Practitioners
MEET THE TEAM
At Centered Spirit, we help people with digestive & reproductive disorders, chronic pain, stress and everyday health with experts trained in:
Traditional Maya Medicine, Chinese Medicine, Nutrition, Corrective exercise, Yoga and more...
Alex Jackson
Emilie Jackson
Janet Lee
Shawna Patton
Amy Zoe Schonhoff
Alex is a Holistic Health Practitioner specializing in Traditional Maya Medicine who co-founded Centered Spirit – Cultural & Holistic Center. He is a graduate of the Massage Therapy Training Institute of Kansas City, MO. Alex is a certified practitioner in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy®.
His training also includes:
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Cupping Therapy
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Craniosacral
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Muscle Release Technique
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Reiki, Nutrition
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Prenatal Massage
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Chi Nei Tsang
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Holistic Counseling
Alex apprenticed with Dr. Rosita Arvigo of Belize and other praised Curanderos/as in Central America in the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy®, Maya Abdominal Massage, Herbal Medicine and Maya Traditional. While on a visit to Mexico he met another one of his teachers, Traditional Healer Rita Navarrete Perez of Mataxchi, Mexico who taught him the importance of the Temazcal for both physical and emotional healing. Rita has been a great mentor — further enhancing Alex’s psychosomatic techniques, ability to work with chronic illnesses, and knowledge of medicinal plants.
Alex visits Traditional Healing communities in Mexico at least once a year to continue his education. He also speaks at the University of New Mexico for their annual classes on Traditional Medicine without Borders.
For over a decade, Alex’s primary focus in his practice has been on traditional ways to heal the body and spirit through the abdomen. Proper balance in the core can resolve many physical ailments and emotional traumas. Alex sees the abdomen as the doorway to achieve this balance or “Centered Spirit.” Traditional Maya Medicine has been at the core of his work, often providing the missing link in healthcare for his patients. Alex’s passion is to bring this ancient healing wisdom to our modern world.
Alex treats acute and chronic health conditions in women and men. His treatments address menstrual/reproductive issues, digestive disorders, post-surgical scar tissue/adhesions, musculoskeletal pain and chronic anxiety/nervous system problems. For a full list of specific conditions addressed, please see the Traditional Maya Medicine page.
If you want to learn more about Alex and the techniques he uses, please call him at 816.225.9393 or email him at alex@centeredspirit.com.
Alex Jackson
LMT
Janet Lee
Lac, DACM, FABORM
Janet received her doctorate in acupuncture and Chinese medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego and is licensed in California, Missouri and Kansas. Specializing in women’s health and infertility, she is a Fellow of the American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine. (She is the only practitioner in Kansas to have earned this credential and the only one in Kansas City to have it as well). She combines Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture, herbs and other modalities) with modern technology and research to help couples create the family they’ve always wanted.
As a certified exercise physiologist and yoga instructor, she also enjoys treating sports injuries and orthopedic disorders (neck, shoulder, back, hip, knee and foot pain) and creating corrective exercise plans to help patients avoid future pain and injuries. She specializes in women’s health, infertility, and sports medicine.
Janet’s goal is to help patients feel better and improve their health so they can be at their best—their most “vital” self—for sports, work, family and life. She uses acupuncture, Chinese herbs, yoga, lifestyle suggestions and corrective exercise to address a wide variety of problems, including infertility, sports injuries, digestive disorders, allergies, anxiety, depression, headaches, PCOS, kidney disease and more.
In addition to fertility planning (natural and assisted), Janet also treats:
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Endometriosis
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Fibroids
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PMS / PMDD
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PCOS
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Pelvic pain
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Irregular periods
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Stress, anxiety and depression
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Recurrent miscarriages
If you want to learn more about Janet and the techniques she uses, please call her at 917.855.1579 or email her at info@vitalityholisticmedicine.com. You can also visit vitalityholisticmedicine.com.
Shawna Patton
Therapeutic. Fertility & Pregnancy Massage
Shawna’s career began in 2006 when she became fascinated with how the body functions and the concept of self-healing. She was intrigued by how the body held, coped, and released stress and/or pain. In 2014 she was pregnant with her first child. During the pregnancy she struggled with pubic symphysis pain and sciatic pain. Nothing seemed to help, and massage was a far cry from benefit at that point. The birth of her son not only changed who she was as a person but also where she wanted to go with her career or path. She knew there had to be a better way to support Pregnancy with Massage Therapy. Thus, Mama Bear Massage was created.
Since opening her practice, in 2017, she has expanded her knowledge and skills to not only specialize in Pregnancy Massage (with techniques to make it as comfortable as possible), but also in Fertility Massage. Our bodies change and shift many times during our lives. Her passion is to help women understand their bodies and learn how to meet their unique needs. She has created a Massage Therapy practice that focuses on you, the individual, and how you can continue to improve your level of comfort from home.
If you want to learn more about Shawna and the techniques she uses, please call her at 816.509.4008 or email:
shawnapatton@mamabearmassagekc.com. You can also visit mamabearmassagekc.com. You can also book your treatment online.
Emilie Jackson, MA
Health & Wellness Director
Tea Specialist
Kundalini Yoga Teacher
Originally from France, Emilie speaks English, Spanish and French fluently. She has also lived in five different countries including Portugal, England, and Mexico, where ancient healing traditions are still alive. After working in International Business and Marketing for more than 15 years, Emilie decided to pursue her dream of entrepreneurship. Together with her husband Alex, they opened the Cultural and Holistic Center in January 2017 where they now share their passion for health and wellness with the local community.
Emilie has a passion for cultures, traditions and rituals from around the world — especially tea rituals. She describes tea as being “as fascinating and complex as wine.” Visitors to the French Tea Room quickly find out that her enthusiasm for the Art of Tea is contagious. In a recent magazine article, Emilie talks about how her interest in tea began and describes the health benefits of tea rituals.
Emilie teaches classes about tea and herbs, as well as tea rituals around the world and their health benefits. She also oversees all the health and wellness classes held at Centered Spirit. If you are interested in being a speaker or holding a class at our Center, please contact Emilie at 816.225.9393 Ext. 2 or email her at emilie@centeredspirit.com. You can also visit emiliesfrenchteas.com.
Amy Zoe Schonhoff,
Mindfulness Education and Training
Amy Zoe Schonhoff (she/her/hers), is the founder of Mindfulness in the Heartland, a qualified teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, a certified practitioner of Advanced Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness, and a trained Mindfulness Educator for K-12 through Mindful Schools.
Amy's mindfulness practice spans over twenty-five years of personal exploration. Based on her own journey, she has found the practices and principles of mindfulness to be the most instructive and transformative approach to embracing this experience of "being human." As a result, she is particularly inspired to teach the skills of mindfulness to individuals and communities actively working to integrate and heal from personal and intergenerational trauma.
Amy will tell you she is certain of a few things...we cannot genuinely experience the joys of life without also accepting its moments of sorrow; because they are two faces of the same coin. Likewise, fundamentally, we are all naturally creative, resourceful, and house the answers to our innermost needs. Mindfulness can bring us home to these truths, time and time again.
It is her intention to inspire people to walk through life with a sense of deep reverence, fully honoring their moment-to-moment experience, bravely leaning into life’s challenges, relinquishing attachments to what “should be” for the sake of what is, and ultimately, living with a greater sense of equanimity—filled with kindness, joy, and compassion for themselves and others.
Amy offers mindfulness classes, workshops, and community practice opportunities for adults, teens and families. She also offers mindfulness training and education for corporate and non-profit organizations.
To learn more about Amy, her professional practice, and offerings, please visit her website www.mindfulheartland.com. Inquiries can be emailed to amy@mindfulheartland.com or call 816.812.4655.