Cusy Yoga Creator Catherine Valdivieso

Catherine Valdivieso

FROM “PANICKY”

to “Cushy”The Story of Cushy Yoga Creator Catherine Valdivieso

BY IJY STAFF

ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” Oksana Platero Imagine suffering from such severe panic attacks that you couldn’t function during the day. You couldn’t keep a job. The only thing that kept you going was your kids. That was the existence that Catherine Valdivieso lived for over ten years, from 2008 to 2018. Catherine said, “I suffered from severe anxiety and panic disorder. I tried to do it alone for 10 years.” She tried acupuncture, conventional medicine, and nothing seemed to work. She had almost daily trips to the ER, with her heart racing at 180 beats per minute. As a single mother of three sons, she added, “and you can imagine what the hospital bills were like! It just added MORE stress and anxiety to my life.”

After trying virtually everything during this ten-year span, she finally decided she needed someone to help and guide her. So, she hired a life coach that specialized in anxiety. The very first item that the life coach worked on with Catherine was to change her diet to a plant based, organic diet. The second thing was that the life coach introduced breath work and meditation, and yoga. Within

ONE month, her 10 panic attacks a day were cut in half to 5 panic attacks a day. Within FIVE months, she became panic attack FREE and started sleeping through the night for the first time in many years.

Catherine is relatively new to yoga. She has been actively practicing since 2018. But she is a firm believer that everything that has happened to her recently is due to the positive energy created from practicing yoga!

The one issue that Catherine had with doing yoga is that various poses hurt her knees, ankles and/or bones in her feet. Catherine thought if this affected her, this pain could also affect others. She saw a need for ATTRACTIVE yoga pants that could protect these body parts, and there were none on the market. So, what did Catherine do? She developed her own brand…and “Cushy Yoga Pants” was born!

Catherine has always been creative. She has a “book of ideas,” where she writes down her inventions. Unfortunately, in the past, her severe anxiety prevented her from developing her ideas. But not anymore!

She traveled the country for MONTHS, especially focused on California, looking for a manufacturer who could create a quality product up to her standards. She thought she found one, but, in the end, the company wasn’t up to her standards. Ironically, Catherine found a manufacturer 20 minutes from her home in Central Florida—EKL Fashion—to take over manufacturing her “Cushy Yoga Pants.”

A few months ago, another serendipitous event occurred. Catherine saw some office space that would be the perfect place to open a yoga studio. And voilá!! “Cushy Yoga” in Avalon Park was born. Opening in early September, she has 8 yoga instructors to meet a wide variety of interests. And now, Cushy Yoga pants are now sold out of “Cushy Yoga’s” studio location!

And, stay tuned…you may see Catherine and “Cushy Yoga” on TV. She has met with the producers of ABC’s hit show, “Shark Tank” and is going through the process to appear on the show. (She is not able to discuss the status, due to confidentiality reasons, but still—how cool is this?).

Catherine continues to surround herself with likeminded people. Lot’s of positive energy is encircling her, and good things are continuing to happen. One of the performers on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars,” Oksana Platero, wears Cushy Yoga pants when practicing! Tyrone Davis, who is Seattle Seahawk’s QB Russell Wilson’s performance trainer, is excited about his client using the men’s version of Cushy Yoga Pants. Yoga saved Catherine from severe anxiety and panic attacks, and also, combined with her own creativity and drive, has also created a new passion and career!

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