about Willamarie Moore

Hi. I’m Willamarie Moore. I’m here to help you bring balance back to your life. I used to pride myself on being a “successful professional.” I was an award-winning educator in the museum world. I also wrote award-winning children’s books. I had the privilege of studying yoga with one of the top teachers in the country and eventually taught at the same studio. I lived in a beautiful neighborhood of a hip big city and drove a Mini Cooper. On the surface, I was successful.

I’d grown accustomed to the non-profit M.O. of being “overworked and underpaid.” Somehow, it made me feel noble. I was constantly rushing from one thing to the next, impatient with anyone who got in my way. I was “eating” meals on the subway or in the car. I had little time for friendships or romantic relationships. I no longer read novels, played music, made things by hand—activities I loved as a child. I had no downtime. I was spinning in a whirlwind of action but had no life.

In my early 40s, I contracted shingles. I ignored the initial signs and refused to see a doctor. By the time I was diagnosed, it was too late to take medicines that would have mitigated the condition. The virus struck a cranial nerve. Even the slightest movement of any single hair on my head was excruciating. I had never experienced such pain before. I had no choice but to stay in bed, as still as possible, and let the virus run its course. For the first time in my life, I was forced to stop.

From the DOING MORE! BETTER! FASTER! pattern deeply ingrained in me, I suddenly was thrown into a state of simply BEING. Lying in my bed, barely able to pick up my phone, I crashed. No way to avoid, any longer, acknowledging the train wreck that I had brought on myself.

As my body was healing, my mind began entertaining the notion that it, too, could use some healing. That’s when I realized I might have been doing well by societal standards, but I was NOT doing what I was put on this earth to do.

I returned to the practice of writing that had sustained me during my 20’s. “Writing Practice” as guided by Natalie Goldberg’s books (Writing Down the Bones, etc.) helped me process experiences and discover to soul-depth answers to the new questions that were presenting themselves.

I started seeing the parallels between the inquiry that is the foundation of Iyengar yoga and the inquiry-based pedagogy I employed at the art museum. The Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) questions posed to a group in front of a work of art—What’s going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?—became increasingly relevant outside of the museum. I began applying these questions to my life and started experiencing major “Aha!” moments.

As I became increasingly more comfortable with slowing down and cultivating practices of silent contemplation and simply DOING NOTHING, I learned to take one day a month to unplug and nourish myself through nature. Whether walking through a city park, watching the ocean waves roll in, or hiking in the mountains, nature’s power and beauty impacted me in ways I had never experienced before.

Fast forward to today. My life is different.

Having picked up and moved across the country—away from the fast-paced, non-stop East Coast urban lifestyle, to the more sanely-paced small-town Southwest—I’ve created a lifestyle that allows me to:

  • Set my own work schedule
  • Prioritize my daily practices of Writing + Art + Yoga + Nature, so I grow, evolve and improve every day
  • Enjoy 2-hour lunch breaks with friends and family
  • Volunteer with local organizations and donate to causes I believe in
  • Travel to beautiful places with loved ones
  • Best of all: coach amazing people through their own transitions and transformation into lives of their own design

I’ve pulled together over a decade’s worth of therapies, treatments, coaching, study, and practice of Writing + Art + Yoga + Nature to develop my signature WAYIN program.

Now I want to help you make your own successful transition and transformation!

My coaching and teaching comes from my experience and practice.

  • I have a lifelong practice of journal writing and have published two children’s books.
  • I have 20 years’ experience in the world of art education.
  • I’ve practiced Iyengar yoga for 17 years and taught for 11.
  • I’ve accumulated countless hours (decades’ worth) of immersion in nature and aligned my diet and personal care with nature’s gifts.

I’m a coach/teacher who:

  • Asks the “right” questions that encourage you to dive deep into self-reflection so you can come up with the answers most relevant to your situation.
  • Listens actively and engages fully with you.
  • Doesn’t use a “cookie-cutter” approach but tailors my coaching/teaching to your needs and goals.
  • Provides the gentle nudge of accountability and reassuring support, when self-doubt, second-guessing and fears inevitably emerge during your transformational journey.
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