About

Don't wait for the perfect moment. Take the moment and make it perfect.

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Certifications, Degrees, and Other Important Things...

MY STORY...

Breathe First. Live Better.

Breathe First Yoga and Wellness

-Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach

-Master of Education from Boston College

-Certified in Classical Eclectic Hatha Yoga

-Certified in Children's Yoga

-Trained in Silver Age Yoga (Chair Supported Yoga for Seniors)

-Completed Elise Miller's Yoga for Scoliosis Training, Part I & II

-Registered with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT)

-Registered as a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider

-Certified/Instructing Yoga since 2008: Private Classes, Small Group Instruction, Large Group Instruction, Corporate Yoga,

and Yoga Workshops

OK, so you know that yoga teacher who can do an effortless handstand,

meditate for three hours a day, and smile as she comfortably drapes her foot around

the back of her head like a human pretzel?

Yeah, that's not me.

I started taking yoga because I needed it, not because I was "a natural". I come from a LONG line of worriers and workaholics. The chronic worry and stress manifested in me as digestive issues (unexplained vomiting, acid reflux, GERD, and IBS), fatigue, tremors, acne, skin rashes, joint pain, brain fog, endometriosis, thyroid issues, vitamin deficiencies, weight gain, mood swings, and infertility. Yup, chronic stress is BAD news!

So, way back in my 20's, I stumbled upon a yoga class at the local gym. I started practicing once a week when I was working as a Special Education Teacher. It was a game-changer. For one hour a week, I would be rid of my pelvic pain and my worries. It felt SO amazing! Unfortunately, I was slow to make the connection between yoga and living a better, healthier life. When the stress increased, and my job got even tougher and more time consuming, yoga was always the first thing to "go". Who had time for THAT? I had work to do!

Now when a person has stress, chronic pain, an uncooperative digestive system, and a perceived lack of time, it is only natural that she looks for outlets to provide comfort. If I knew then, what I know now, those outlets would have been yoga, or cardio, or even some much needed SLEEP, but at that time in my life, I felt like I deserved something "more". I totally earned my pint of Ben and Jerry's that I would scoff down after eating pizza with butter smeared all over the crust. It was my RIGHT to stay up late to watch just one TV show without paperwork in front of me even if I had to eat the entire Costco-sized bag of chips to stay awake. And when I came home from work and needed to make a quick and easy supper, it was perfectly cool to make 2 boxes of day-glow orange mac n' cheese for only two human beings. Sometimes I'd even buy the kind with the minuscule freeze-dried pieces of broccoli in there and call it my health food for the week. Is it any surprise that my jeans kept getting tighter and that my stomach always felt like crap?

Well, this led me down a new path...The "Try-Every-Diet-Ever-Created" Path. There were the Slim Fast Shakes, The Lemonade Diet, The Old (and the New) Mayo Clinic Diet, The Cabbage Soup Diet, Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Vegetarian, Paleo, Lean Cuisine, The Zone--you name it, I've probably done it. Do they work? Yup. Until they don't. And then you're back where you started, feeling like a failure because you couldn't stick to all the impossible rules that some "expert" decided were going to be a magic fix for you.

(Hint: Diets don't really work long term. Plus, maintaining a healthy weight is not all about the food.)

Fast forward a couple decades. After losing my mom, going through three rounds of unsuccessful IVF, having multiple surgeries for endometriosis, and going through a really stressful year of teaching, my husband found a new job, so we moved to the West Coast. He wisely suggested that I pursue a new career--one that would be less stressful and just as fulfilling as my teaching career had been.

So, I became a Yoga Instructor. I walked my talk and practiced taking time out to re-energize and re-boot. I stretched, strengthened, balanced, breathed, meditated and I taught others to do the same. And it felt GREAT! I loved helping others find pain relief, an inner calm, more energy, and most of all...joy!

But there was still a little piece that was missing. I was continuing to stuff myself with junk foods, tossing and turning at night because my stomach hurt...my sleep was a mess and it made me feel very slug-like during the day. I needed a mindset change and I just wasn't able to do it on my own. I needed a little push.

As fate would have it, my best friend called me up one day and invited me to join an online group that worked on nutrition, hydration, sleep, stretching, exercise, and mindfulness practices . This group held me accountable. THAT was motivating. And despite the fact that the program didn't exactly fit MY specific health needs, it still helped to me realize the basics of what had been holding me back from making sustainable changes toward better health....

I needed support.

People need someone in their corner--someone who listens without judgement and who can pick them up and put them back on the path of wellness so they don't get stuck in that downward spiral that's lined with junk food and negative self-talk. People need someone to stand by them for the long haul...not just a 10 day detox, or a 30 day cleanse, or even a six week program. For most of us, it took decades for us to develop our current mindset, habits, and health issues...they aren't going to go away with a quick fix. It's going to be a journey. It will take work, but it is SO worth it.

This is why I became a Health Coach.

I want to be that missing piece for you--that person who gently pushes you to be honest with yourself, to help you listen to your inner wisdom, and to coach you to actually DO the things that you know will make you feel amazing. I want to inspire you, motivate you, make it fun and easy for you, and hold you accountable to do what you, in your heart, know you can do. You can live a better, healthier, happier life.

If you'd like to finally start moving in the right direction, and you're ready to make a commitment to yourself...reach out. Schedule a free 50 minute consult with me. I'm here to listen.

I can't wait to meet you!

Sincerely,

Dorothy Corrigan

M. Ed., E-RYT, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach