Mind Shift Yoga, Wellness & Retreat
Our Mission
Mind Shift Yoga’s mission is to empower our clients to heal their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies by providing a safe and nurturing environment.
This is done by providing easily understood research-based information about physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body functions. We teach easily implemented activities to achieve significant results in physical fitness, healthy eating, mindfulness training, and energy healing. The result is that the client will Age Well.
Fundamental Beliefs
- Every person is a unique being. No one system will allow a person to achieve the ultimate health of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual body.
- Exercise, meditation, and mindfulness can be done anywhere and anytime.
- Energy is the essence of all living and non-living matter.
- The body will heal itself if given the proper nutrients, energy release, and sanctuary of the mind.
- Each person is in charge of their own healing path.
- Respect for each other and our environment will ultimately provide peace.
- Follow your heart. Let it go. God knows all.
What to expect during a class?
- Clients trust that the teacher will “do-no-harm.”
- Clients are successful because poses are achievable and explained in a manner that is easily understood.
- Clients understand how to practice yoga and meditation during off-mat activities.
- Clients listen to their bodies first, teachers second.
About - Daneen Meissner
My Teaching Journey
My journey to "Yoga as Therapy" was actually a journey back to my small-town upbringing. As a child growing up in a small farming community in Southeastern Wisconsin, I ate farm-fresh fruits and vegetables, bone broth soup, and wild game. However, as I matured into a professional businesswoman and mother of five children, I chose convenience food and no exercise as an everyday life practice. That lifestyle worked up until I was about 40 years old. At age 40, I found myself 10-15 pounds overweight, extreme adrenal fatigue, and extremely depressed. I was lucky enough to find myself associated with four other women interested in restoring their youth.
During this time, I found that I have a natural desire to learn how to keep my body healthy & saw notable results with adherence to a plan. I also noticed that a few of my coworkers were just as committed as I and did not achieve the same results. After achieving my 200 RYT Alignment Yoga certification in 2016, I decided to concentrate my practice on helping individuals learn what worked for their physical bodies, minds, and souls.
Knowing that a significant portion of a person's health is emotional & spiritual, I sought Reiki & Mindfulness Meditation certifications. In 2019, I went to the source of holistic health & studied in Rishikesh, India. At the Vedansha Institute of Vedic Science and Alternative Medicine, I earned a 300 RYT certification in Yoga Therapy. It was there that I learned the answer to "Why could two people eat & exercise in the same way and each has two different results?".
Armed with the answer, I now seek to share how to Eat Well, Sleep Well, Think Well, and Age Well! Note: "RYT" = Registered Yoga Training by Yoga Alliance. The governing agency for "yoga trainers in the USA." In total, I have received over 750 hours of training from Registered Yoga Trainers. Mind Shift Yoga’s mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment to empower clients to heal their bodies, mind, and spirit.
My Struggles with Low-Back Issues
I struggled with sciatica since becoming pregnant with my first child at age 20. After her birth, the pain went away but would reoccur whenever I would lift or carry something too heavy. As part of our wellness routine with my work friends, we ran 5k's and half marathons. After running my first half marathon, I committed to running a marathon in every state. My low back pain would rear its ugly head after my training took me over 8 miles. I then began seeing a chiropractor, getting regular massages, and performing yoga stretches to alleviate the pain. Once the run was over, I would stop all rehabilitation efforts on my back until I committed to the next run.
I tore a ligament off my sacrum during my yoga teacher training, performing a yoga pose. During the excruciating and long recovery, I became committed to rehabbing my low back. I had an MRI of my spine and was diagnosed with a bulging disc during this same time. I had a cortisone injection in my spine and went into physical therapy for 90 days. The rehab allowed me to function at about 70%, but I could live life using intense pain medication.
Utilizing my mindfulness skills acquired in yoga class, I slowly isolated what muscles were tight, what subtle movements would trigger the nerve pain, and researched how I could heal and strengthen the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Self-reiki was crucial in my daily life. Then in 2020, I discovered PEMF (Pulse electromagnetic Frequency). I have used this mat that consists of copper coils and a control device that sends varying frequencies to exercise my cells and allow them to regenerate and release inflammation. I learned that strengthening your core muscles out of alignment only makes your body more out of alignment. Relaxed muscles can be evenly strengthened, allowing bulging discs to go back in between the vertebrae.
My Commitment to Science in Yoga Teaching
I have always been the type of person who enjoys learning. For me, learning is physically experiencing the new activity, understanding the various perspectives on how the activity should be done from textbooks or scholars, and finally gaining insight from people who are currently performing the task under the direction of scholars. I then take this information and ruminate over all the knowledge. I then try to perfect the activity to be most beneficial to the end-users. I have applied these same principles in my 27 years of managerial accounting and my yoga wellness programs.
My knowledge-based teaching comes from reputable websites that are actual research Universities, including Cleveland Medical, Harvard Medical, Boston University, etc. My favorite books on nutrition are "You Are What You Eat" by Dr. Gillian McKeith, "Ayurvedic Cooking for Westerners" by Amadea Morningstar, and "Fight Disease with Your Fork - Food Cures" by reading Digest 2009.
It is important to note that all information I share is not medical advice. I do not advocate that a person stop taking or doing what a licensed medical practitioner has prescribed. I hope that clients work with their medical doctors from a more educated perspective. The information is free for all who want to become advocates of their wellness journey.
Finding Connection to My Soul
Have you ever executed a plan and discovered it wasn't exactly what you were looking for? That there was still something missing, something not jiving. I became much calmer through my yoga practice, breathing practices, eating based on my body type, and being mindful of my everyday life experiences; my blood pressure, cholesterol, and sugar levels were aligned, and at age 55, I was on no over-the-counter or prescription medications.
During COVID, I relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida. I began participating in an emotional development series by Arline Rowden and discovered that I had an internal pessimistic view of myself, my family, and others. Outwardly, I expressed optimism and gratitude and believed in happily ever after stories; however, internally, I struggled with grief, fear, betrayal, and embaressment. I was operating under the premise of fake it until you make it. I discovered that I played that game well but with a cost to my soul.
As I began to unpack my emotions and accept them, I realized I was denying being liked by others. I chose to do what others expected, not what truly made me happy. I then stumbled upon another modality called Access Consciousness, and I placed where we can live in non-judgment of ourselves and others. In December 2021, I added an emotional awareness and development component to my teachings. It is now called Mind Shift Coaching.
I am still a work-in-process but armed with the knowledge of yoga, mindfulness, pranayama, and Access Consciousness. I can navigate life healthily.