Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Hawks.
Katie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’ve been interested in holistic health and wellness since I was a young girl. I remember reading the book Gifted Hands by Ben Carson, M.D. when I was in middle school and thinking that I was going to be a doctor someday. I was fascinated with the human body and inspired to help people feel better. In high school, I traveled to Babson College in Massachusetts for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine where I was able to learn from medical doctors and observe several live surgeries! While I did not go on to become a doctor, my passion for health and wellness only grew.
After struggling with weight gain and chronic pain from a low back injury for years in college and anxiety, I began to read every book I could find on medicine, nutrition, stress, healing and health. In 2008, I enrolled in massage therapy school in Chicago. This decision opened the doors to the world of wellness for me and also began my own journey of healing. I started practicing yoga, studying acupuncture and worked for the next nine years in rehabilitation clinics. I became a certified Yoga Instructor, Health Coach and Reiki Master with over 1,000 hours of yoga training.
I am currently a Yoga Therapist in-Training, studying in a rigorous 800-hour teacher training program through Inner Peace Yoga Therapy. I now work full time empowering others on their journey to wellness in private practice.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not! I started my own business in 2014, renting space at a local wellness center. In September of that year, I was hospitalized due to a heart arrhythmia. I spent several weeks in multiple hospitals with teams of doctors not being able to tell me what was happening to me. Overnight I developed a myriad of debilitating symptoms. I lost more than 30 pounds in two months. I was tired all the time, and I was unable to work, exercise or do any of the things I thought made me for months. Emotionally, I felt like my identity was gone. I felt like I couldn’t contribute to life. I had nothing to give anyone and, having to lean on others, that I was only taking.
I wondered if I would ever be the same again, and starting my own health and wellness business was out of the question at the time. I was devastated. Yet, the human spirit perseveres! There was a blessing in this illness that dominated the next two years of my life. My self-care became better than it ever had. I began to really practice all these healing modalities that I had been studying for years. It was especially during the challenges of chronic illness that I drew from the ancient healing system of yoga to reduce and manage symptoms and shift my attitude around suffering.
I adopted a holistic approach to my own recovery incorporating yoga and meditation, massage therapy, nutrition and herbs, acupuncture, chiropractic care and homeopathy, nature and working on unhealthy coping mechanisms or thought patterns. I learned how to slow down!I am tremendously grateful for all the teachers on my path. Today, I’m medicine free, having treated disease by treating body, mind and spirit. The empathy and compassion I’ve learned from times of struggle is invaluable! Paying it forward, I’ve dedicated my life in service to others on their own healing path.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Katie Hawks Yoga and Wellness story. Tell us more about the business.
Katie Hawks Yoga and Wellness provides private, group and corporate Therapeutic Yoga Instruction, Reiki and a variety of Massage Therapy modalities in Crete and Chicago, IL.
I believe that yoga has the power to transform lives, one breath at a time. I want people to know that you don’t have to be skinny, flexible or be able to touch your toes in order to practice yoga. This practice meets you exactly as you are at any given moment. My hope is that everyone feels comfortable and safe in this space. I create a safe environment for people to discover their bodies, their heart’s deepest longing, and I customize each session to meet the individual’s needs, tailoring the session to your body type, physical ability, energy level and mood.
I incorporate a wide variety of techniques in my sessions and classes, including mindful movement, breath work, massage therapy, Reiki energy work, mudras, sound therapy, aromatherapy, guided meditation and relaxation… Whether we integrate one or all of these modalities into your program, I will work with you to help you reach your goals.
Katie Hawks Yoga and Wellness specialize in holistic stress and pain management, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and other medically related stress conditions.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Holistic health and wellness is booming! People are overweight, overworked, struggling with their well-being, taking pharmaceutical medications so that they can sleep and are stressed out. Yet people are also empowered and are educating themselves to take their health into their own hands and are making better and informed choices in regards to diet, movement, sleep, breathing, stress, etc.
Yoga has been shown to help fight everything from addiction and lower back pain to diabetes and heart disease, in addition to boosting overall well-being and stress relief. Massage therapy can be helpful for anxiety and insomnia. My hope for this industry is that there’s an emphasis placed on accessibility. That all are welcome. That insurance begins to cover some of these services and that yoga classes are inclusive to everyone regardless of body type, ability, etc.
Pricing:
- 60 Minute Therapeutic Yoga Session $80
- 60 Minute Massage Therapy Session $70
- 20 Minute Cupping Therapy Session $25
- 60 Minute Corporate Yoga Class $150
Contact Info:
- Address: 575 W Exchange St Crete, IL 60417
- Website: www.KatieHawks.com
- Phone: (219) 678-7419
- Email: katie.hawks@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kthawks/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMindfulMoment1/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/katie-hawks-yoga-and-wellness-crete
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