ABOUT ME
MY JOURNEY.
Vulnerable, raw, transparent.
I grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada. From a young age I was picked on and teased for being overweight, bullied for having acne, and struggled to feel like I fit in or belonged in school.
As I grew older I gravitated to sports where I could “do it alone” and not have to rely on others. I chose extreme sports that tested my capabilities and pushed my physical and mental edges. I developed an external armour and tough guy persona, learning if I could prove myself worthy, I would be validated… The vulnerable child inside of me believed if I was strong, tough and capable, no one could hurt me and I would be good enough.
I became obsessed with the feelings of adrenaline and the need to prove myself in order to feel worthy; constantly sourcing validation externally. “Conquering” and achieving became the fuel for my self worth.
I spent years racing motocross, stunt riding motorcycles, snowboarding mountains, rigging highlines across canyons, and learning Karate, boxing, Maui Thai, Brazilian Jujitsu, and wrestling.
After decades of training at this level and focusing on increasing my physical capacity, I found myself hospitalized with major injuries, having surgeries, and undergoing months of extensive recovery.
Although many of these disciplines held valuable lessons and teachings, I was completely unaware that my obsession was rooted in my need to either keep people at a distance, or be better and faster in order to be validated. It wasn’t until I was injured and unable to do what I’d always done that I began to shift my focus.
I had to lose myself in order to find myself. I had to meet myself in my own descent and darkness before I could truly be found.
During the many months I spent in challenging physical recovery I began to lose myself. I descended into my own darkness, losing sight of my identity and who I thought I was. It wasn’t long until I turned to cannabis, alcohol, cocaine and nicotine as ways to numb the painful experience of being with myself or my truth.
Navigating my way out of the dark wasn’t linear. It was a long process of learning, changing, shifting, and faltering again. With time and awareness I began to integrate holistic healing, utilizing yoga, meditation and mindfulness as ways to come back to myself. But I had to lose myself in order to find myself. I had to meet myself in my own descent and darkness before I could truly be found. Over the years I’ve learned slowly to develop my own personal practice and it’s required me to go down and into my being- to examine my patterns, emotions, narratives, personas, stories and mechanisms and how they’ve informed my life.
It wasn’t until I started to unravel some of these layers and turn toward self healing that I began to discover my own purpose and mission. Eventually I was led to one-on-one Energy Coaching, and the more aligned I became in my own being, the more I felt inspired to share my experiences so I could help people in similar ways. I met coaches, teachers and mentors along the way that have been pivotal in my own journey of coming home to my truth.
I became certified by a professional school of coaching that focuses on an individual’s core energy: helping one identify where they are resonating energetically, and assisting them to shift to a higher state. This program allowed me to tap into my own power and learn how to share and help others through the same process.
Still, the path to healing and the journey home to oneself is never linear. After becoming a certified coach, I spent years working for my family business. Knowing it was no longer what I needed or desired, but feeling the immense pressure to help others at the expense of what was best for my soul.
Everyday I found myself consumed by stress, my nervous system activated, and turning again to substance abuse as a way to cope. I had to get out.
I was terrified. I knew deep down it wasn’t my calling but I was scared to leave the safety of it and felt an allegiance to my family. After multiple emotional breakdowns, escaping daily with substances, and my body speaking to me through pain, injury, and nervous system dysregulation, I made the decision to walk away to focus entirely on my healing, growth, and alignment.
The months that followed were scary. I detoxed from substances, down regulated my nervous system, and began to reconnect with myself. It was turbulent and challenging. I turned back to the practices of yoga, meditation, journaling and self education.
This is what has brought me to what I offer my community today, with the intention that I will continue to grow, learn and unlearn alongside you.
I discovered breathwork and it quickly started to transform my nervous system and my life. My partner couldn’t believe the profound change in me and how differently I engaged after a few months of dedicated work. I quit my addictions, my nervous system calmed down, the pain in my body lessened, and my eye stopped twitching.
Because of this dramatic shift in my own life, I immersed myself into multiple courses and researched/practiced many different styles, including Wimhof, Holotropic, and traditional Pranayama. I became certified as a breathwork facilitator in order to guide others and help them discover the potential of their breath.
This is what has brought me to what I offer my community today, with the intention that I will continue to grow, learn and unlearn alongside you.
This work can help transform our relationships with the people we love to become more healthy and sustainable, assist addiction recovery, heal old patterns and ways of being, and help us discover and unlock our unique missions to begin living a fulfilled and meaningful life.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my journey.
QUALIFICATIONS | TRAINING | EXPERIENCE
Certified Professional Coach | iPEC | ICF Accredited Training Program
iPEC’s unique Core Energy Coaching™ process goes much further to uncover inner blind spots and cultivate new perspectives which support individual success on a sustainable level. Our methodology empowers people to dig deeply, honestly, and objectively into their energy and mental programming in order to assess who they are and who they want to become.
With Core Energy Coaching™ techniques and tools, you'll support your clients as they establish and achieve new goals, raise their level of consciousness, and open up new possibilities that were previously hidden from sight. This is how people step into new versions of themselves, make connections, become catalysts for culture shifts within their workplaces, and increase the joy and positivity in every aspect of their lives.
The Way of the Superior Man | Online training | David Deida
What does it mean to be sexually valuable in a post-gender world? How can you manage ongoing sexual desire or its lack? How do you pass through depression and meaninglessness as direct portals to awakening consciousness? What do you need to do or become so you can die complete? Is your true purpose effortless?
In this course, you’ll receive extensive teachings and instruction on:
Exploring the differences between your life’s deepest purpose and more surface purposes
Accessing conscious presence under all financial, sexual, and emotional conditions
Cultivating esoteric solo and partner sexual yoga practices
Navigating altered states, gain and loss of purpose, and sexual obsession
Gaining immediate access to the primal energy of your own deep being
Breath Is Life | Breathwork & Pranayama Course | Michael Bijker
Breathwork and pranayama both focus on the knowledge of using the breath as a tool to improve mental and physical health. While Pranayama breathing techniques are ancient yoga practices from ancient India, Breathwork is a modern breathing practice with the same principles and a more scientific approach.
In this course Michael has combined the benefits of modern Breathwork with ancient Pranayama techniques to create a complete program that is accessible to everyone.
The breathing exercises are simple yet very effective. Scientific studies have proven mental benefits like stress reduction, insomnia prevention, emotion control as well as physical benefits like pain relief and a boost to the immune system.
This is why more and more people are implementing these practices into their daily lives.
Public Speaking Engagements
Speak - Up 1 & 2 : A small group of speakers created a public event during cocktail hour to share and spread their life story and message of personal development to help inspire others looking for transformation.
The Purple Elephant Campaign Raising Awareness for Alzheimer’s: a not-for-profit organization with a mandate to increase awareness and understanding of Alzheimer’s disease across all levels of society.
Athletic Experience
Worlds Toughest Mudder, Englishtown New Jersey
CASI Certified Snowboard Instructor
Amateur Motocross Series
Martial Arts
Avid Highliner/ slackliner
Outdoor adventure advocate
Influential Teachers
Francis Weller
David Deida
John Wineland