Dana D'Alesandro LaSota
IN HER WORDS
“My personal life experiences have meaningfully contributed to the development of both my process and my approach to movement wellness. I had spent my entire adulthood studying how the human body moves and how it can be more efficient. As a young mover from professional dancing to college athletics, I powered through my movement experiences trying to force the movement, however, I did not understand the embodiment of movement and how my body held stress of all kinds. This approach developed physical inadequacy, a tension filled body, and eventually mental and emotional floundering. As I matured, I became fascinated and educated with how the human body moves with ease, how we joyfully fuel it and how it affects us mentally and emotionally. Life's unexpected physical and emotional challenges forced me to approach how I think about movement, stress and nutrition on a deeper healing level.
In my forties, as a mother of four young children, a tear in my carotid artery resulted in a stroke. While recovering from this unexpected event, I had to listen carefully to become reacquainted with and understand my changing body so that it touched my emotional and functional frame of mind with a healthy attitude. It was during this critical period in my life that all of my knowledge and experiences came together with healing and clarity to inform and create
Power Thru Movement."
WHO IS DANA?
Dana D’Alesandro LaSota, MS earned her Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Dayton, and her Masters of Science in Developmental Movement from the University of Pittsburgh, specializing in Motor Learning and Control. She spent the early years of her career as a professional dancer in New York City and Pittsburgh where she learned and practiced variations of Somatic Bodywork from a wide range of teachers and disciplines. In addition, Dana is a Certified Health Coach with Dr. Sears Wellness Institute.
Dana's research and teachings as a Faculty Member at the University of Pittsburgh included proprioception, the body’s degrees of freedom, motor learning & control, motor development, movement education, and health & wellness. Dana coupled her studies with rhythm, structural imagery, somatic bodywork and nutrition to define her unique application of teaching healthy movement for the body and mind. Most recently Dana served as Adjunct Faculty and guest speaker at Slippery Rock University, where she was thrilled to present concepts regarding attunement and educational movement for the body and mind. Dana is a Certified Franklin Method® Fascia Trainer for the Lower Back: Fascia Fitness for Healthy Spine and continues her studies with The Franklin Method®.
In addition to PTM, Dana provides Developmental Therapy for Positive Steps Therapy. As a Development Therapist, Dana provides therapy within the context of natural environments using a coaching model to provide information, strategies, support and guidance to families, caregivers and educators related to enhancing skill development for children with varying needs.
Dana with Eric Franklin: NYC 2019
Dana’s 20 plus years of experiences as a dancer, choreographer, instructor, speaker, and educator includes work with Dance Conservatory of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh’s Kinder Kinetics program, New York City Public Schools, Jeremy Nelson Dance, Stephen Petronio Dance Company, Movement Research -NYC, Co-Founder LABCO Dance Company, Point Park University, The Pressley Ridge School for Autism, Kiddie Academy, Western Pennsylvania School for the Blind, and numerous other organizations.