MY STORY

Many people have asked me how and why I created Stop and Breathe®.  The path illuminated itself as I began doing what was in my heart.  After spending many years studying yoga and meditation, what I am doing now is helping others find their breath and find comfort during stressful moments in their lives.

My journey into yoga/meditation evolved from my own back injury which led me to my first yoga class in 1997.  Though at the time, I didn’t know it, years later that injury seemed to be a blessing, as it led me onto this path.  A certified educator from the University of Illinois, at Champaign-Urbana, I wanted to join my passion for yoga with my teaching background and became certified to teach yoga.  I am a certified yoga teacher in the Himalayan tradition through Sarla Walter of the Lotus Yoga Centre, which was founded under direction of the Sri. Swami Rama.  I am also certified to teach through the Yoga Institute of Houston.  In addition, I am certified with the Yoga Alliance (E-RYT-200), a prestigious association of yoga instructors with intensive, comprehensive training.

In 2001, I founded Mind and Body Yoga and taught yoga classes, privates sessions, and parties.  Then, I was inspired by one of my students  who was diagnosed with breast cancer.  After working with her while she was receiving cancer treatments and surgery, she told me that she pictured me as ‘an angel on her shoulder breathing alongside with her’.  This was the impetus that led me to share this with other patients in a hospital setting.  I wanted to help people going through medical difficulties in finding comfort and inner peace.

Thus, in 2007, following my yoga teachings and my own experiences of helping myself and others cope with pain and stress, I founded Stop and Breathe® and implemented it at Highland Park Hospital and the Kellogg Cancer Center. This highly valuable relaxation and stress-reduction program has since helped thousands of individuals.  I work with patients going through surgery and chemotherapy by giving them breath guidance, relaxation support, and visualization skills.  I also conduct trainings and workshops to teach others how to become ‘Stop and Breathe® relaxation coaches’.

In addition, seeing the benefits of this program and the respect and support it garnered from nurses, patients, and administrators, I realized the same techniques that can minimize pain and discomfort and help an individual find a state of relaxation that leads to clarity of mind and thought can be helpful in other settings as well.  I decided to branch out and conduct workshops for corporations and organizations to provide these soothing stress management skills for their employees and members.

For a myriad of reasons, Stop and Breathe® is a valuable program for anyone going through stress, whether it be personal, occupational, or medical, and I am committed to sharing it with others to help them find a more healthful way to combat stress and find inner peace and wellness.