Christine Harbison

That's a good question. I was not an athletic kid, as a matter of fact, I was the chunkiest and most uncoordinated snowflake in my one and only ballet recital. I then moved on to jazz (or modern dance) class... The "modern" dance we were learning was "The Hustle" ah, the 1970's.... Anyway, I couldn't skip and was still wildly uncoordinated; I didn't last, it wasn't for me, and I moved on.  

 

What I did find was Music in the fourth grade, and that was my place, my passion. I loved music so much I went to college for music education. So it totally makes sense that i would become a yoga teacher/therapist, personal trainer, and health coach, right? 

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Somewhere in my 30's, I became curious about yoga, so I took Yoga 1 at the Himalayan Institute in Buffalo, NY. I had a feeling yoga was more than poses or physical practice, and wow, was I right. I practiced on and off for a few years; at that time, I was a manager in a restaurant, and if you know anything about food service, free time is not a thing, but one night the corporate guys came in and locked the doors and told us we were done and the restaurant was closing for good. 

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Sad, yes, but there was a new door opening wide, and I was ready to go through. I was really getting into "being healthy," and I will admit at that time, it was not "good healthy" I got caught up in a lot of fads and stuff like that. So I decided it was time to go back and get educated I became a Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach and got my 200-hour yoga teacher certification. This is followed by 500-hour yoga teacher certification, Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist certification, Orthopedic and Clinical Exercise Specialist certification, Ayurvedic Health Counselor certification, and of course, Yoga Therapist certification (graduation date 1/14/2024)

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All of this training and education taught me that every one of us needs a different approach to health and wellness, so I take all my knowledge and work directly with you, the client, on your plan. I could make a plan and tell you to do it, but if you're not ready or you hate what's on it, you're not going to do it, and we will not reach your goals. I used to see it all the time working in a gym; Spinning is the best class ever! You burn a million calories; stop wasting your time in Zumba. Here's the thing if riding a bike is, eh, to you, but you love dancing, guess where your calorie burn is going to be? You'll be unhappy in spinning and not put any effort in, but in that Zumba class, you'll be all smiles feeling like the next J.Lo.

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Stress management is another one, do this, take that, have a glass of wine you'll be fine. Our stress stems from the impressions on our own mind, the sensory information coming in, and our reality is clouded by all the things we see and hear. We live in our heads and make up wild scenarios about everything, especially things we can not control, and our stress level goes up. The only person we can change is ourselves, it's time to take back your life and give yourself the well-deserved me-time, and health coaching can help you achieve that. You have the time, let's find it. 

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