Alexandra Gelny

Wellmother.
Alexandra became a certified Wellmother Teacher in 2016.
From 2011 to 2022 she assisted and translated for Suzanne in many of her workshops and translated her book “Beautiful Birth” into German in 2016 (“Bereit für eine glückliche Geburt”, Pirmoni Verlag, 2016).

Alexandra has taught complete cycles of the Wellmother Maternity Shiatsu Certification Courses in Italy (2016-2023) and Germany (2020-2023) and has co-certified Wellmother Maternity Shiatsu Practitioners.
She has also taught various Wellmother courses for shiatsu practitioners and midwives in Austria, Italy and Switzerland, covering topics such as women’s health, breast health, fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and extraordinary vessels.

Sei-Ki.
Alexandra has also been practising Sei-Ki, the Way of Touch, since 2011, first studying directly with its founder Kishi Akinobu, then with Kishi Kyoko, and since 2017 with Alice Whieldon.
Sei-Ki has deeply inspired and influenced her work: “Sei-Ki has always had a strong connection and fundamental influence on my work with pregnancy. Sei-Ki is about giving undivided attention to how life is expressing itself in this very moment and connecting with ‘what IS’. This is the foundation of every touch in a treatment. And this is paramount in supporting a mother in pregnancy and connecting with the baby in the womb”.
She has been supporting other practitioners on their Sei-Ki path in workshops since 2023.

WombWork.
In the workshops she now holds on topics related to women’s health, pregnancy and life transitions, Alexandra integrates her Wellmother expertise and her passion for Sei-Ki, as well as her practical experience (working with clients, teaching, study trips to Japan) and further education (such as traditional midwifery approaches, embryology, trauma-sensitive coaching, Katsugen Undō, Seitai) in workshops for shiatsu practitioners and bodyworkers.

Alexandra is based in Vienna with her own Shiatsu and Sei-Ki practice. She teaches internationally in German, English and Italian.

Alexandra’s story

My interest in working with pregnant women began when, during my Shiatsu training at the ESI (European Shiatsu Institute) in 2005, I happened to practice on a heavily pregnant woman in a class. I was simply overwhelmed by the intense resonance of life I felt with the mother and the baby in the womb. From that day on, I wanted to learn more about how to support women and their unborn babies in a holistic way with Shiatsu, and more about Western and Eastern wisdom about fertility, pregnancy, birth and beyond…

This is how I found Suzanne and Wellmother – such a holistic, profound, resourceful, creative work, with a passion for life and the potential of touch. Learning from and working with Suzanne has been an intense journey of discovery, understanding, reflection and development that has influenced not only my work but also my relationship to motherhood as a whole.

In addition to my bodywork, I offer life coaching to my clients. I find this helpful as a complementary support, especially for my clients who have been trying to conceive for a long time.

Relevant professional qualifications

ÖDS Certified Shiatsu Practitioner | ÖDS Certified Shiatsu Teacher
Certified Wellmother Maternity Shiatsu Practitioner | Certified Wellmother Teacher
Sei-Ki practitioner and Sei-Ki facilitator
Life and social counsellor | Business coach