Angela Davey (Koppens)

I always tell people that I’m a CPA in my “real job”.  I’m part of a senior management team with direct reports.  It’s fairly stressful.

Many years ago, I realized that this was not my passion.  As you can see by My Philosophy and My Personal Mission Statement, my passion lies in wellness and balance.  I was so active in university that most people who didn’t know me thought I was in the Phys. Ed. program.  When I started working full time and sat at a desk…a lot, I suffered from a bulged L5 disc.  In order to rekindle my passion and make my way back to a healthy body after those first few years of a post-university sedentary lifestyle, I joined a gym and then became a Fitness Instructor.  That was back in 1999.

My love of movement led me to my first yoga certification in 2003.  I became a Personal Trainer in 2009 and a Healthy Eating and Weight Loss Specialist in 2014 to “round out” my credentials.

Since then I’ve become an E-RYT500 yoga teacher which encompassed 500 hours of “classroom” training plus countless hours of research, reading, preparation and homework for said training.

Realizing that stress was prominent in my life, as well as everyone else’s, since 1999 and most especially over the last 15 years, I’ve studied, researched and put into practice ways to keep stress in check and find a healthy balance for optimal health and well being – mind, body and spirit (whatever that means to you).

These practices include meditation, mindfulness, positive energy focus, spending time in nature (aka nature therapy), journaling and Reiki to name a few.  All of these practices are now in the forefront in studies on stress management and wellness.  CEO’s, sports teams and first responders are using forms of mindfulness and meditation for mental rehearsal and readiness, to cope and to respond not react.

This journey made me realize that I had pain and stress related to unresolved trauma.  And so did a lot of others.

Therefore, part of this learning, self-discovery and growth led me to obtain my YogaFit for Warriors certification – Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TSY). Everyone has been touched by stress, illness, grief, addiction, PTSD; trauma touches us all in some way whether personally or by affecting someone we care about.  Trauma Sensitive Yoga brings another modality for treatment in addition to talk therapy and allows for a reconnection, grounding and somatic release.  The more tools we have, the greater the chance for healing.

In 2019, I became a Certified Coach Practitioner (now upgraded to a Certified Master Coach). Being a Stress Management and Wellness Coach is helping myself define my path to meet my goals.  Seeing how this has helped me, I know I want to coach others to make achievable life transforming goals.  Part of becoming a Stress Management and Wellness Coach is sharing with large groups or public speaking events.  What a great way to share knowledge!  If even one person takes away something positive then that makes for a better world.