theawakeningcommunity
Mary Blanchard
by Barbara Lynn in martial arts schools and workshops ever since.
Silberg Barbara: What do you like best about what you do?
Mary: You can personalize Yoga. The basic principles don’t
One of the new
change. However, based on individual structural discrepan-
additions to
cies, yogic postures can be adapted to the individual. You can
Joyce Long’s
pick what you need from Yoga. It‘s for everyone.
Disease is caused because energy is blocked or not bal-
staff, Mary anced. We often act like our problems are our favorite posses-
Blanchard, is
sions. When sick, we need something different to replace our
PHO
warm, unas-
old habits. Rebalancing and unblocking of the body’s energy,
T
O
BY R
chi, can also be controlled by thoughts, feelings, actions and
O
BER
suming, soft-
words. Such is simple on the surface, but not necessarily easy
T SILBERG
voiced, and
to accomplish. Most people can use a little help.
graceful. With
Barbara: What would people be surprised to learn about you?
little grey in her
Mary: Yoga philosophy emphasizes passive evolution. I can
be a radical revolutionary—which, of course, doesn’t work. If
hair and an we evolve into a place where we’re more aware of ourselves
unlined face, she doesn’t look close to her
and therefore more aware of others, we could evolve out of
chronological age. But then, she’s been
the mess we’ve made of the world.
Barbara: So, you’re a believer in positive thought?
involved with Yoga for years.
Mary: Balanced thought is probably a better description. I
can dwell on the project of hair-pin lace that I didn’t complete
Barbara: What are you doing at Joyce Long’s Wellness Detox
for my mother before she died, or I can recognize the guilt for
Institute?
what it is, and dismiss such thoughts as unproductive and
Mary: As in the past, I teach Yoga (posture and breathing) and
Tai Chi, an internal form of martial arts (verses external, like
unhealthy.
karate) that strengthens the internal organs.
Everything happens—not by accident—but by natural
In the practice of Tai Chi, it is possible to balance the nat-
law. The world works perfectly (not to be confused with an
ural yin/yang forces within, which can then be utilized for
ideal world) according to universal natural laws. We reap the
mental and physical healing. results of our choices—individually, collectively. But we pick
Qigong (patterns of breathing), which directs the flow of
our destiny by choosing what thoughts and feelings to use in
chi (life force) is also included in my Tai Chi classes.
creating our world.
Barbara: How did you get started?
Barbara: How would you sum up your philosophy?
Mary: I had RA—rheumatoid arthritis—and lupus erythema-
Mary: I believe the body is a temple of the living God. It is
tous when I was younger. I went to a lecture on Philosophical
Yoga, where I met Ann and Sam Stein. Like most of us, I was
divine and has divine energy—the energy to heal itself. It is
so tied up in trying to survive I didn’t know how to live. They
our behavior, conscious or unconscious, that directs the life
took me in and recommended two old-time chiropractors
force that produces the conditions and effects of our experi-
who believed in herbs and colonics. Ann and Sam showed
ence.
me how to change my lifestyle. At their urging, I took Yoga. Barbara: How would you like to be remembered?
Within two months, after making significant changes to my Mary: As someone who produced practical results. The phi-
life, my RA and LE went into remission, and stayed there.
losophy of Yoga is practical, using applications in everyday
Billie Gollnick, the first-lady of Houston Yoga, was my
life. Yoga is a science; it is also a like a cosmic banquet. You
teacher. When she opened her school on Lovett Boulevard in
take what you can, when you can, then return for more as
1968, I was her assistant. Years later, I received the designa-
your consciousness allows.
tion as teacher/representative for The Concept Therapy
Institute. Their path is that of reason and logic. I‘ve taught
Yoga at churches, the YMCA, health spas, and senior centers.
You can contact Mary Blanchard through Joyce Long’s Wellness
In the late ‘80s, I became a massage therapist, and took up Tai
Detox Institute or Joyce Long’s Lymphatic Institute. To reach
Chi and martial arts with Master J.K. Wong, head of the North
Mary directly, call 281-773-8422. (Wait for the tone to leave a
American Chin Woo Federation. I’ve taught Yoga and Tai Chi message.) See Joyce’s ad, page 12. i
www.naturalawakenings-houston.com January 2009 33
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