"Our medical system teaches you someone else can fix you. Yoga teaches you to draw on internal resources for healing.”

--Kimberly Williams

Her quiet strength, authenticity and natural humor fit her like a glove.

With her piercing blue eyes reflecting determination and confidence, Kimberly Williams, Ph.D. tells you these qualities were forged out of a struggle to claim a place for the intuitive and spiritual within the science of medicine and out of her own personal journey to transcend physical pain.

Kimberly recently left her job as a medical research scientist with the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center in Morgantown, to follow her heart into an entrepreneurial venture. Partnering with her husband, Sigfried Bleher, she has co-created the Inner Life Yoga Center, where Iyengar Yoga is taught as a holistic health practice and as a therapeutic treatment for pain.

Turning to a study of holistic health after having intuitive experiences that science couldn’t explain, Kimberly tried Yoga after she developed chronic neck pain.

Laughing she says, “Initially I thought Yoga was for wimps! But I quickly found out it was a challenging and inspiring way to stay healthy, cultivate a quiet mind and get in touch with who I am beyond my personality.”

In Yoga, Kimberly found an entire healthcare and wellness system that helped her heal chronic back pain. In the process, she came to a deeper understanding of the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of pain. “Our medical system teaches you someone else can fix you,” Kimberly says. “But Yoga taught me if you don’t address what’s going on inside, the problem will keep coming back. Yoga teaches you to draw on internal resources for healing.”

Following her wisdom into an entrepreneurial, holistic lifestyle hasn’t been easy. “This isn’t the simplest way to make money! If you stay in your head when considering that kind of risk, you’ll drive yourself crazy,” Kimberly observes. “You have to find a quiet mind, listen to your inner wisdom and wait for a KNOWING about the rightness of it.”

These days many women consider starting holistic businesses. Kimberly encourages them to find a supportive spiritual community for inspiration. She also advises becoming fully absorbed in the wisdom of the tradition they are teaching. “Your heart has to be in it. You have to live it. If your primary motive is to start a business venture, it may be an empty shell. But if you’re deeply grounded in what you offer, it will grow.”

Sign up for FREE monthly tips and resources. New Women's Creativity Retreat and Psychotherapy Training coming in Fall 2008 AT PEACE WITH LIFE e-book is ready for download!