Hello friends!
My name is Corey Pierce and I have started this fund because I will be starting a 200 hour yoga teacher training program this fall and I would like your support. This is an accredited â??Yoga Allianceâ?? program taught by one of the most skilled and recognized yoga instructors in Portland, Oregon, Tiffany Cruikshank (http://tiffanyyoga.com/). This training will cost $3,490 and I will need assistance and sponsorship to make it happen.
I am 25 years old and I have been practicing yoga for the past two years and over that time I have realized considerable health benefits. I am pursuing this accreditation to further my understanding of yoga, and to teach and inspire others with blood disorders. On a deeper level I am doing this training to contemplate, appreciate, and find acceptance for my own body.
I have severe hemophilia and as a result of this disease I have sustained more injuries than I can possibly count, leading to arthritic joints. I realized at a young age that I needed to do something to try and stop the cycle of injury but it was a struggle figuring out what exactly I should do. After little success with stints in swimming, cardio, and weights, I opted to have a surgical ankle fusion performed in January of 2009 to alleviate chronic ankle pain. At the time, the pain in my ankle was making it extremely difficult to do anything aerobically. To rehabilitate from this surgery I decided to try yoga in hopes of regaining muscle in my atrophied leg. Not only have I been able to bring strength back into my leg, but I have been able to significantly decrease the number of injuries I sustain even though I am considerably more active now.
Yoga has also been an extremely valuable tool for maintaining my psychological well-being. Graduating from college into a recession was very difficult but I was able to remain balanced and bring meaning to my life while I searched for work by challenging myself in class to improve my â??asanas,â?? or poses in yogi speak. I feel strongly that I eventually found work, in part, due to an optimism that would not have been there without yoga in my life.
Since beginning my yoga practice I feel as though, for the first time, I may be able to live a long and healthy life. It is because of this that I feel so strongly that yoga needs to be taught to everyone with blood disorders. While interning with Bayer Heath Care (Bayer Pharmaceuticals) I pitched the idea for â??Living Fit: A Joint Effortâ?? (http://www.livingwithhemophilia.com/webapp/livingfit/), a program designed to encourage and give instruction on safe physical activity for kids with hemophilia. I am proud of having had a hand in this program, but there is much more that needs to be done to help people with blood disorders live long and healthy lives.
Upon graduation from this program I hope to begin teaching and sharing what I have learned to people with blood disorders young and old. I will do this through summer camps for the young and support groups for the old. While there are many people who have championed the practice of yoga for hemophiliacs, most of them have been nurses, doctors, physical therapists or other health professionals. As a living example of what yoga is capable of, I believe there is a great deal of value in the message being delivered from someone who has lived it. I hope to inspire and encourage in a way that health professionals simply cannot.
I have sent this letter because I believe you (or your organization) may be able to help me in this pursuit. Any donation would be a huge help towards this cause. If you are willing to support my education please respond to this letter and I will put you in contact with those responsible for the training.
Sincerely,
Corey Pierce
I am 25 years old and I have been practicing yoga for the past two years and over that time I have realized considerable health benefits. I am pursuing this accreditation to further my understanding of yoga, and to teach and inspire others with blood disorders. On a deeper level I am doing this training to contemplate, appreciate, and find acceptance for my own body.
I have severe hemophilia and as a result of this disease I have sustained more injuries than I can possibly count, leading to arthritic joints. I realized at a young age that I needed to do something to try and stop the cycle of injury but it was a struggle figuring out what exactly I should do. After little success with stints in swimming, cardio, and weights, I opted to have a surgical ankle fusion performed in January of 2009 to alleviate chronic ankle pain. At the time, the pain in my ankle was making it extremely difficult to do anything aerobically. To rehabilitate from this surgery I decided to try yoga in hopes of regaining muscle in my atrophied leg. Not only have I been able to bring strength back into my leg, but I have been able to significantly decrease the number of injuries I sustain even though I am considerably more active now.
Yoga has also been an extremely valuable tool for maintaining my psychological well-being. Graduating from college into a recession was very difficult but I was able to remain balanced and bring meaning to my life while I searched for work by challenging myself in class to improve my â??asanas,â?? or poses in yogi speak. I feel strongly that I eventually found work, in part, due to an optimism that would not have been there without yoga in my life.
Since beginning my yoga practice I feel as though, for the first time, I may be able to live a long and healthy life. It is because of this that I feel so strongly that yoga needs to be taught to everyone with blood disorders. While interning with Bayer Heath Care (Bayer Pharmaceuticals) I pitched the idea for â??Living Fit: A Joint Effortâ?? (http://www.livingwithhemophilia.com/webapp/livingfit/), a program designed to encourage and give instruction on safe physical activity for kids with hemophilia. I am proud of having had a hand in this program, but there is much more that needs to be done to help people with blood disorders live long and healthy lives.
Upon graduation from this program I hope to begin teaching and sharing what I have learned to people with blood disorders young and old. I will do this through summer camps for the young and support groups for the old. While there are many people who have championed the practice of yoga for hemophiliacs, most of them have been nurses, doctors, physical therapists or other health professionals. As a living example of what yoga is capable of, I believe there is a great deal of value in the message being delivered from someone who has lived it. I hope to inspire and encourage in a way that health professionals simply cannot.
I have sent this letter because I believe you (or your organization) may be able to help me in this pursuit. Any donation would be a huge help towards this cause. If you are willing to support my education please respond to this letter and I will put you in contact with those responsible for the training.
Sincerely,
Corey Pierce
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