When there are issues that you've been "dealing" with for a lifetime, sometimes traditional therapy…read morejust doesn't cut it. It has been a few weeks since my meetings with the incredible New York Hypnotherapy Coach. I have always been skeptical of hypnotherapy, thinking of myself as "unhypnotizable", but no other means were helping me to get what I needed, and in my case, that was an ability to be composed in front of a doctor! Past medical trauma had me frozen, but the older I get the more important those visits are and it was time. And I was unwilling. Bhavna spoke with me at length before our session, I was a little surprised by this initially, then we set up the appointment for the actual hypnotic session for later in the week. She doesn't use scripts from manuals, she created the perfect pattern for my exact challenges based on that initial call. I couldn't tell you at all what she said during our session, but I can tell you that I've gotten all of my "old lady" appointments done in these last weeks and I experienced no fear at all during any of those meetings. I feel *better* about all of those traumas that I experienced in the past - they still exist, but they don't hurt and they no longer interfere with my wellbeing. I am so grateful.

I couldn't have asked for a better care team with Rebecca and Jasmine! they are an incredible team…read moreand extremely experienced. Each interaction with them from the consultation. to the post partum visits was respectful, encouraging, and very informational. I felt empowered through my entire birth experience. We delivered at a hospital and it was invaluable to have Rebecca with us to navigate that system and ensure that our birth preferences were followed as best as possible. My partner has said multiple times that having our doulas there to support is was transformational and we would not want to have done it without it them! I highly recommend their services and am so thankful for all they provided us and our family :)

We had the most pleasant experience with our doula, Rebecca, and felt compelled to share it…read more As first-time parents during the harsh circumstances of the Covid-19 shutdown, we were plagued with questions and paralyzed with anxiety. How could we manage to do this, unplanned, during a period of national quarantine? The prospects were daunting, but we had those worries melt away with Rebecca's calm and practical, take-it-easy style. Her energy helped soothe ours ... and we found her breadth of knowledge to stretch the vast corners of newborn care. We found Rebecca to be thoughtful, careful, attentive ... and always readily available. Rebecca was an integral part of our birth plan and we were more relaxed first-time parents for having worked with her. She laid out a clear and concise action plan that worked wonders from the beginning. She is a pleasure to work with. I now understand why she came so highly recommended to us.

They were discriminatory, and denied me service despite my history doing this other places multiple…read moretimes. They discriminated against my size, and said I wasn't a good "fit", wasting my time and money. I already feel extremely self conscious about my body, and this sure made everything worse.

The absolute best place in NYC to receive colonic and lymphatic drain therapies…read more Not only was the office extremely clean, instruments and machines were top notch, but more important than anything else, Sharon, my therapist was truly exceptional. She has been in the business for over 30 years and was very thorough in her explanation of the procedure, equipment and supplies used and answered all my questions. Sharon created the most comforting atmosphere with her calming words and energy which allowed for a more relaxed experience in mind, body and spirit leading to successful outcomes. If you are looking to get a colonic and/or lymphatic drain therapy, there is no other place to go and no other person to do this with. Sharon and Atlant Health are simply the best!

Yael is the best! My wife was having our first baby at home and we knew that we needed some extra…read moresupport. Yael came over twice during the pregnancy to talk to us and answer any questions we had. She assisted us not only with preparing for the birth, but also with newborn care basics. During my wife's labor she was a calm spirit, who helped my wife feel comfortable and helped support me in knowing how I could help best. She was the best decision we made. In fact one of the first things my wife and I said the day after our daughter was born was that we didn't pay Yael enough. She is worth every penny! My wife is pregnant with our second child due this Winter and we are thrilled that Yael will be part of our birth team again.

Yael lives, breathes, dreams, and loves all things babies and mamas. She's insanely knowledgeable…read moreabout everything from pregnancy to birth to nursing and early babyhood. Her demeanor is calm, sober, empathetic, supportive, and pretty silly if that's what you're in to. She anticipated my needs before I knew I needed them and made me feel like I was the only person who mattered in life - and of course, my son too :). I recommend Yael to anybody looking to have the best, most authentic birth possible. And even if breastfeeding is going fine, it can always go better with Yael's help and attention. I love her. My little family and our birth experience wouldn't have been the same without her.

I highly recommend Rachel and Sherraine! Rachel attended our birth but it was lovely meeting…read moreSherraine beforehand. Writing this review almost 6 months after giving birth so I had time to process everything. Rachel has this calming yet confident presence. She helped me tremendously during labor and worked well with my husband. It felt like she knew exactly what I needed without me saying much. She also knew when to hive us the time to be by ourselves and helped with food and drinks (birthing center). I am grateful she was part of this special day and she also took amazing pictures

I'm very disappointed with my experience with Sierra. We hired her to be our postpartum doula in…read moreDecember. We had our first baby, knew nothing about babies and had no support in the area. After the initial call and prenatal appointment, my husband and I felt that we were in good hands. She claimed to be a support for me and my baby and to be knowledgeable about all things newborns. Unfortunately that was not the case. The pros: - she taught us how to give our baby his first bath - she was communicative in the beginning via text and phone - she ended up acting as a very expensive babysitter for our last four visits The cons: - having a newborn is hard and I had a lot of questions she didn't know the answers to. Instead of finding the answers and calling me or offering to come over, she sent lengthy articles with links to other articles. When you are trying to figure out a problem with your infant in your arms, you don't have an hour to read an article that may or may not help - she knew nothing about breastfeeding, period. She gave me advice when she shouldn't of(she told me not to move my breast a bit away from my baby's nose because he would pull off if he was suffocating- this was corrected by two different lactation counselors) - 90% of her answers were "I don't know, I'll have to look that up" - in the end she was not communicative and it felt like she just wanted our sessions to be over - we were so uncomfortable having her in our home when we were around we asked her to just babysit our already sleeping newborn after he was in bed for the night This service is clearly dependent on who you get. Sierra was part of a lower, less trained tier of doulas. Regardless of the tier, it was a bad experience at a vulnerable time in our lives as new parents.

This Bradley Method preparation class is amazing! I chose Bradley Method over hypno birthing or…read moreLamaze because as a long-distance runner it's approach to pain made more sense to me. Also, it seemed like a method that fully incorporated the partner and I wanted the birth experience to be for both of us, and for my partner to not simply be a mildly supportive by-stander. I chose Mary Esther's class based on the recommendation of the midwifery practice we are with and signed up months before it started. By the time it started I was sorry I'd chosen such an intensive class. 8 weeks instead of the couple of hours one session that most people I know had chosen for their birthing class! I was worried it was a waste of time and money, a rookie mistake from being a little too gung-ho at the beginning of the pregnancy. Those fears were gone by the end of the first class. We'd chosen the Sunday afternoon class since the weekday evening classes seemed too hard for this early bird (how does dinner work?) Our group was a a great and diverse mix of hospital/birthing center/home birth going with midwife/ob. We were surprised by just how diverse it was in terms of childbirth choices. The classes themselves were tremendously enjoyable. Mary Esther keeps a relaxed energy going through the class and from the beginning mentioned we should eat, drink and go to the bathroom as we wanted. With so many pregnant ladies in the room, we all did! I was worried about having to sit for so long, but though the main seats are uncomfortable, there are plenty of props to make yourself comfortable on the mat, and there are these little chairs that don't look very comfortable but are surprisingly comfy pregnant ladies. (I'm actually trying to figure out where I could get one for home. They're adorable and could double as kid's seats for later.) Plenty of people simply would simply lie down on the mat when they felt like it. But the main reason I recommend this class is for the effect it has had on me, my partner, and our relationship through this pregnancy. We've learned so much, and we're approaching this birth with a sense of joyful calm excitement I don't see in others who have not taken this class. As a type A, make the list and check it twice, and boss everyone around kind of person, it's been hard to get used to not being able to do everything I used to do before my pregnancy. But it seems like pregnancy and birth go much better when you learn that you can't control everything. You have to trust your body, and trust those around you. Learning to lean on my partner more has helped deepen our bond, and having my partner be so involved and so knowledgeable about what helps and what doesn't and giving me nightly massages (it's part of the homework! true story!) has helped me relax and go into this knowing I've done all I can, and that I'm in the best hands.

I hated this class with Mary Esther Malloy. Hated. I actually threw up from how much stress this…read moreclass caused me, not once but TWICE. So we quit after 4 sessions even though it meant forfeiting the $450 fee (although ME said she would refund it if I took down my review...). I had heard great things about this class before enrolling. This review is my opinion and you should feel free to trust other people as you see fit. I am having a hard time organizing in my head all of my issues with this class and with ME so I will just try to make a list. Some things might not be that carefully explained though so send me a message if you want more information on anything I say. 1) ME spends a lot of time telling stories from births where she has been the doula. She does not spend enough time with the students on preparing for their own birth experience. She spends a short period of time going over labor positions and a short period of time on techniques to deal with pain. She never in any way ties in the Bradley Method with the stories she tells. 2) The Bradley Method is very partner oriented. AKA, I felt fairly unimportant in the class. I felt like my husband could have gone to the class without me and when he got home asked me to hold ice for a minute while deep breathing. That sounds super useful in labor. Wait, no it doesn't. 3) ME is really condescending. She showed scientific pictures to the class and asked the class to guess how dilated the cervix was in those pictures. In one picture my husband guessed "5" and she laughed. Actually laughed. Then a doctor and a midwife also taking the class said they thought 5 or maybe 6. And she let it go. There was no answer on the picture but if a doctor and a midwife agrees, I think you should apologize to my husband for laughing at him. Twice in the first class I felt like it was better to keep my mouth shut than to offer an answer. And so I really did become mute. Oh, then after the class I cried. At least it wasn't on the first day of class when I threw up. 4) Everyone in the class is expecting a different birth experience. Some were using a birth center, some a hospital and just me and my husband were planning a home birth. I felt like she taught the class for those using a hospital and glossed over the other options. She would teach something oriented to being in a hospital and then as an after thought say how it would differ in a birth center or at home. So I felt really confused taking in all of this unnecessary information and trying to identify what actually applied to me. 5) ME is entirely unreachable by email or phone. She might reply a week later - Depends what her three kids have going on that week, you know? The contract for the class states that she would be accessible by email or phone throughout the class but that's laughable. 6) ME ignores the needs of pregnant women taking the class. I was signed up for the summer intensive course which is 8 classes that are each 3 hours long. She would take a break where people would gobble down some dinner at around 8:15pm. She didn't take any other breaks. The chairs are super uncomfortable but so is sitting on the floor. No pregnant woman can really sit still for 3 hours. By the end of the classes my back and stomach would be killing me. There was nothing I could do to make sitting for 3 hours comfortable. 7) ME never told us to bring the binder she handed out to every class. In fact, looking through it it seems like extra information (which it for the most part is) so I was never even sure what pages from it she might want us to bring to the next class. Stating that to the class would be really useful. Again, ignoring the needs of pregnant women (to not carry around an unnecessary binder of articles that barely matter). 8) The materials are very outdated. The creators of the Bradley Method should be embarrassed to show videos from the 1970s and videos where the words "civilized people" are uttered. 9) It is hard to wrap my own head around why this class caused me such extreme stress so bear with me. If you are a Type A person like myself, you like to feel in control. Now, with labor, there is a lot you can't control. I get that. But the idea that I have to hand over control to my husband or I will fail at my natural childbirth is really disarming. It caused me to feel physically ill to think that the success of my birth plan really has very little to do with me and a lot to do with how well my husband interprets my needs. 10) After quitting this class we decided to purchase Hypnobabies. Hypnobabies puts me squarely in control of my ability to completely relax and treats my husband like the support person that he is. It is a way better fit and apparently what ME used herself!

I had a session and it was definitely interesting. I've heard about Reiki but didn't really know…read morewhat to expect during or after. I felt lighter for a few days. I would definitely try it again now that I'm a bit more informed.

First time doing reiki with alexa and highly recommend it. She is very professional and helped me…read moreout a alot. I was under a lot stress, and felt emotionally unbalanced and after my first session with her i feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulder, i have never experienced this type of energy before and for those of you who are new to reiki i stronly recommend it.

Reiki 1 with Brian and Mark was a wonderful experience. I was really glad to have given this a try,…read moreand learned a lot. There was plenty of hands on training, and I greatly appreciated hearing about the history of how Reiki developed as a practice. My motivation for taking the class was to get more tools to stay grounded and relieve stress, while staying in touch with myself. I feel like deepening my Reiki practice will continue to help me with this. Many thanks to the NYC Reiki Center.

Learning Reiki from Brian is a very special gift! His knowledge and experience is very impressive…read more His passion and intentions are so heart felt. The stories he tells about the history of Reiki are fascinating and gripping. His teachings are thorough and precise but delivered with fun and kindness. Probably the most exciting part about learning with Brian is that he was taught by John Harvey Gray and knew Hawayo Takata during her lifetime! So he is probably the closest you'll get to receiving the most authentic training under the Usui Reiki Ryoho Method :)