Sunday, November 19, 12:30-4:30pm ~ $175 per couple

Preregistration Required ~ Limited to 5 Couples

Next Upcoming Date: Sunday, January 21, 12:30-4:30pm
Questions: email Ires Wilbanks                            

Childbirth Prep Express Class - Knowledge is Power!

In this Intensive Workshop you will:

Learn How to improve your chances of a physiological birth.

Overcome Fear through breathing, vocalization and movement. 

Gain Confidence in your body’s ability to give birth.

Discover ways you might avoid unnecessary interventions.

Explore the possibility of a joyful and ecstatic birth!

This is a 4 hour hands-on workshop. Please wear comfortable clothes. Snacks and drinks will be provided, but feel free to bring something for yourself. Also, Ires recommends watching the film "The Business of Being Born" prior to attending the workshop. You may take this course at any point during your pregnancy.

Testimonials

 "I am so grateful that I was able to attend the L&D course. If it wasn't for this class, I don't think I would have been able to get through the birthing process the way I did. This is a must for anyone considering a natural childbirth. I learned so much about our bodies and birthing process. This was a hands on class where we were able to learn how to get through contractions and I found this to be so useful during my labor. We plan on taking this class again when we have our second child." ~ Melissa

"My husband and I drove from Manhattan to attend the L&D class at Shakti. Ires changed the course of how I approached labor. I was about 5 months pregnant when we took the class. I'm thrilled to say I did get the birth I was hoping for!" ~ Shiri

"My wife and I can't thank Ires enough for her care and guidance. We highly recommend her Labor and Delivery class and her Deep Relaxation Labor Prep session. She's warm, welcoming, and accessible. She honors how special and personal this whole process is while simultaneously deconstructing the myths. And for what it's worth...for all the guys out there who wish to be active and engaged labor partners, I found her classes to be really informative and empowering." ~ S.A.

 

PRE-NATAL BREASTFEEDING INTENSIVE with Aliza Sternberg 
on Zoom REGISTER

 

Monday, October 16, 2-4pm ~ $100 per couple ~ Pre-registration Required. 

 

Next Upcoming Date: Monday, January 15, 2-4pm ~ REGISTER
Questions: email Aliza Sternberg

 

Empower yourself with what to expect when you're having a baby.
 

~ Why Breastfeed? ~ Benefits for parents & baby
~ How Do breasts make milk ~ Various Stages of milk
~ Why is my milk not coming? 
~ Key Things to look for after birth
~ 3 Biggest Questions parents have ~ Feeding Cues
~ Breastfeeding Positions 
~ Tips for Latching Correctly
~ Self-Care ~ Nutrition Tips ~ Pumping & more...

 

 

INFANT MASSAGE WORKSHOP with Candice Powell-Diaz 
in Studio & on Zoom
For 2-week old babies up to 1 year and their caregiver(s), pregnant moms too!

Thursday, October 26, 3-4:15pm ~ REGISTER
Saturday, December 10, 4-5:15pm ~ REGISTER

$30 ~ Preregistration Required ~ $10 each additional adult
Questions: email Candice

Learn and Practice holistic and natural ways to:
~ Promote Infant Health
~ Improve Parenting Skills
~ Deepen Bonding 

Infant Massage incorporates nurturing touch, massage and reflexology in a loving, fun, one-on-one interaction that provides nourishment for baby's mind, body and spirit.

Mothers, Partners, Grandparents and other caregivers encouraged to attend..

Doula Services with Ires Wilbanks CD (DONA)

In her book, "Active Birth," Janet Balaskas argues that giving birth is the "Mount Everest of all physical functions."

A doula can serve as a sherpa on your birth journey, providing continuous care for you and your partner.

According to recent studies, women supported by doulas were more likely to have vaginal births, and less likely to have medical interventions ranging from forceps to C-sections. Ires use tools including yoga, massage, essential oils, and deep relaxation techniques to help you stay focused and relaxed.

Many of Ires's past clients have been yoga students, and have found that attending prenatal yoga classes and workshops on childbirth with Ires helped them have a positive and empowering birth experience.
 

Testimonials

"My VBAC would not have been possible without the support of Ires. She was a steady and tireless presence throughout my long labor for both me and my husband. When things got challenging Ires remained cool and confident, believing in me and the process without putting any additional pressure on me. With her calm and attentive support I was able to persevere, knowing she would be there for me no matter what kind of delivery I had. I will be forever grateful to her!"  ~ Lisa G.

"I felt so comfortable having Ires as our doula, having already known her as my prenatal yoga instructor from 11 weeks to the final days of my pregnancy with identical twins. She was so warm, excited & encouraging - she absolutely helped me to feel that giving natural, vaginal, painkiller- and epidural-free birth to our twin babies was a reachable reality, not the far-fetched pipe dream that some tried to persuade me it would be. Ires was always honest and realistic, noting that medical interventions might indeed be necessary at some point - in any birth - but that she could be there for me & for my husband to support us in our preferences. Well, not only did I give our babies that natural birth with Ires' support, but she stayed with us for what turned out to be a VERY long hospital process - and made it FUN! We laughed in the halls and did yoga poses up the walls!! She helped me through what I now know was transition, my moment of "I can't go on," and seemed to know the exact things I needed to hear. She helped me to utilize and validated the effectiveness of the hypnosis recordings I listened to during our entire birthing process. Ires clearly loves what she does, and believes in the true magic and spiritual unification that a birth brings to a family and the world. I could go on and on! Ultimately, we were moved that she was moved by our experience - she was the one who took our first new family photo in the delivery room, after all! - and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Thank you, Ires!!"  ~ Jen J.

Pre & Postnatal Teachers

Ires Wilbanks, CD (DONA) began practicing yoga in 2000 and has been teaching prenatal yoga and yoga for labor and delivery since 2006. She received 3 certifications from Integral Yoga Institute in New York and taught there while living in NYC.

Ires is also a certified DONA International birth doula and has been attending births since 2011. Ires’s goal is to support couples and provide information and tools they can use to approach their births with confidence, grace, and ease. Prior to teaching yoga, Ires spent nearly a decade producing television news for CNN and CBS. As a stressed out TV producer, she gave birth to her first child by Cesarean section at a New York hospital. When it was time to give birth to her second, she knew she wanted to do everything she could to have a VBAC and was prepared to do the work. Yoga gave her all the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual tools she needed and was able to have a wonderful birth.

Aliza Sternberg is an international board certified lactation consultant (IBCLC), certified lactation counselor (CLC), a certified breastfeeding specialist (CBS) and a Doula. She is continuing her education with GOLD lactation conferences, and is a member of both the International Lactation Consultant Association and the New Jersey Breastfeeding Coalition.

Aliza has a thriving private practice doing in-home, office and virtual consults. She also works part-time at WIC. She has worked at Hoboken and Christ Hospital and at Breastfeeding Medicine of NJ as a Lactation Consultant. Aliza also teaches prenatal breastfeeding classes in a group setting or privately.

As a birth doula Aliza helps families on their birth journey. She loves attending births and helping families feel supported and at ease during this most beautiful moment in their lives.

Aliza lives in New Jersey with her husband, three children, and two dogs. She is fluent in Spanish.

Candice Powell-Diaz is the proud mother of two beautful little girls. She is a licensed massage therapist since 2006, servicing the Montclair area as an Exercise Physiologist at Hackensack UMC – Mountainside since 2003, and as a massage therapist since 2009 in a private office.

Candice has been an Infant Massage Instructor since 2013. She believes touch is healing. She believes in the importance of communicating with your child through loving touch. Touch can provide comfort and trust, allowing people to let down their defenses.

Candice cherishes the support infant massage classes provide for families.

Jennifer Dudek was first introduced to yoga while pursuing her BFA in theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She fell in love with the connection of the breath to the movement and began teaching a yoga warm up for actors and crew before rehearsals and performances. Her formal hatha yoga teacher training began with Lex Gillan and Stan Hafner at the Yoga Institute of Houston. She completed her advanced teacher training in Allahabad, India with the Himalayan Institute under Rolf Sovik, Sandra Anderson, Mary Cardinal, DC Rao, and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. 

Jennifer is also certified to teach prenatal yoga, baby and me/postpartum yoga and exercise, children’s yoga for preschoolers, and Pilates mat. Her yoga classes are hatha based vinyasa with an emphasis on flow and her Pilates mat classes focus on finding length, balance, and stability. 

The guiding mantra for all of Jennifer's classes is “Let’s make the practice a moving meditation.”  

When not teaching or practicing yoga and Pilates, she enjoys cooking, creative writing, traveling, and taking care of her three sons.