Tess

My name is Tess. Panic attacks and constant anxiety were once my waking nightmare every day.
The Yoga to Heal Panic course was a major cornerstone in my personal journey to heal and revive my mental health.
After meeting Deb Wertz at an ultimate low point in my life, I learned how to rebalance my life starting with yoga, meditation and mindfulness. With patience and empathy, Deb showed me how these concepts and practices could help me to unlock doors within myself and heal in simple steps that led to even bigger outcomes then I could imagine.
Through practice, breathwork techniques (pranayama) and learning more deeply about certain concepts within, I started to reclaim my life again. It helped me start moving in a more positive direction little by little. I began to be able to curb my panic attacks through breathing, and overall understand my panic better and start to heal the way I needed to.
I had suffered from anxiety and depression at different points throughout my life previously, but always managed to turn it around somehow. Then there came a time when too much had happened for me to turn it around as easily as I had in the past. I was dealing with the sudden deaths of loved ones in my life just after other recent traumatic and violent events that had brought me to move home.
I snapped.
My mental, physical and emotional health were all deteriorating beyond recognition and I just could not get myself together.
I could no longer function normally. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t sleep. I could hardly leave my room. I would have panic attacks if I ever tried to go to public places. I would blackout. Things as simple as driving, or going into a store to buy an item became a huge obstacle. I couldn’t connect with my friends and family. I couldn’t handle new people. I didn’t have a healthy appetite. I was 30 pounds underweight.
Therapy and pharmaceuticals were not helping the way I needed. I completely detached from myself, my loved ones, and the world around me. I needed help.

I needed an active, safe space with practical effective ways to combat my panic and anxiety. I needed to rebalance my body and mind, and to be reminded that there was still a spark inside of me despite how burned out and broken I had felt. Deb helped me find that space first in her class then later within my own self.
Studying specific concepts within yoga allowed me to understand my panic condition better and how my mind was affecting my body. Pranayama and meditation are things I still do every day to help me redirect my life in a positive way and be more active with yoga on my own.
There is no magic cure-all for anything but there are helpful resources that can help redirect you down a better path in life. For me, the Yoga to Heal Panic course influenced me in a way that encouraged me to take back control of my own mind and body and pushed me to find a normal again.
Mindfulness, breathing and exercise are truly underestimated tools. Yoga is a life-long practice of discovering how these tools can be applied in ways that can make a world of difference in the self.

Fast forward to 2020, normal is out the window for the whole world! I can honestly say that I feel the course has guided me to re-stabilize myself and prepare for the chaos of the world at present. I am grateful to have found stability in myself again and what I have learned will always stick with me. It has now been over 2 years since my last panic attack. Even during a time that is so crazy and uncertain, I still feel like I have my footing and can get through this too.
There are still plenty of things I struggle with day-to-day, but now am able to manage my panic and anxiety to a point where it no longer ruins my life.
If you have ever felt like this and feel desperate to find a way to re-engage your inner self and take back control, I highly recommend the Yoga to Heal Panic course. It offers tangible methods to tackle panic and anxiety in an effective way.
Deb is an amazing person and an engaging teacher who understands mental health on a deep level and can guide you to the tools you need to heal.