“Alicia is the best!

By the time I first met Alicia for individual yoga therapy, I had already been struggling for several years with chronic joint pain. I had sought the help of many supposed healers: an internal medicine doctor, orthopedists, physical therapists, chiropractors, a traditional Chinese medicine bonesetter, a shiatsu practitioner, and massage therapists. While I probably learned a little something useful from each of them, all of them hurt me in one way or another. Alicia is the only healer I have seen who did no harm. Furthermore, she has been tremendously helpful! Most practitioners seem to function using their own school of thought’s algorithm for going from symptom to diagnosis to treatment. And when that treatment doesn’t work, they either just keep on doing it anyway or they give up and say they have nothing else to offer.

Alicia is different. She seeks a systemic understanding of what is going on. She examines the individual’s dynamics from biomechanical and energetic systems perspectives. She draws upon her deep understanding of structure as an engineer; of breath, attention, and movement as a yoga therapist; and of anatomy from her meticulous cadaveric studies. Plus, she is always growing in her learning and in her integration of new perspectives and techniques. She combines this interdisciplinary savvy with kindness, patience, and humility. Alicia listens! If I say something doesn’t feel right, she asks for more detail and adjusts the position accordingly. In this way, she meets you where you are and develops an individualized, nuanced approach to healing. I met for sessions with Alicia about once a month for a couple years. If you have the opportunity for that kind of long-term work with her, I highly recommend it!!

In contrast, I have met with another highly trained yoga therapist who had incisive analysis, but lacked the emotional openness and receptivity of Alicia. Alicia honors the experiences of pain, of ease, of stagnation, and of movement – how these are felt in the mind-body-spirit. You need your healer to be someone you feel safe with. You have to be able to allow yourself to be vulnerable physically, emotionally, and spiritually, if you are really going to be able to break habitual patterns of attention and movement. You need to feel safe, because to release tension is also to release fear.

Thanks to my practice with Alicia, I have learned how to manage my condition a lot better. I understand it better. I am in pain much less often. And when I do feel pain, I am better equipped on how to respond. When I started meeting with Alicia, I was a medical student and now I’m a doctor. I have encountered many healing practitioners of various types, so I know it is rare to find somebody with Alicia’s qualities as a healer. She is a real role model, and I aspire to be more like her in my own work!

Thank you so much, Alicia. May you and your healing practice flourish. Namaste.”

“At one point, I used to consider Alicia Suárez a bit of a magician, that she had so many “tricks” up her sleeve that constantly awed me throughout our relationship as client and doula. But I realized pretty quickly that they weren’t tricks; they were skills.

During our labor (I went natural), Alicia anticipated the location of my pain, the positions that might help, tapping into her savvy of prenatal yoga and acupressure. She could tell where I was hurting and when I couldn’t take it anymore, which was when she introduced a new tool or a new massage technique or a new affirmation that ultimately got me through the most intense parts of it all.

Many people think that a doula’s main job is to help a mother during labor. And while I don’t exaggerate when I say that I couldn’t have had the kind of labor I wanted without her patient hand by my side, two of Alicia’s most valuable assets are her listening skills and her ability to take what she hears and apply them to her vast knowledge set. She listens carefully to the situation at hand, asks thoughtful questions, processes all the information, and then takes what she knows about the topic at hand to offer no fewer than two to three solutions that might help. She helped assess and lay out possible solutions before our birth when we were debating whether or not to induce. She pointed out alternative options to helping our newborn gain weight in the days after her birth, options that we were far more comfortable with than formula feeding. As a lactation counselor, she assisted with breastfeeding techniques once we brought our daughter home, and suggested tips to help my husband bond with our daughter.

Having Alicia as a birthing companion during as well as before and after we welcomed our daughter into our lives was invaluable, and I couldn’t imagine doing it all without her patient support and keen insights. She’ll always be a magician to me.”

“We were looking for a doula to help support me through an un-medicated labor in a hospital setting, and Alicia was a perfect match for us. We received careful guidance from her during our prenatal visits, and she helped us plan for this birthing experience in view of our concerns and expectations following a history of precipitous labor. Alicia is an attentive listener, and she was very perceptive while working with me to help overcome a growing anxiety towards the circumstances in which our baby was to be born. When the big day arrived, she was truly an advocate representing my needs at the hospital, and she supported our decisions in a most reassuring way.

In addition to being incredibly patient and good-humored, Alicia was quite resourceful. Not only did she have an arsenal of labor support tools - various massagers, hot and cold packs, a birthing ball to name a few - she also arranged for an acupuncture session at my hospital room on a very short notice on a beautiful Saturday evening when most acupuncture offices are normally closed. When the labor progressed and seemed to be all but unbearable, Alicia earnestly listened to what helped me the most to get through contractions and applied pressure and massage just in the right areas for as long as was needed. By the end of the experience we all got quite a workout, and my husband and I were very grateful that we had Alicia by our side!

Communicating with Alicia via texts and email between sessions was very easy. She offered to take care of our toddler in case I had to rush to the hospital and my husband and on-call person were not nearby. Thankfully, everything went smoothly and our friend was available when the time came, but knowing that Alicia would be there for us set my mind at ease. We would sincerely recommend her services as a doula - she is a wonderful person, and it was a pleasure to share this birthing experience with her.”

“I highly recommend Alicia for her doula services. Alicia is very professional and was always easily reached when questions arose both before, during, and after I had the baby. She follows through with pertinent resources for any question or concern I had. I felt prepared and excited for the birthing process based on the knowledge and tools for laboring she shared and we practiced together. She helped so much through my labor and I had a wonderful experience bonding with my newborn directly after giving birth with her guidance. She made the transition into caring for my newborn easier with lactation help during the follow up visit and made sure I took care of myself as well. She is a lifesaver!”

“Working with Alicia was a great experience. She was very prompt with emails and messages and when labor started, she was very responsive and offered a lot of support over the phone for the early stages. When labor intensified, she came right over and immediately her presence changed the whole dynamic (in a good way). She suggested a change in music to soften the mood and helped with everything from massage techniques to timing contractions. We ended up with back labor and if it wasn’t for Alicia we wouldn’t have been able to labor at home as long as we did. At the hospital she was extremely helpful in being our advocate and helping to understand everything the doctors suggested. Her postpartum visit was also easily coordinated and she was very helpful with breastfeeding advice. We are very grateful and thankful that she was part of our son’s birth and wouldn’t only recommend her to anyone, but we will be calling her when it’s time for number two!”

“Alicia was wonderful. She was an emergency sub for our doula & from the moment she showed up, she was on our team.

She knew that the state law had recently been changed regarding the required shots & medicine being given to babies within the first hour of life (it’s now 6 hours). This allowed us 1 & 1/2 hrs. as a new family for our daughter to breastfeed & for my husband & myself to get skin-to-skin time. At our request, Alicia used different essential oils at points throughout our labor & pushing process in order to help calm, soothe, & progress labor.

When my temperature spiked in the last hour of pushing, the doctor warned that if I didn’t give birth within the hour, they would need to give me antibiotics. While I was confident my temperature rose because my body was doing what it was supposed to do (laboring for my child’s arrival), the antibiotics would have kept our daughter in the hospital for 3-4 days. Alicia went to work with a cold cloth on my forehead, ice chips for my mouth, & massaging my feet with a cold pack. She successfully brought my temperature down & helped us avoid a longer hospital stay for our daughter.

My heart rate rose before pushing, worrying the medical staff. Alicia, knowing that foot massages relaxed me, went to work with her massage experience & brought my heart rate down. (She has a WONDERFUL touch.) She supported all of our decisions along the birth process, was a pleasure to have on our team, & even though our original doula did a post-natal visit, Alicia came & visited us as well to check how we were doing. Her experience as a lactation consultant alleviated pain & helped us find the position we use the most (& which allows the two of us the most sleep!).

We so appreciated Alicia’s positive attitude, knowledge, & her support throughout our daughter’s birthday. Thank you, Alicia, for your care.”

“Alicia was just wonderful! It was my first pregnancy and there are so many different paths to take when it comes to childbirth. Alicia was able to provide us with information, resources and education on the various options so we could decide what was right for us. She supported all of our decisions and made the process much more manageable so we could focus on the exciting parts of pregnancy. As a postpartum doula, Alicia was very helpful in getting us settled in as new parents. She helped us gain confidence in changing, feeding, bathing, etc. She is kind, caring, patient, and was great with my son! I would recommend her to anyone looking for a true partner pre and post delivery.”

“I was so grateful to have Alicia’s support as my doula. Our prenatal sessions were full of information I needed and helped my partner and me feel more prepared and calm about labor and delivery.

I had a long and challenging labor with a very large baby and Alicia was there for me every step of the way. If Alicia hadn’t been there, I would have ended up with a very different birth experience. She helped me stay focused, helped my baby get into position, helped us navigate the hospital, and helped my partner support me. Her calm expertise and ability to adapt as the situation shifted was exactly what we needed.

I highly recommend Alicia - I can’t imagine having gone thought this experience without her.”

“Alicia is a wonderfully caring woman who asked the important questions and provided us lots of resources to help us plan for our birth. She is also extremely well prepared and punctual, in addition to being comforting and nurturing. With her help, we were able to labor at home for just as long as we had wanted to, and then go on to have a natural birth at the Birthing Center we had chosen to deliver at. ”

“Alicia was a wonderful source of support and information during the preparation for childbirth right through the delivery of our daughter. She is extremely well-informed as well as being very open-minded, not pushing you at all towards any decision. Rather, she make sure that you are aware of all the decisions you will have to make and what your options are, so that when the day arrives, you can be completely in control of your birthing process.

When our birth plan changed dramatically due to a complication, Alicia spent two hours educating us on induced labor and what I needed to be prepared for, something I surely would not have gotten from my Dr. And during the delivery, she continued to help me understand what I was experiencing and what I should expect in the next stage.

I’m so pleased that I had her with me, it really made the process far less scary, and I was truly able to enjoy it!”

“Thank you for being such a wonderful prenatal yoga teacher! This summer, while being 7-8 months pregnant, I was going through a really stressful job transition. I always looked forward to the Tuesday night class and really felt it helped “reset” my mindset and attitude every week and focus on the happiness and amazement of having a baby.

Thank you for being such a kind, cheerful, and peace-inducing teacher!”

“I chose to work with Alicia because I felt as though she listened to me. She was not concerned with her opinions or feeding me information but was more concerned with me, and how she could assist me in achieving my desired birthing experience. It was her calm disposition during our initial phone conversation that drew me in and her confidence and eagerness to assist that sealed the deal.

Alicia played an amazing supporting role as I labored at home, using the birthing ball, tub, toilet, stairs, with a mixture of massage, aromatherapy and a blend of relaxation techniques, guiding my husband while reassuring me that I was always the main priority.

When it was time to leave for the hospital we were fully prepared for everything except the 1.5 hr drive into the city thanks to morning traffic! Again even in a confined space, which I’ll admit wasn’t at all easy to bare, Alicia did everything she could to keep me hydrated, comfortable and as relaxed as possible. Upon arrival at the hospital, I was 8 cm dilated!!!

At the hospital, Alicia guided me with ways to progress my labor. She was sure to explain everything that was happening, while giving me pointers and instructions the entire way. A few short hours later and after 20 minutes of pushing through each wave of a contraction my daughter was born!

As a first time mom we approach childbirth with great excitement, apprehension and fear! Yet, during my entire labor I don’t remembered ever loosing focus or control. Alicia tried every coping method until something worked! I think her back pack had every labor goodie you can think of to make you as comfortable as possible. By no means am I saying that labor was easy or everything I had expected, but with the support and energy of Alicia, I was always reminded of the task at hand and how beautiful of a process it is. With Alicia by my side I had the most amazing birthing experience and was able to accomplish my goal of an epidural free birth, in a hospital setting. Thank you so much Alicia! I couldn’t have done it without you!”

“The birth of my third child was truly one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. Alicia helped me tremendously to prepare for the experience. During our prenatal visits, she picked up on something that was holding me back that even I didn’t realize. We talked a lot about how I felt about giving birth and my fears about the pain and how I might act during labor. After talking to her I was able to let go of those fears and from that point on I looked forward to the birth with excitement and I felt completely prepared.

During labor, Alicia was a calm, confident presence. She used some massage techniques that helped with the pain. I felt very supported and safe. I was able to stay calm and relaxed, in almost a meditative state. I was not afraid of the pain and knew that I could handle it. After I gave birth, the midwives complimented Alicia on how well she supported me. Everyone benefited from her being there.

I am so grateful to Alicia for helping me have such a great birth. This was my third baby and I finally think I understand how women managed to give birth without the benefit of modern technology for many millennia. The presence of strong, confident, supportive women is definitely an important element. I would highly recommend Alicia to any woman in search of a labor doula.”

“Alicia helped me achieve my goal of natural childbirth. From the beginning I could tell she had the warmth and caring personality that a doula requires. The first two appointments covered a refresher crash course of childbirth prep - what to expect, ways to deal with pain, techniques to relax and different positions to try during labor. We hired a doula because my husband was traveling a lot for work and in case he was away when I went into labor I would have a support team on call. This in fact happened and my husband did not make it in time for the birth of his son.

I contacted Alicia when my water broke and kept her in the loop of how rapidly I was progressing. She met me at the hospital just at the moment I was highly considering getting an epidural. With her presence, it was a calming effect. I forgot about the epidural and was able to work through the contractions. During active labor she was by my side coaching me into different positions, giving me the support and confidence to make it thru. From water breaking to birth was 9 hours and I could not have done it without her by my side!

She stayed with us for some time to try to achieve a latch, but our son was born with tongue tie. She guided me through manual expression and spoon feeding so we did not have to go the route of formula bottle feeding. Her tips, advice and videos she sent me before greatly helped me achieve this second goal of breast milk only. I continue to receive lactation counseling from her to achieve a proper latch. And I am confident that with her help, this second goal will be successfully reached.

I highly recommend Alicia for anyone looking for an amazing doula. She is warm, affectionate, caring person. Thank you Alicia.”

“After interviewing a few doulas I knew right away that Alicia was the one for me. Alicia was patient and went over and above what I could have expected, answering all my questions and providing me with endless resources. Alicia exudes warmth and kindness which I loved but equally as important in the doula I chose, was her intelligence. It was a great comfort knowing her experience and expertise was there to guide me along.

This was my first pregnancy and I had many questions. In the two pre-birth appointments she provided me with all the tools to prepare me for the upcoming delivery. She took the time to answer all my questions and always left me feeling calm and confident and with her assistance, I felt prepared for what was to come.

I had planned for an unmedicated vaginal hospital birth but that is not what happened and at 41 weeks I was induced. Alicia was there for support as I saw my plan of an unmedicated birth disappear. After the induction I ended up with an epidural so did not get to labor with Alicia like I had imagined but she was there offering words of comfort. When the pushing began Alicia was there by my side holding my leg. In between pushes she was massaging my shoulders and when the pain was unbearable I could hear her encouragement to keep going and it helped me stay calm. I was luckily able to deliver vaginally and had a healthy 8lb. 12oz. baby girl.

After giving birth Alicia was there for a couple hours while I held my daughter skin to skin, encouraging me when the baby began to root for the breast and helped me relax and nurse. Between her encouragement and trusting my instinct, nursing was sucsseful. My daughter is now 7 weeks and although my birth was not what I had “planned” we are all healthy and I have an exclusively breastfed, happy baby which for me makes my birth experience a great one. I couldn’t imagine doing it without Alicia and would recommend her to anyone looking for a doula.”

“We recommend Alicia to everyone. She was amazing - so helpful during the labor, we can’t imagine what it would have been like without her. It was our first time going through this process, and we wanted a natural birth, with no induction and no epidural.

Alicia met us at the hospital and she was immediately a life-saver. Early labor we could handle, but as the contractions became more severe, Alicia knew exactly what to say, and where to apply pressure, to give Fariha relief.

At the L&D floor of the hospital we were given a seat in a full waiting room, and told to fill out pages of paperwork! Fariha at this time was in agony in the women’s bathroom, with Alicia helping her, while I completed the paperwork and tried to get the doctors and nurses to realize that we needed help. I cannot imagine how screwed we would have been if we hadn’t had Alicia with us.

Alicia was able to help Fariha during the contractions and also to guide and comfort us - she had been through this many times, she knew exactly how Fariha was doing and how the labor was progressing, and this on its own is invaluable - I had never helped a woman in labor, and it seemed like a constant emergency.

Eventually the labor became so intense that Fariha finally broke down and said “I can’t do it, I need help, I need the epidural” but Alicia told her, “It’s OK, you already did it, you are already past the hardest part, the baby is right there, you’re almost done” and sure enough there was his head, and pretty soon after that, the doctor swooped in and delivered our baby. The doctor was fantastic, but was only there for 10 minutes before the actual birth! Alicia was with us the whole time, coaching us and making sure we were getting the birth that Fariha had wanted, which we did: Fariha delivered naturally with no induction and no medication, and our baby was perfectly healthy and beautiful.

Thanks Alicia for helping us get exactly the birth we wanted!”

“I am so thankful to have had Alicia as my doula. She was a crucial part of achieving the beautiful birth I wanted.

She is extremely knowledgeable, positive and caring. From the beginning I felt comfortable and connected with her. I was able to talk to her about my fears for labor and she was supportive/encouraging to ease my concerns.

During my pregnancy she provided/recommended resources for my specific needs (she provided articles and books to educate myself, and recommended a great chiropractor for my baby in posterior position).

She was always prompt to respond to my emails/texts/calls and was so attentive through out my pregnancy and labor. I especially appreciated how she encouraged and supported my husband through out our experience. She was very organized and professional to work with. Overall, I highly recommend Alicia and will forever be grateful for the help she provided me!”

“Alicia, I am so very grateful to have had you as my doula. Your emotional and physical support and care throughout my baby’s birth was truly priceless to me. You were a calming presence through the labor, I really felt we had a great connection.

You worked wonderfully as a team with me, my husband and my midwife, welcoming my baby into the world peacefully and happily. I feel so fortunate that you were part of the birth of my daughter. Again, thank you! ”

“My husband and I cannot recommend Alicia Suárez highly enough as a doula. Her warm, gentle guidance before and during the birth of our daughter was invaluable and contributed significantly to my successful VBAC. She made an effort to understand our concerns and dynamics from a holistic perspective. During the birth, she intuitively knew when to provide support and when to step back. Her training in yoga therapy and Body-Mind Centering enabled her to offer help with prenatal and postpartum aches and pains - much appreciated!”

“Many of the people I know did not have good labor and delivery experiences. I knew early on in my pregnancy that I wanted to avoid repeating their experiences and the best way to accomplish this was to hire a doula.

Alicia was an easy choice - extremely experienced, practical in her approach, and most importantly, she put us immediately at ease. Her guidance during our prenatal visits allowed us to envision both our ideal delivery scenario and to calmly understand the process and manage it until she joined us.

In the hospital, I had a very relaxed labor the majority of the time as thanks to Alicia’s suggestions, we created a very Zen atmosphere with a diffuser, soft lighting and calming music and every time I got close to my limit, Alicia was right there with a new suggestion to help manage the discomfort. With her help, I labored naturally for over 24 hours (first at home then in the hospital). When my labor stalled, she helped me honor my initial goal of doing everything within reason to have a natural birth. Although I did require a round of Pitocin and an epidural, I did so on my terms and it was as limited as possible and Alicia helped me feel good about my choice. In addition, she helped my husband and I advocate for our wishes even when the medical staff became more aggressive, and alone, we likely would have folded from our lack of experience, especially when the first couple times we pushed back, they did not listen to us.

She was also right there as my daughter was born and helped her to begin to nurse. It was one of the most magical moments of our lives. Alicia’s help continued after we left the hospital when I had problems nursing that multiple lactation consultants could not address, and with her guidance, I was back on track in no time. I highly recommend Alicia for her skill and compassion - births are wonderful but lively and you really want the best with you as you navigate through the experience and Alicia delivered that on every level.”

“Alicia was recommended to us by a friend and we were incredibly happy with how ideally matched we were from the start. Alicia’s calm and collected manner was exactly what we were seeking as nervous first-time parents. My husband and I are both athletes and Alicia’s approach resonated with us like that of a seasoned coach. We had two prenatal visits with her and her collaborating doula - Renee (who was also awesome) - which really helped to prepare us for labor and baby’s first weeks. When I actually went into labor - a week ahead of schedule - I was able to put the techniques they taught me into practice immediately and labored at home fairly successfully. I didn’t realize that my labor progressed rather quickly and when I called Alicia for advisement, her professional guidance helped me stay calm and get to the hospital at the ideal time. Alicia adapted rapidly to the changing circumstance and joined us in the delivery room at the hospital. Her arrival made all the difference during active labor. The medical staff immediately deferred to her judgement, left us to labor without much intrusion, so that I was able to labor standing up (i.e. gravity assisted) until the baby essentially crowned. Alicia provided the exact type of mental and physical support and encouragement that I needed in the moment. As a result, I was able to have a natural and unmedicated birth thanks to her steady guidance. She worked as a team with my husband and even reminded us to take photos of the first moments when we were to delirious to remember. She also helped to ensure that our baby started breastfeeding correctly and navigated us through the first week of her life. I highly recommend Alicia to anyone interested in a holistic, grounded and empathetic coach. I will be forever grateful for her firm guidance, patience, good humor and expertise.”