RELAX4LIFE INSTRUCTORS:
Below are the names of current Relax4Life instructors and the different workshops and events they lead for us. What makes our teachers special is their fluid ability to interact with every student (from lay people to healthcare professionals) at whatever level of understanding each student brings to the workshop environment. We’re very proud to call this talented group of presenters, Relax4Life instructors.
ABOUT NEAL
Neal Harris is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, with a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. He has practiced the art of psychotherapy for the past 38 years. He is also the managing director of Relax4Life, a holistic education and services center and has been a workshop leader in the holistic health and self-enrichment fields since 1985. In addition, Neal is also a certified Pickleball coach.
Neal’s experience stems from training in the United States, China and India. In 1986, he was a member of the first bodywork team invited to China to study Tuina, a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine and massage. In 1991, he traveled to India to study with the meditation master and sage, H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji).
Neal has been teaching traditional Usui, Japanese, and Tibetan Reiki for over 25 years and been providing Reiki therapy for 35 years. He is also a certified Karuna® Reiki instructor and Usui Holy Fire Karuna® Master instructor, taught by William Lee Rand. As a certified Quantum-Touch® practitioner for 23 years and instructor for 20 years, he provides both classes and individual sessions.
He is the author of the book, Pocket Stress Manager & Labyrinth Guide, as well as the relaxation CD, Exit The Storm. Neal as well as his work at Relax4Life has been featured on national television including WTTW, Fox, NBC, Discovery Channel and more. He has also been featured in several national magazines including Better Homes & Gardens, Spa Finder, New Age Magazine, Utne Reader and others.
In 1997, Neal was the originator of the Earth-Wisdom Labyrinth; Illinois’ first permanent outdoor labyrinth located in Elgin. He has been a consultant on, and the creator of other public labyrinths, fabric traveling labyrinths, wood and plastic finger labyrinths (including his patented brain balancing, communication enhancing double finger labyrinth design known as the Intuipath®) and manuals for creating outdoor labyrinths. Neal leads labyrinth workshops around the country and is both a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been a Certified Veriditas Facilitator since 1999.
In his private therapy practice, Neal assists those individuals who are experiencing a variety of concerns including life-affirming conditions such as Diabetes, Cancer, Heart Disease as well as anxiety and more general concerns. To promote healing on many levels, he uses relaxation and meditation training, EFT, Reiki, Quantum-Touch® as well as his own modality “labyrinth counseling” (using his patented double finger labyrinth design). This work explores integrative medical options, as well as the psychology and spirituality of illness and recovery. Neal also headed up a 4-year national research study to determine the behavioral effects of his Intuipath® design on children and adolescents with ADHD. He can be reached at: neal@relax4life.com.
ABOUT YVONNE
Yvonne Czarniak, EEM-AP, is a certified instructor of Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, an Advanced Eden Energy Medicine practitioner and an Access Consciousness Bars practitioner.
Yvonne discovered Tai Chi in 1997 while looking for ways to slow down, clear her mind and enhance her physical fitness. After only one session, Yvonne was hooked on Tai Chi. Receiving her Tai Chi long form certification in 2000, she now teaches individuals of all ages and physical abilities the concepts of balance both inward and outward.
As a certified Advanced Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner, Access Consciousness Bars practitioner and an Energy Medicine 101 and 102 instructor, she assists her students and clients to both locate where their energy is sluggish or blocked and to remove those blockages.
Yvonne’s mission is helping people learn to listen to their bodies and address the slow moving or blocked energies before the issue becomes pain or discomfort. She looks forward to being of service and can be reached at: yvonneczar8@gmail.com.
ABOUT JOHN
John Robertson is a T’ai Chi Chuan, Qigong and Martial Arts instructor. He holds a 3rd Degree Black Belt in Tang Soo Do Karate with The World Tang Soo Do Association, is a Level VII Master Instructor with World Ki Gong (CN: Qigong) and is a Level III Advanced Qigong Instructor with The National Qigong Association. John is also a certified Reiki Master Instructor, reflexologist and an ordained minister. He has received training in the US, UK and China.
John also has an interest in acupuncture, acupressure, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the I-Ching and metaphysics. He believes that understanding these fields and more is crucial to the effective and responsible practice of all forms of healing and martial arts.
The message he conveys to his students is one of healing and non-aggression. In other words, find peaceful, energetic ways to help heal the body, mind and spirit of those we interact with so the use of self-defense techniques is only considered as a very last resort. John can be reached at: john@7starsma.com.
ABOUT LISA
Lisa Espinosa is the author of Answering Your Inner Calling, winner of the 2017 Independent Press Award. She is a spiritual career coach and Reiki master. Her focus is on helping those who are feeling called to evolve their existing career or begin a new one. Her next book, Birthing the Priestess Within, is coming out in the fall of 2019.
In her work, Lisa integrates her training in the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of psychotherapy, Reiki energy healing, meditation, and other intuitive & spiritual practices. Lisa also completed her End of Life Doula training with INELDA (International End of Life Doula Association) and she brings that experience into her work as well.
Before she was a spiritual career coach, Lisa was a middle school teacher for nearly ten years in the Chicago Public Schools and holds an M.Ed. During this time, she was awarded the prestigious Golden Apple Teacher of Distinction Award. Lisa is also the mother of five amazing children. She can be reached at: lisaespinosa7@gmail.com.
ABOUT DIAMOND
Diamond (David Haracz) graduated from NIU with distinction (Magna Cum Laude) as a double major in Philosophy and Sociology. He has studied and practiced numerous spiritual paths for over 20 years, including regular daily meditation. He is a Reiki Master/Teacher, a facilitator of several study groups on A Course In Miracles and leads frequent quartz crystal singing bowl meditations at various locations throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. He also plays at group events and holds individual Chakra balancing sessions. Using sound as the medium, he will facilitate an experience that will reconnect you with your true, peaceful Self. Diamond can be reached at: divinityinu2@yahoo.com.
ABOUT ANA
Ana Roussev is an international energy healer. She has been able to communicate with spiritual guides from a very early age. She was taught how to work with energy healing before she could understand what all of that meant. With over 30 years of experience she loves her life mission; to heal and teach others.
She is the founder of Universal Living Energytm (ULE), a high vibrational energy field that facilitates greater healing, knowledge and understanding. ULE is the culmination of more than 20 years of study and experience with a broad variety of different energy, healing and
spiritual practices. ULE combines the use of many different healing and energy modalities to increase an individual’s ability to transform physically, mentally and emotionally. Fluent in English, Bulgarian and Russian, Ana has an international following of students and clients.
Ana can be reached at: mrs.roussev@gmail.com
ABOUT CAROL
Carol Schultz Groch, MBA, LMT, has been a professional Animal Communicator since 2000. Her chosen path to assist animals and their people was greatly inspired by her feline friend, Panda, a graceful, wise, and playful companion. Although Panda has since passed into spirit, Carol’s healing journey with animals continues to evolve.
Carol’s path in animal wellness has included the training and application of various intuitive healing support modalities, and a committed focus on client grief support. As Carol’s personal understanding of the interconnectivity between humans and their companion animals has expanded, she has begun to see the process of inter-species healing and communication in a different light. As a way to more deeply understand the human side of this connection, Carol embarked upon the study of Massage, Craniosacral Therapy and the effects of trauma, and now incorporates this further learning into her work with people and their animals. Private practice animal communication consultations with Carol support all concerns, including behavior, performance, health, life changes, end of life, in-spirit, and lost animals.
She has studied with Penelope Smith, an internationally known pioneer in this field, Teresa Wagner, a trusted guide in animal loss & grief support concerns, Dr. Nancy Soliven, a leading professional in the field of craniosacral therapy and emotional release, and with many others both locally and nationally. Carol is a graduate of the Interspecies Life Awareness Coach training program with the Institute of Integrated Sciences, founded by Mary Ann Simonds, a Human/Animal Life Awareness Coach.
In 2006, Carol founded Animal Spirit Healing & Education® Network, a collaborative educational community which continues to enhance the lives of animal companions and their humans through on-site courses, teleclasses, and online learning opportunities.
Carol Schultz is a University of Illinois graduate, received her MBA from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Business, and was a logistics manager in the food industry prior to transitioning into the field of Animal Communication. She resides with her family in her hometown of Pekin, IL. She can be reached at: carol@carolschultz.com.