MY story
Adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals it. —MERRY BIRCHFIELD
MEET MERRY
In 2006, I was the victim of trauma. Bandaged up, bed-ridden, house-bound, and unable to take any pain medication, I felt completely powerless. My doctor helped me breathe my way out of relentless pain. A year later, the bandages came off, and I was able to move my body again. The effectiveness of pranayama (breath work) piqued my interest in yoga. As an avid athlete and dancer, I took quickly to the physical practice.
Shortly after that, as I was quietly practicing in the corner of a yoga studio in Los Angeles, someone approached me. “Teach me how to do what you’re doing.” Reluctantly, I told her, “I’m not a teacher; I’m just practicing.” This happened over and over again for a year. One day, a woman refused to take no for an answer. She stuffed a crumbled wad of cash into my hands, closed them, and said firmly, “No, I want you to teach me. Now!” Hoping it would send her away gently, I said, “I can’t teach. I don’t have a certification!” She persisted: “Then get it!”
“That’s when I realized that, maybe, I had something to offer, something people urgently needed, something they weren’t getting anywhere else. Teaching was a calling. Humbly, I heeded it.”
I started teaching the day I got certified. Soon, I was teaching up to seven sessions a day, sharing with students the secrets I learned in my own practice. Pain lessened, then disappeared. For good. Joy and strength returned. I reclaimed my well-being. So did they.
Word spread like wildfire. Referrals flooded in from psychologists, coaches, educators, doctors, physiotherapists, nurses, HR professionals, school counselors, pastors, and social workers.
Today, twelve years and over 8,000 classes later, I am known for helping my clients replace their life-destroying behaviors with life-giving ones. They are building new physical habits, new attitudes and mindsets, new relational strategies. They are reclaiming their power from pain—any sort of pain.
When you are ready, let’s outsmart harmful habits!