Testimonials

I have a number of medical conditions Parkinson’s Disease, Breast Cancer (hopefully cured), Arthritis in the hips, knees, shoulders and hands, extremely High Blood Pressure, and Vertigo.

Parkinson’s causes me to have tremors and to become easily fatigued; it can also affect my balance

As a disease, Parkinson’s also causes me to have several NERVOUS SYSTEM related problems such as nervousness, anxiety and depression.

I worry about many things such as Will my Cancer return? Will I be nervous today? Do people like me? Will it snow tomorrow? etc. I have learned through my 1-on-1 Yoga Therapy Sessions that these are “the stories” that I tell myself and it starts or reinforces a cycle. I can also become depressed sometimes for what seems to be no explainable reason.

The weekly 1-on-1 Yoga Therapy Sessions helps me cope with all of the above problems by teaching me that I have “Yoga Tools” that help me become AWARE of the signs that arise with knowledge that I can take action to help myself.

Two of the most powerful things that have helped me is learning there are many different ways to breath and the way I place or hold my hands can help me. I have found that when I place my hands in a certain way and use the tools I have learned, before I know it, the shaking that I feel from my Parkinson’s begins to slowly stop in both my hands and in my stomach. Through the things I have learned in working with Will through Fifth Element, I am able to enjoy and re-create that feeling over and over and that is nothing that my medication or any other thing has been able to help me do. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful that is.

The names don’t matter, what matters is that these yoga tools and skills have been an amazing gift to learn. I have been more than amazed that health & wellness through my Yoga Therapy begins with my BREATHING – with awareness of the quality of my breath, how I am breathing and where I sense the breathing.

Will says “YOGA & MEDITATION are the CESSATION of the FLUCTUATIONS of the MIND”. Those are all the highs and lows of the way we think. The way that I think sometimes. . .

Sometimes little sayings come to me, like “you don’t know what you don’t know – until you realize you don’t know it”. That’s the mindfulness part. You have to be able to step back and see the bigger picture. That’s been a great help “so I don’t add fuel to the fire” so to speak or let the train become “a run-away train”.
Parkinson’s Disease is a nervous system disease. Correct breathing methods, meditation, and yoga increase my serotonin and dopamine levels, have helped me with focus, and has also helped me build muscle strength, and improved my balance. Balance in the sense of standing and balance in my thinking. As a person living with Parkinson’s this has been so important to me.

As a Cancer Survivor and person living with Parkinson’s, I just can’t tell you how much the 1-on-1 Yoga Therapy Sessions have helped me on a daily basis. I have learned how to relax, have less anxiety, and at times when I’m done, helped raise my spirits because I have ways to handle stress better. I have also learned that there are things that I can do that have helped me with blood pressure, eased my Arthritis symptoms, and definitely had an impact on my Parkinson’s tremors and extreme fatigue.

Doctors often say to “Do Meditation, Practice Yoga or Look into Mindfulness” as a way to help me with things like anxiety and elevated blood pressure, but for many people, the challenge is finding somewhere and someone knowledgeable to help you and the second is paying for it. I am so grateful to Will and Fifth Element for the work they do to provide help me overcome those challenges.

My hope is that sharing my story and writing this Testimonial will in some small way express to others the health and wellness benefits that Will and Fifth Element has brought to me and so many others. My wish is that this will help spread the word throughout our community and beyond to encourage others to VOLUNTEER or DONATE money because they can help so many more people but they don’t have the people or financial resources at the moment.

I believe that Will is truly an angel who has been brought to me. Without his yoga guidance offered through Fifth Element, I have little doubt that my quality and outlook on life would be in a much different place.

Sincerely,

One-on-One Yoga Therapy with Will has not only been enjoyable, it has been enlightening. In my life, being treated for Stage 4 Cancer, I had felt stuck with stress and tension. Yoga has helped me decompress, de-stress, and relax mentally, emotionally and physically. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started.

I finished my first session with a sense of calm and peacefulness that I had not felt in sometime. Will had put me at ease and explained the connection between Yoga and Meditation. We started with deep breathing and meditation just simply sitting in a chair. In short, it was an amazing experience and I knew that I would continue to benefit from these 1-on-1 sessions..

I have come to more fully appreciate the power of Breath and that Meditation begins with breath awareness and that Yoga is a form of moving meditation. Will has adapted our sessions to my needs and patiently introduced me to more breathing and poses and has always been careful to make sure that I am comfortable and safe in learning new movements and postures. Despite some of the challenges faced during treatment, Will is able to consider symptoms, side effects, and how I am generally feeling whenever we get together in a session.

I always feel that Yoga is accessible to me and never extend too far because Will has many adaptive tools that help me in my practice such as blocks, chairs, blankets, bolsters, balls and many other items that I have seen but not yet used. The bottom line is that Yoga is about feeling good.

Yoga has helped me slow my world down and focus on the moment and be more present. I am hopeful that over time with a mindful Yoga practice, that I can recover, find new energy, and be stronger.

I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in February, 2016. After my first chemo treatment, I saw that One-on-One Meditation and Yoga Sessions were being offered to Cancer patients by Fifth Element Health & Wellness at Saint Vincent Cancer & Wellness Center.

I had never practiced Yoga or meditation before, and was interested to see how it could help my symptoms while going through treatment because I was experiencing symptoms in every part of my body, including nerve and muscle pain, migraines, trouble sleeping, intestinal issues, and overwhelming anxiety to name a few.

Because this was 1-on-1, each session would focus on my needs. Will has taught me that gentle yoga and meditation are miraculous tools for transformation, and healing through mindfulness to identify what my body needs. On days when I was feeling low, I would visit Will and he’d help me meditate while in a restorative pose. He taught me the importance of finding my breath, which has helped calm my anxiety on many occasions. He taught me how to practice meditation at home, which gives me a sense of calm through mindfulness.

When I combine meditation and the three-part breathing, or other breathing or yoga postures Will has taught me, I am less anxious and it is easier to fall asleep at night. As my treatments ended and I am recovering, I have been able progress in my practice of yoga learning proper alignment and new poses which build muscle strength and help with my balance.

I am so grateful for everything Will has done for me, and I highly recommend 1-on-1 Yoga Sessions to anyone undergoing Cancer treatments. He is a kind, patient, thoughtful person with a calming presence, and I truly believe he has helped save my life.

I was diagnosed with Cancer and am currently still in treatment and experience Neuropathy (Nerve Pain) in my hands and feet. For over a year, the 1-on-1 Yoga Sessions have meant so much to me and have been empowering and integral to my journey to recovery.

Although group classes are offered to Cancer Patients, Survivors, and their families at my local Cancer Center, I found it was often difficult to follow or adapt to yoga movements in the group class. 1-on-1 Sessions have been customized for me. I have learned different breathing methods that Meditation and Yoga. The sessions are personalized so that each Yoga movement is right for me and I feel that it has helped me progress and improve the range of motion limitations I experienced after radiation and surgeries. The Yoga Nidra meditation sessions are just amazing.

When my body has been in pain, experiencing the effects of Neuropathy, I look forward to working with Will because somehow, after the meditation sessions, I feel less or no pain after the meditation is over. I usually say, I can’t believe it and don’t know why it works but I feel energized, rested, and my brain becomes less foggy. I can’t thank Fifth Element and Will enough. Thank you so much, Will!!

I was diagnosed with Cancer and am currently dealing with Hormone Therapy. As if that isn’t enough, I have been working through personal family & life-event issues as well. Yesterday afternoon I went to Will for my yoga/meditation therapy and told him exactly how stressed I was.

I had the “stopping the car to throw up my breakfast on the way to work, haven’t slept more than 3 hours any day this week” stress. This anxiety didn’t loosen its grip on me all day. He listened to me rant and then, as he always does, gently addressed my issues. He told me we were going to spend the session working on a combination of yoga and meditation that would relax me.

I didn’t tell him this, but I felt like a more appropriate suggestion would be a recommendation for a stay in a psychiatric hospital for a week or two. But I didn’t have any faith that even daily therapy would calm me, I was that far gone. Will guided me into a meditation and later guided and assisted me into yoga poses that he said would be supportive, calming, and restorative.

I just wanted them to relieve the stress I was feeling. As he adjusted each pose and prop to continuously make me more and more comfortable, the magic began to happen. By the time our session was ending, I was feeling like “What Stress?!”

I slept all night last night. I just got home from work and had a great day. Right now I have too much on my plate and can attest that these 1-on-1 Yoga Sessions are helping me cope with the impossible. I’m dealing with hormone therapy, an ex who decided when I was diagnosed with cancer that was the best time to tell me that he didn’t love me anymore and wouldn’t be able to help me get to any of my treatments, getting my house onto the market, children, grandchildren, etc. I cannot thank Will enough for his gentle guidance and therapeutically oriented teaching style. Yoga has opened up a whole new world of possibilities.

During my radiation treatments at Saint Vincent’s Cancer and Wellness Center in Worcester, MA, I found out about the wonderful “Mind-Body” programs offered. Being a fan of Yoga in general, I was curious about One-On-One Yoga Sessions offered by Fifth Element Health & Wellness.

I saw a flyer with contact information and reached out to Will to learn more. I had never had a private Yoga lesson before and have to admit that at first I was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect. Well it turned out to be one of the best Yoga experiences I’ve ever had! I LOVE any kind of restorative and gentle Yoga.

Will made me feel comfortable right away. He had an extensive questionnaire for me to fill out, which benefited both of us! As each week passed the level of comfort grew and grew. A One-on-One caters specifically to the client’s individual needs. My muscles were so tight due to treatment and lack of exercise.

With his specialized training, Will was able to customize sessions for me that targeted by needs and helped me with breathing work. It is absolutely true that breath controls the central nervous system and it was something that I needed to work on. His gentle voice and guidance is calming – beyond belief. The atmosphere in the 1-on-1 Yoga and Meditation space is so calming and cozy.It is evident that the highest quality Yoga products and tools are available.

There is always an abundance of bolsters, blankets, cork blocks, mats and fabulous ambient & calming music; everything is always as neat as a pin. One of my favorites has turned out to be something I never heard of. Yoga Nidra.

I had no idea just how incredible it is! It helps my mood and I come out feeling refreshed, energized and have a sense that my skin is actually glowing! It is almost a euphoric or hypnotic experience facilitated through a guided meditation.

Will is a true professional with a passion for Yoga and helping other people focusing on their needs and customizing and adapting each session. One time, joking with me, as he helped make me even more comfortable by adjusting the bolster, adding a pillow, or adding another blanket, he said “you are so well taken care of”. Indeed I was! All you have to do is open your mind and trust that you will get better. And heal…