Sarah Longacre
Chief Executive Yogini, Doula, and Instructor: Prenatal Yoga and Postnatal Yoga
Sarah Longacre, owner of Blooma prenatal & postnatal yoga and wellness studio, is a birth doula and yoga teacher who has nurtured, comforted, inspired and educated thousands of women on their pregnancy and mothering journeys.
Sarah has always been fascinated by the beautiful, round bellies of expectant mothers and finds joy in empowering them through this transformative time. For 10 years, Sarah has worked with pregnant women at yoga studios, hospitals, and in their homes. There is no greater joy to Sarah than helping women find the goddess within, to help couples connect more deeply on their birthing and parenting journeys, and to welcome babies into this world.
Thousands of mothers have passed through Blooma’s doors since it opened in 2007. Sarah and the Blooma team offer a haven of support emotionally, physically, and spiritually to women and their families. Now with three locations, Sarah is proud that Blooma is home to the best prenatal support in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. She looks forward to opening more Blooma studios around the country and inspiring mamas everywhere!
A native Minnesotan, Sarah completed her doula training in Portland, Ore. in 2001. In 2004, she journeyed to Santa Cruz, Calif. to train with Robin Sale, the founder of Whole Birth Yoga. Other influences in Sarah's approach to prenatal yoga and pregnancy include yogini Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, birth educator Pam England, and the many mamas who have welcomed Sarah to be a part of their birth journeys.
When Sarah's not at a birth or teaching yoga, you'll find her walking around Lake Harriet, eating at one of her favorite Linden Hills spots, or hanging with her awesome nephews Emmett and Oliver. She loves to travel and finds joy in teaching prenatal classes at other studios when she does so.
Liz Abbene
Instructor: Enlightened Mama Lamaze, Enlightened Mama Baby Care Workshop, Enlightened Mama Breastfeeding, New Mama Series
Liz is a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator and birth doula certified through DONA, and the creator of Enlightened Mama. Her passion for pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting began at a young age. She made countless visits to the labor and delivery unit where her mother worked as a nurse and visited many of the childbirth classes that her mother taught. Liz has spent years working with children, and with her own experiences as a mother, and now as a doula and childbirth educator, she just can’t get enough of mamas and their new babies! Liz absolutely loves sharing in the experiences with those embarking on this incredible journey into parenthood, and she believes that knowledge is the key to a positive experience during pregnancy, birth, and parenting. For more on Liz’s work and her philosophy, visit www.EnlightenedMama.com.
She and her husband, Chris, are the proud parents of three vivacious children.
Sarina LaMarche
Group Facilitator: Personal Renewal Groups for Moms
Sarina LaMarche is a Life and Wellness Coach with a master's degree in psychology. She brings more than 10 years' experience as a mental health professional to Blooma. Sarina is dedicated to helping mothers find energy, balance, and peace in their lives. As a mother, she knows the importance of nurturing the mind, body, and spirit. She finds balance in her own life by spending time outdoors and in creative pursuits. She is a Personal Renewal Group (PRG) Facilitator.
Amy Johnson-Grass
Founder of Health Foundations
Amy Johnson-Grass is a naturopath, nutritionist, midwife and mother. She was awarded her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, her Master of Science in Nutrition, and her Certificate of Midwifery from Bastyr University, the leading Naturopathic Medical School in the country.
Amy specializes in pediatrics and women’s health, with a specific interest in preconception health care to support couples with fertility problems and also for couples who simply want their child to have the healthiest start to life.
As a naturopath, her philosophy is to treat the whole person, finding the root cause of symptoms. She sees her role as an educator, someone who empowers patients to promote their innate healing abilities in conjunction with natural therapies. She identifies her patients’ personal health goals and focuses on individualized treatments such as dietary and lifestyle modifications, botanical medicine (herbs), homeopathy, nutritional supplementation, and craniosacral therapy.
As a midwife, Amy believes that birth is a natural process, and she trusts in the natural ability of women's bodies to birth their babies. Amy has training and experience in providing individualized, hands-on support throughout the childbearing year (pregnancy, birth, postpartum). She has expertise in nutrition, natural childbirth, breastfeeding, and early parenting. Amy is honored to be there to welcome new babies into the world, to serve birthing women and their families, and to participate in this miraculous part of the life cycle.
Amy opens a beautiful Birth Center on Grand in St. Paul in February 2010--home of Blooma's St. Paul classes! For more info visit www.health-foundations.com.
Angie Sonrode
Baby Sign Language Class & Workshop
New Mama Group (6-12 mo.)
As the oldest of four kids, Angie knew from a young age that children would always be a part of her life. When other kids were dreaming of being doctors and pilots, she was dreaming of being a mother. She now has a family of her own and feels strongly that working as a Doula and teaching parents is really just an extension of that dream.
Angie recieved herprofiency in American Sign Language (ASL) at the University of Minnesota and it is the only thing she studied that could really hold her attention. She has used ASL in the classroom with young children, taught parents and childcare workers, and used ASL with her own family.
Angie feels being a Doula is truly one of the greatest jobs in the world and considers it an honor to be invited to join a family on their birth journey, wherever it may take them. Helping moms breastfeed is another passion and Angie calls herself a shameless lactivist! Her kids have been nursed everywhere from Martin Luther King's memoriam to Graceland to the shores of Greece.
Angie also works as a Realtor, is on the Parents Advisory Council for ECFE and proudly serves on the board of the Childbirth Collective. She has been married to her wonderfully supportive partner Mike for 10 years and is the proud mom of three fantastically sprited children: Finn, Maeve and Birch.
Amber Spaniol
CPR & First Aid Instructor; Car Seat Safety
Amber Spaniol is a Registered Nurse who currently works at TRIA Orthopaedic Center in Bloomington, MN. In 2006 she became a certified CPR instructor through the American Heart Association. At that time she founded and developed the TRIA CPR program for all clinic staff, including medical doctors and nurses. She also teaches for the Park Nicollet Healthcare System.
Amber is passionate about education and preventative health! After the birth of her first Blooma baby, she collaborated with Sarah to provide CPR education to parents and all loving caregivers. In 2010 she became a Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and looks forward to working with more Blooma families.
Amber lives in Robbinsdale with her husband and two beautiful daughters.
Nicole Stecker
BYOB Yoga Instructor
Yoga has been a part of Nicole’s life, on and off, since first discovering Bikram yoga on a Texas winter day in 1999. She always came back to the practice as a way to connect with her strong body and mind. It was the pregnancy of her first child in 2008 that she found her prenatal yoga class at Blooma. She was hooked. Through yoga, Nicole found the strength and power to trust her body, and birth her beautiful baby the way she dreamed of. She continued on with BYOB classes with both her children. Nicole believes that through Yoga Bonding, mamas, partners, and caregivers, can truly connect with baby spiritually, mentally, and physically.
Finding her true passion, Nicole left her corporate career to study all things mama and baby. She is a birth doula, a certified Yoga Bonding teacher, and has begun the long journey to become a nurse-midwife. You can learn more about Nicole’s doula work at www.rockyourbirth.net
Nicole is living the dream with her husband Dan, and two children, Evelyn and Frank. They love living in Minneapolis, where they take advantage of all the city has to offer.
