While I always admired Bruce Lee Kung Fu movies as a teen and smiled at the sweet, slow exercises of seniors in the park, never would I have thought that martial arts would be a major key to healing for myself and my clients. I am a former yoga teacher, Functional Nutritionist and Health Coach to high profile and celebrity clients, so I had all the answers, right?
Wrong! After experiencing debilitating COVID, Lyme and chronic illness myself, the internal martial arts such as Qigong at first were a way to build strength, as even standing upright was a challenge at certain times. Like when I experienced agoraphobia from the extreme vertigo and tachycardia that made walking around a busy city frightening.
When I was too dizzy to stand at times, I sat and visualized myself training in Kung Fu—before I’d ever stepped into a studio to train. Six months later, as a student, I found a mentor and guide in my teacher, Sifu Gary Tong, and began practicing Tai Chi and Qigong. Now I train in Wing Chun Kung Fu (Bruce Lee’s style), and it brings me immense strength and joy. Through it all, I learned that our mind is our most powerful healing tool and healing begins with the nervous system.
To my amazement I discovered the rich and profound healing impact of the 4000-year old Tai Chi and Qigong, based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles. These internal martial arts worked on my healing and nervous system regulation, a difference which became my lifeline. Now I am dedicated to sharing these practices, which I call Soulhakking, with a mission to share these ancient practices to help others achieve a balance of flowing energy to foster vitality in their lives.
First you might be wondering why something this ancient is being rediscovered now. What is creating the trend? The buzz comes from celebrities, medical studies and institutions that are revealing the health benefits. From Gisele Bündchen with her martial arts instructor/boyfriend who helps her “become the best version of myself,” and to studies of Qigong and Tai-Chi, such as conducted by The American Journal of Medicine, showing clear benefits to well-being, reduced anxiety, depression and chronic illness by altering the autonomic nervous system…voila! I was beginning to see that Internal Martial Arts is like the new yoga!
Driven by interest in physical fitness and an increase in chronic pain issues, depression and stress, it’s also not surprising that the martial arts have grown 30% in the past 10 years. In 2021 2.34 million people participated in mixed martial arts for fitness in the U.S. Even the famed Cleveland Clinic says of QiGong,“This ancient Chinese practice can reduce stress and help your body function at its best.”
Whether you’re dealing with Long COVID, autoimmunity, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease or dysautonomia, or stress and anxiety, these conditions often converge in how they disrupt the body: they trigger metabolic dysfunction. Surprisingly, many of the healing modalities overlap. It’s not about the label—it’s all about restoring systemic balance.
The postures and movements enhance inner organs, metabolism and energy pathways along with regulating the nervous system, build chi (life force energy) and create profound internal strength. Tai Chi and Qigong didn’t just change my health—they changed my life.
These ancient practices were key to my recovery…and most importantly, they worked best along with prayer and visualizations.
When I was overwhelmed with testing, nurses administering treatments at my apartment, my medicine cabinets full of supplements, all kinds of diets and rigorous physical therapy, my symptoms increased with the anxiety of it all and it became clear to me that “Healing starts with the nervous system.”
The more I practiced and healed, I decided to create a new way to offer wellness support for my clients with an online community. The result is soulhakker.com, an online platform dedicated to enhancing well-being through on-demand instructional videos, community support, and resources. So what is Soulhakking? If you took the growth of mainstream yoga over the past decades to soothe the soul and combined it with the passion of biohacking and tech methods attuned to inner peace, the result comes close to what Soulhakker is. At its root, it is an internal martial art practice and community dedicated to enhancing energy, well-being, mental clarity and inner peace through martial arts practices.
Soulhakker offers members on-demand instructional videos, community support, and resources focused on inner wellness and connecting to the soul.
- Daily Soul Series: A collection of videos designed to guide users through daily practices of Tai Chi and Qigong.
- Community Content: Access to a supportive community, and a library of additional resources on wellness and nutrition.
- Expert Guidance: Insights via interviews and podcasts from global health leaders and practitioners highly experienced in functional medicine, movement, mindfulness and healing.
- Discounted health coaching and retreat experiences with me! As a Functional Nutritionist and certified health coach, I bring my speciality in immune health, weight loss, digestive health, children’s nutrition, women’s health and complex chronic illness to support my clients’ goals.
Perhaps most stress-free, these practices can be done virtually, require no special clothing, mats or props. Just bring your desire to heal and let the energetic power of these ancient practices change your life!