Dr Ella MacDonald
Co founder StressAce Yoga
Ella MacDonald is a Doctor of Psychology, an author and an international yoga teacher trainer since 2001. She was born and educated in the United States and received degrees in psychology and business from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, University of California, and licenses from real estate and investment firms.
In 1994 she started her personal journey to heal herself from acute physical, mental and emotional pain, because the medical and psychological professions could not reach a diagnosis and prescribed pain and anti-depressant medication. However she was told that she was a candidate for alcohol and pain killer addiction. In 2001 after years of trying conventional medical approaches, medication and alternative therapies she embarked on a quest to heal her condition. She decided to trust her own experience as a barometer and guide.
She travelled to other countries in search of healing within traditional cultures. For fifteen years Ella lived in Southern Africa and was initiated as a Sangoma, diviner, healer and traditional african doctor. As a traditional healer Ella learned about plant medicines, rolling the bones, dancing and honoring the ancestors, ceremony and ritual. She also discovered how little one actually needs for functioning in daily life.
Through ceremonial practice, the use of plant medicines and consciously connected breathing, movement and singing she accomplished a decrease in her pain to the point that it subsided completely. It also opened the doors to a realm of self-empowered experience in which she was able to embrace responsibility for the quality of her life. This included physical, mental, and emotional encounters. This awareness led to the stopping of blaming others and circumstances. She began to learn to navigate with full awareness the experiences she desired. Ella’s complete story of her adventure into the African healing tradition is available in her book “Mists of the Ancestors, Photo Journal and Diary.”
Her search for healing took her to Tibet, India, Asia, Australia and the UK where she studied sound healing, yoga, meditation, reiki, massage therapy, hypnotherapy, body stress release and many other healing modalities. She’s also author of the books, “Energy Anatomy Coloring Book”, and “Are You Too Emotional? Are You Emotional Enough? – a journey into body and mind using Eye Movement Technology.”
Based on her broad personal and professional experience Ella has cofounded StressAce Yoga, which combines the StressAce technique developed by Anca Ramsden with Kundalini, Hatha and Yin Yoga.
StressAce Yoga is a combination of developmental psychology and traditional yoga. It promotes health, reduces stress, creates resilience towards future stress and matures the personality for adults, children, seniors, pre and postal natal care. This yoga uses simple breathing patterns, movements and quiet time for relaxation to create peace of mind within and increase vitality.
