as well versed in normal physiology as it could be.

Let me focus on two issues: One is pain/pleasure and the other is hormones/behavior. Regarding pain/pleasure, Ina May makes a lot of important points, among them that how we experience an intensely sensational experience depends to a great degree on our preparation and that different women have different pain/pleasure experiences during birth. What she doesn’t tell us, though (and I suspect because it’s not common knowledge), is that some of the factors that control how we experience sensations are beyond our control. We experience pain/pleasure through a series of sensations, mental foci and behaviors such as breathing and muscle release. These nerve impulses are forwarded throughout the brain, some sensations taking on emotional content – some terrifying and others ecstatic – depending on the neural pattern. This is the basis of both the fear/tension/pain syndrome and the orgasmic pattern. But the precise pattern is dependent on genetics, as well as environment and behavioral training.

Some individuals become aware of sensations at a very low neurological threshold; others do not. Some individuals quickly find sensation of which they are aware to be uncomfortable or emotionally intolerable; others do not. Some people need comfort measures for their discomfort soon; some later, or not at all. Tolerance of what finally becomes pain or pleasure (or just a sense of stretching or motion through space) is also variable from person to person. Thus, the point at which we start has both biological and psychosocial determinants within this already variable process. In describing the variation in how women experience pain and pleasure in labor, Ina May is great at giving us examples and identifying psychosocial or cultural variations identified in research, but not so enlightening on the biology of why and how. This may or may not matter to the reader.

The issue of hormones that govern the vicious cycle we call labor is much less well understood. We have a pretty good concept of how prostaglandins, oxytocin and endorphins are stimulated and affect the process, and Ina May describes these in accessible ways. But while adrenaline is thought to inhibit early release of oxytocin, there has been little discussion of its importance in the pushing or ejection phase (she does cite Michel Odent’s notion that adrenaline might play a part in the ejection reflex when a labor is slowing down). But, there is little recognition outside of the physiology field that what happens in transition is our energy system shifting to a sympathetic [adrenal] source to give us more power to push. That’s why contractions change, why some women have a rest period between, and why – back in the day – we used to say to a woman having difficulty culling up her resources to push that she could get mad! Going through the effort and discomfort is key to inducing the rush of beta-endorphins. We know this, in a scientific way, from research that tells us runners who listen to music (relaxing and dissociative) experience lower rates of beta-endorphins at the end of the run than runners who do not listen to music, but work through the effort and discomfort they experience (stress inducing).

One of the things that makes Ina May’s book so valuable, in my mind, is the discussion near the end about midwifery, statistical support for natural birth and enumeration of the risks associated with surgical birth that are often glossed over when a family experiences dystocia. There are many elements within the birthing community striving to create an accessible spectrum of choices for birth. Let’s face it, birthing at home for low risk women, seamless transport alternatives, birthing centers attached to medical facilities, and readily available medical options when emergencies arise, would be a wonderful future. Birth attendants with universal acceptance, variable but rigorous training, and delineated scopes of practice would be ideal. Whether we get there remains to be seen, but I am glad Ina May exists, has her track record and is being listened to in this effort.

Brain Rules for Baby – book + website review

Brain Rules for Babies by Dr. John Medina

Seattle WA; Pear Press. 2010

I strongly recommend this book and its accompanying website by the author of the NY Times bestseller, Brain Rules. http://www.brainrules.net/.

The new text brings together much of the disparate research on fetal-infant-child brain development of the last few decades into a readable whole. At the same time, it associates these findings with effective, concrete practices and provides tips for new and expecting parents. What are some of the big, take-home messages of this text? Survival, or safety, is the primary goal of the brain. Happiness is most closely linked to having friends. Academic success is associated with self-control. And, rewarding effort produces the greatest positive feedback. There’s a lot more here and on the website. Plus the website has pages of references and a terrific quiz for parents. Links: Brain Rules for Baby: http://brainrules.net/brain-rules-for-baby. Brain Rules for Baby Quiz: http://brainrules.net/brain-rules-for-baby-parenting-quiz.

Dr. Medina starts with that notorious parental concern:  How do parents raise a smart, successful, calm and happy child? He considers the job of parenting to be supporting healthy brain development – something achieved largely by living a healthy and emotionally accessible life! He has the facts to back this up. Starting with pregnancy, he provides information to demonstrate that the common early pregnancy issues of tiredness and nausea serve the fetus’ need to be left alone to follow the genetic code for producing the body’s organs and systems.

The second half of pregnancy, he notes, is largely constituted by the development of the senses, which bring information to the brain, and – in the last months – the expansive growth of brain cells and the earliest phases of neuronal connection. He dispels the myths about commercial products aimed at improving IQ in utero, reviews findings on the adverse effects of stress, poor nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy, and reminds us that we are faced with certain peculiarities of human birth. Ever since we became erect, we have had to get that brain out of the pelvis before it is really ready.

Dr. Medina moves on to the relationship dynamics of the parents and/or extended family and its impact on the offspring brain. Most families experience distress when an infant arrives. Relationships are out of balance, demands increase, comfort is lessened and there are a lot of unknowns about the nature of this new being. Learning, he reminds us, takes place best when the number one brain demand is met: Safety. Situations fraught with stress and conflict are keenly sensed by infants and mitigate against a sense of safety.

Much of this discussion reinforces recent findings about the importance of vaginal birth, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding – chemical, mechanical and emotional needs that appear in the moments surrounding birth that, when met, set the stage for a bond of trust (safety) that enables development of higher functions. He reminds us that the best predictor of academic success is impulse control, a behavior that results partly from genetic predisposition, but is equally gleaned by observing adult behavior from the first moments of life. This sets the stage for much of the rest the book’s discussion using a Seed/Soil metaphor, akin to the traditional nature/nurture discussion – that some of what a child becomes is inborn, and some is environment.

Medina focuses on pregnancy through age 5. He notes that willing emotional responsiveness combined with appropriate demands or expectations appears to produce the most effective learning conditions in young children. Once they are in a safe state of mind/brain, infants learn quickly by watching [he cites Bandura]. Empathy and clear delineation of boundaries fall into line behind safety as features parents need to provide for healthy psychic development. Medina gives a number of examples, including one about empathizing with a child who needs a drink of water when there is none available by saying: Yes, how thirsty you must be and if I could, I would get you a big drink. I’m glad you let me know how thirsty you are so we can work on fixing that first chance we get. [NB: I have paraphrased here for the purpose of my own learning]. This sort of response feeds back the child’s experience, lets him/her know he/she is heard, supports the child’s state, but lets him/her know that the solution is still a bit off and that the parent expects the child to cooperate.

There are many topics covered with just this sort of technique…empathy and expectations. Among them is the description of positive and negative reinforcement. I find it is frequently difficult for parents to grasp the notion that if a child has a tantrum and the parent yells and screams and makes a big deal about it, that is positive reinforcement, which encourages the child to behave that way again. Whereas walking into another room and doing something else till the child is quiet – that is negative reinforcement.

I like Medina’s way of explaining it with science better than my own, which requires too much explaining about how nerve cells transmit information and how neural pathways become hardwired. His relies on more macro explanations (he is a developmental molecular biologist, so I really bow to him on this one). Basically, he tells us to praise behavior that is good and also to praise the absence of “bad” behavior, because praise for effort feels good. He also tells us to let the flow of events do the punishing. Either let a child continue to walk around in the snow with no shoes because s/he will figure out it hurts and is a terrible idea, or remove a child from the table when s/he refuse to eat because it is boring alone and s/he will figure out one can get hungry that way. The former is punishment by application; the latter is punishment by removal.

In case you are wondering what these rules might be, here they are:

EXERCISE | Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.
SURVIVAL | Rule #2: The human brain evolved, too.
WIRING | Rule #3: Every brain is wired differently.
ATTENTION | Rule #4: We don’t pay attention to boring things.
SHORT-TERM MEMORY | Rule #5: Repeat to remember.
LONG-TERM MEMORY | Rule #6: Remember to repeat.
SLEEP | Rule #7: Sleep well, think well.
STRESS | Rule #8: Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.
SENSORY INTEGRATION | Rule #9: Stimulate more of the senses.
VISION | Rule #10: Vision trumps all other senses.
GENDER | Rule #11: Male and female brains are different.
EXPLORATION | Rule #12: We are powerful and natural explorers.