Humans of Buffalo, NY

Catherine is featured among people I admire most at Humans of Buffalo, NY. Want to restore your faith in humanity and take a break from online negativity, check out the people featured there.

Catherine Cook-Cottone, Ph.D., is founder and president of Yogis in Service. http://yogisinservice.org
Its teams of teachers she recruited offer free community classes at its studio in Resurrection Village - hosted by Resurrection Church. YIS also serves community members in the Buffalo area at places like schools, after-school programs, hospitals, treatment centers, holding centers, and recovery programs for those who would not otherwise have access. She has written four books and over 50 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her most recent book, Mindfulness and Yoga for Self-regulation, is a primer for mental health professionals. Catherine says you don’t need to be graceful and flexible, you just need to be; and by healthy perseverance you can find peace and happiness. Her teaching and writings will continue enriching the lives of many. She is one of the most encouraging people I know.

When teaching yoga to children, Christina felt schools could do more to educate and inspire students and their families to lead a healthy lifestyle, through better nutrition, exercise and mindfulness, just like she was teaching her 5-year old son. She was determined to recruit a nutritionist and a coach, and train educators using the Mindful School Curriculum. In 2015, when competing in an American Ninja Warrior competition she was inspired to add obstacle course training to her methods and procured a truckload of obstacle course components.
Christina founded the School Wellness Awareness Project (SWAP), which brings yoga, her nutritionist, coach and obstacle course to family fitness events at WNY schools. Her passion for health became a crusade and because of SWAP more kids are eating healthy, moving more, and being kind to others. Here are some of my photos of SWAP’s family fitness night at the Pembroke Intermediate School.
If you share Christina’s goals and want to support SWAP, you can get more information at:
http://www.schoolwellnessawarenessproject.com/
https://www.facebook.com/swapwny/

When I first met her, I knew she is a kind person. When she told me how excited she was to have obtained her degree in music therapy, I had no idea what that is about; so I asked her to email me to explain why she is so passionate about that. Here’s what she sent me. She invited me to shorten and edit her statement; but I found it so sincere and she expressed her feelings so beautifully, I didn’t change a word:

"I am so passionate about music therapy because it unites my two largest passions: music and helping people. I have always loved music, and once I realized the impact music can have on others, I was moved to pursue this as a profession. Music therapy goes beyond the music to achieve a wide range of goals. To an outside eye group music therapy may look like a sing a long; however goals such as eye contact (social pragmatics), communication skills, emotional wellness, motor skills, and overall spirituality of the individual are often addressed. Music therapists work with a wide range of people in a variety of settings from babies in the NICU to children and adults with developmental disabilities to individuals affected from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) to eldercare and end of life and everything in between.
"I see a broken society filled with people seeking to be loved, acknowledged and accepted, and music naturally brings people into a sense of community and belonging. Music provides a way for people to express their true emotions and open up more to each other and their world. We are not in control of our lives as much as we’d like to think; we are not promised tomorrow, which is why the present is so special. We need to make the most of the time God has given us, to be more compassionate and empathetic to those around us. The American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) defines Music Therapy as “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.” For more info check out www.musictherapy.org"