Dear Reader,
I was born in Edmonton, grew up in Ottawa, and have lived in Saskatoon, Brandon, Waterloo, Montreal, Toronto, Scranton, Halifax, Monkton, and Princeton. I have been a classical pianist and cellist, music director of professional theatre productions, sole practitioner lawyer, legal secretary, editor of legal publications, photographer of university convocations, Web developer in a major bank, freelance Web designer, and certified rock climbing instructor. In Toronto, I created, organized and performed in The Birthday Series, a series of chamber concerts honouring composers on their birthdays, and the Heliconian Choir and Orchestra for the Heliconian Club, an organization for professional women in the arts. I have enjoyed racing keelboats, riding a Honda CB450T Hawk motorcycle, and lead climbing in the Shawangunks and Adirondacks, My husband, Bill, and I rode our bicycles over 7,200 kilometres across Canada.
My mother was a registered nurse who also worked as a psychiatric nurse, and my father was a cancer survivor for over 30 years who helped people with holistic healing. My teaching experience includes one-on-one mentoring of piano and cello students, and teaching groups in undergraduate music classes at McGill University and in rock climbing classes for The Toronto Climbing Academy, Rock Oasis, and Equinox Adventures. For the last five years, I have been teaching adult literacy and skills upgrading, from June 2016 to December 2019 in Listowel for the Avon Maitland District School Board, and since January 2020 in Woodstock for the Thames Valley District School Board.
Purr Healing evolved from my love for my cat, Shura, who purrs beautifully and is sometimes called Shura Purra. I was very allergic to cats, and Shura was our first hypo-allergenic Siberian Forest Cat. Born in Moscow, she worked until age six as a breeding mother in Florida and upstate New York. Shura loves all people, cats and dogs. As a mother, she fed and washed all the kittens, not just her own. In 2006, she retired and joined our family.
We left Toronto in August 2011 for the countryside near Monkton, Ontario, envisioning a calm lifestyle with more animals. In our rural home, Shura showed me how to widen my love to respond with love to tragedies that brought more cats to us. Shura became a mediator of cat disputes, showing new arrivals how to live peacefully together.
In May 2012, a tooth veterinarian whose X-rays revealed cancer in her head thought Shura may have only a few days to live. My desire to help her and the greater love she inspired in me led me to energy healing. As I learned about and shared healing with my cats, Shura’s health and vitality noticeably improved. Shura lived and actively participated for 2 years and 4 months after the vet’s diagnosis, until I had two very busy weeks when instead of her usual daily reiki she received no reiki, went downhill fast, and passed away in September 2014. My energy healing practice is dedicated to dear Shura.
Warmly,
Michelle Kyle