Over the past decade, I have worked with a wide range of ages and issues. I have watched clients make remarkable progress, complete recovery from disease in some cases and/or effective changes in maintenance of a chronic disorder. As with any healing program, medical or alternative, you get out of it what you put into it. If you surrender completely and follow the suggestions offered, the benefits can and will be many.

I have grown to specialize in a few areas, some due to my own orthopedic issues with knee and foot surgery and low back injury and recovery, others have just found me and certain issues have been prevalent:

Low Back Pain/Injury

I am intimately acquainted with the pain and discomfort associated with low back pain -- I have suffered from herniated discs in the past, as well as slipped discs (spondylolithesis). I was told I needed a spinal fusion at the age of 37 and said "no, thanks." There's been no looking back since that time. This episode is what brought me fully into yoga therapy practice and training and lead me to write my book "Get Your Low Back on Track" and to create the audio CD.

Besides my 30-Day self-directed program, I do offer one-on-one sessions to help you get started and "back on track" as the title of my book indicates. This is my best program because you get my book and CD if you sign up for a 4 session package.  So, when I'm not around, you have some tools to use to help yourself.

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) & other Digestive Issues

The Ayurvedic practices and dietary considerations are very healing and cooling for this very uncomfortable "pitta" disorder. I have worked with many clients now who have learned how to manage this condition and in many cases bring their systems back to balance.

IBS literally means that you have too much fire in your belly!!  Fire speeds things up and that's not a bad thing, but in this case, it's extreme: food goes in and comes out much too quickly, as if it's burning right through you. Nutrients have no chance of being absorbed and you can become exhausted quite easily with this chronic condition.

PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

One thing that has been fascinating to me over the years is the connection of low back pain to IBS and PTSD. This is the beauty of Ayurveda -- when clients fill out all of their information, I can get the "bigger picture" and help find the root of the problem they are experiencing.

Many clients initially have come to me for their low back pain. In reading their histories, I discovered they also had IBS, ulcers or were colon cancer survivors. Digging deeper, all had in common a traumatic event in their past -- molestation, rape, or another violent crime, or being a witness to any of these events or a violent.

So, once the event is pinpointed, this all begins to make more sense. The first and second chakras are located from the tailbone up to the area around the belly button. They correspond to all of our basic primal issues of survival and safety -- belonging to the tribe or family -- and trust of self and others. Anyone who has been through a traumatic event has repressed anger -- this anger is the "fire" that shows up in the digestive tract and the lower back area.

My clients who have made a commitment to healing themselves from the inside out and surrender to this process have made amazing strides forward in their lives after years of living in terror and pain and lonliness. No one is ever alone. There is always a way.

The yoga therapy, Ayurvedic practices and Reiki have been the main components in their healing path and these are well-supported by any counseling/psychotherapy.

Anxiety/Depression

Pranayama is a great first line of defense in treating this very tricky combination. These conditions can often be a result of experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event and may be a bi-product of PTSD>

There is no pill that addressses an anxious mind and a depressed body or likewise, a depressed mind and restless/anxious body. The pills are either anti-anxiety or anti-depressant -- the anti-anxiety drugs calm you down, but you are sleepy most of the time and have trouble waking up; the anti-depressant drugs can pep you up, but then it's difficult to calm down your system when you want to sleep.

Breathing and gentle yoga movements and poses can stimulate and calm at the same time. I can offer a custom-made program for one or both of these issues.

Group classes can be a good complement, but if you are serious about managing and healing your condition, you must see me privately. I cannot offer individual suggestions within a class setting.

Neurological Disorders

(Alzheimer's, Dementia, Parkinson's, Stroke Recovery)

Because of my mother, I began working closely with Alzheimer's and Dementia patients at her facility. That has lead to private work with Parkinson's patients as well.

I also work with patients recovering from stroke. My father has been my greatest teacher in this. With the help of a wonderful music therapist, Aiko Onuma, we are helping my father communicate in spite of aphasia and nerve damage to his right side sustained in 2009. A speech pathologist in Japan is putting together a case study on my father, based on his documented and measured progress. We hope to use this to create a program to help many others with similar issues.

Spinal health and the breath are two key components of yoga therapy, allowing for healing and rejuvenation of the whole nervous system. The more oxygen that can be brought into the blood stream and the brain, the more healing is possible for the damaged areas of the brain.