About Michael Lee

A deep quest for quality of life has long been an area of interest for Michael Lee.

The author of Turn Stress Into Bliss and the Founder of Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, Michael Lee has a background in education, psychology and holistic health.

He developed Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy in 1986. Lee first became interested in the transformative power of yoga when he moved to the United States from Australia to live and teach at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Lee directed several of Kripalu’s professional training programs in the mid to late 1980s including Yoga Teacher Training and Holistic Health Educator Training. Among other things this program was one of the first to actively teach both yoga and stress management techniques.

Combining his yoga experience with his background in education and psychology he completed a dissertation on the therapeutic benefits of yoga for life-related issues including stress management, and gained a Masters degree in Holistic Health Education from Norwich University in Vermont.

Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy , an intensely experiential modality, emerged from Lee’s own inner explorations. One day, while practicing yoga with a senior colleague, he had the breakthrough that would lead him to what became his life’s work. Up to that point “yoga therapy” was primarily physical. Although this approach was physically effective and clearly supported each client’s individual yoga practice, Lee became fascinated by the prospect of using hatha yoga to facilitate a wider range of benefits: the deep relaxation and sense of well being provided by body-work; the catharsis of therapy; the mindfulness of meditation; and the integration of body, mind and spirit available through yoga.

Michael Lee’s commitment to returning to clients the responsibility for their own healing, and ultimately, their own transformation, led him to originate an approach to yoga therapy that empowers clients. He named his system Phoenix Rising, after the mythical bird of beauty and immortality.

Practiced by yoga teachers, body workers, physical therapists, healing arts practitioners and psychologists,today Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy is widely recognized as a powerfully effective, leading edge body-mind healing modality.

Michael now focuses his time on writing. He is the author of Turn Stress Into Bliss: The Proven 8-Week Yoga Program for Health, Relaxation and Stress Relief , a leading edge work in the areas of yoga and stress management. He also wrote Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy – Bridge from Body to Soul published in 1997.

The Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Training Center is now located in the picturesque village of Bristol, Vermont, nestled in the heart of Vermont’s inspiring Green Mountains. Bristol is an eclectic mix of galleries, lodgings, eateries and New England charm. Professional training programs and retreats that focus on yoga and stress management are offered here as well as at various other locations around the world.

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