DENISE MICHELE

My health journey is quite common, being a child of the late sixties. A typical diet would include a sugary breakfast cereal, peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a side of Tasty Cakes for lunch, after-school snack of Oreos and milk, followed by a “healthy” dinner along with, of course, dessert! So much sugar wreaked havoc on my energy levels and immune system. I recall that I was often so tired as a child that I wished someone would build a “conveyor belt sidewalk” from school to my house so I wouldn’t have to walk! 

Along with a nutritionally void diet, I was prescribed antibiotics for every tonsillitis and minor illness, including mild acne. By high school and throughout college I developed many physical ailments including chronic sinus infections, skin rashes and hives, ovarian cysts, and eventually severely debilitating acid reflux. In my mid-forties I was told I had the cervical spine of a seventy- year-old! Eventually I developed a gluten intolerance (undiagnosed for years). Always feeling tired and unwell, I sought the advice of medical doctors who typically prescribed a drug, or injection, which in turn caused even more issues.  No doubt, western medicine saves lives, but it couldn’t identify and treat the underlying causes of my illnesses. Chronic “lifestyle” diseases require a deeper look that most western doctors simply do not have the time, or will not make the time to diagnose and treat. 

Luckily, I found a few holistic practitioners who not only led me to wellness but also provided education, direction, and nutritional advice, along with recipes that worked to heal me from the inside out. I was so impressed, feeling better than I had during my entire life. I wanted to share this knowledge to help people heal and lead them to habits that would improve their health but I didn’t know how. Not being a medical professional, how could I help anyone? Even if I could, I realized that not everyone is ready to make the commitment to drastically change his or her lifestyle and a lifetime of bad habits. More importantly, I realized that treatment was personalized and not a one size fits all. So where would I even start unless I wanted to go to medical school which was not practical for me at the time. I stuck with my program for years, and through this experience, I stumbled upon Ayurveda. I  informally followed bits and pieces of the wisdom of Ayurveda for quite a long time. 

But even before that, while studying massage therapy and esthetics in London, England, I became interested in “alternative health treatments” such as aromatherapy, reflexology, Chinese herbal medicine, and skincare treatments that have just recently become popular in the United States. I learned meditation and practiced yoga while there. But what really planted a seed in me back then, was a book called Quantum Healing, by Deepak Chopra. It was a game-changer for me. It explored frontiers of mind-body medicine, and I was very excited and awakened by the subject. At that time, I wanted to return to the US and create a holistic esthetics spa with a café, educational classes, yoga and meditation. But unfortunately, timing is everything, and it wasn’t my time. I wound up taking a very different career path as a financial advisor. 

However, I always have been a voracious reader of everything spiritual and holistic, and learned as much as I could about alternative treatments and how to heal myself. Meditation and Reiki has had a significant impact on my life as well. It’s opened doors to spiritual wisdom and understanding that has deeply altered the way I live and feel about life and death. 

As it happens, all of the paths that I have travelled during my lifetime have led me right here. The cumulative effect of my experience and knowledge has delivered Ayurveda to me so that I may deliver it to you!  Ayurveda encompasses all that I believe to be true about healthy living. Ayurvedic medicine is a consciousness-based, personalized, holistic approach to health that is the most valuable body of knowledge for preventing disease that you may ever come across. It applies to everyone, and its application is not complicated. Just understand your unique mind-body constitution, apply the principles of nature that have been passed down for thousands of years, and enjoy an abundance of health.

I feel extremely grateful to have the opportunity to share the gift of Ayurveda with you, through my Ayurvedic Wellness Classes.  As a Certified Chopra Health Instructor, I invite you to join me in a journey to complete wellness- body, mind, and spirit!   

Light and Love, 

Denise