Hi, I’m Kristen.
I developed the MomBodhi approach from my background as Prenatal & Postnatal Corrective Exercise Specialist, Prenatal Yoga Teacher, ERYT500, and LYT(R) Yoga Teacher with a Masters in Exercise Science & Rehabilitation. I am a mother of 4 beautiful and crazy kiddos, so I’ve been there! Having experienced my own pregnancy aches and pains and postpartum surprises I became frustrated after being brushed off by doctors for having these “commonly normal” side effects that to me may be common but not “normal.” I wanted more answers for how to develop a strong dynamic body and heal conditions like diastasis recti and pelvic floor dysfunction. Now I bring what I’ve learned, experienced, and developed to you through Mombodhi! I look forward to meeting and supporting you and your holistic health on your pregnancy and postpartum journey.
Kristen Boccumini, M.S., ERYT500, RPYT, LYT(R), CES, PCES, YACEP
Kristen earned her 200hr yoga teaching certification in 2004 in a Kripalu inspired training, then completed her 300hr yoga teacher certification in 2007 with Shiva Rea through and the Samudra School of Living Yoga. Kristen studied with dozens of recognized teachers at workshops, Wanderlust Festivals, and Yoga Journal NYC Conferences in which she also volunteered, some of which include David Swenson, Sharon Gannon & David Life, Sadie Nardini, Ray Long MD, Leslie Kaminoff, Tiffany Cruikshank, and more.
Kristen studied heavily with Sean Corn and was inspired by Off the Mat Into the World. By organizing local events, most notably the Yoga for Unity Conference at Princeton Forrestal Village and Princeton University, she raised $22,000 for the Off the Mat Into the World’s 2009 Seva Challenge for Uganda, awarding her travel to Uganda with a group of twenty other fundraisers, Sean Corn, Hala Khouri, and Suzanne Sterling to support several charities and engage in humanitarian work, which is featured in the documentary film YogaWoman.
Upon returning home, Kristen continued her yoga training, and drawn to dynamic styles she completed Baron Baptiste’s Journey Into Power Level 1, and The Sannyasin’s Journey Level 2 trainings in 2013. Seeking more in depth anatomy-informed yoga to complement her prior trainings, later that year Kristen discovered Lara Heimann, physical therapist and developer of the LYT(R) Method, which is a functional movement evolved approach to traditional yoga.
After moving to Pennsylvania, Kristen’s local classes exploded with the combination of dynamic power yoga and functional strength, leading her to open her first local studio in 2016 with Anna Engels PhD, Jeremy Engels PhD, Mark Agrusti, and Ariel Xu. Their studio, Yoga Lab, teaches functional movement yoga based on the LYT(R) method. Through Yoga Lab, she offers classes, workshops, a 200hr Yoga Teacher Training, and with Mombodhi, an 85hr Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training.
Kristen’s strong yoga body went through the dynamic changes of pregnancy and postpartum as she focused on growing her family from 2014-2020, and now has four children, ages 7, 5, 4, and 1, two of which she birthed at the hospital and two with a midwife at home. The shock of recovery spurred her to learn more about pregnancy and postpartum and she earned her prenatal yoga teacher training at the Prenatal Yoga Center NYC in 2017. In support of her work in yoga and as an Instructor for The Pennsylvania State University’s Kinesiology Department, Kristen earned a Master’s degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Rehabilitation Science in 2020 from CALU. Here she also became a National Association of Sports Medicine (NASM) Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) and later completed the Prenatal Corrective Exercise (PCES) training with Sarah Duvall in 2021.
Kristen latest “birth” project is Mombodhi, bringing the accumulation of her experience and knowledge to others to empower individuals to uncover their inner wisdom and strength through movement in support of their time in pregnancy and postpartum. Kristen envisions Mombodhi as part of a larger movement to empower women to have agency in their experiences of childbearing, childbirth, and motherhood.