About Me
FORMAL CREDENTIALS
Edi has been learning and serving whole being and whole systems transformation for over 25 years. She holds certificates/degrees in the following:
* MBA - University of Michigan - Ross School of Business
* MTS - Harvard Divinity School
* Certification: Menopause Coaching Specialist
* Certification: Kripalu Yoga Teacher Training
* Certification: Positive Psychology
* Trainings at Presencing Institute for awareness-based systems change.
INFORMAL CREDENTIALS
Lead Faculty - Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health
As Lead Faculty, Edi develops and delivers programs rooted in the Kripalu methodology of embodied transformation such as the Kripalu Silent Retreat, Transformational Leadership, and Love in Action.
Before stepping into the lead faculty role at Kripalu, Edi spent a decade on the Kripalu Leadership team as the Director of the Kripalu Institute for Extraordinary Living where she helped birth RISE™, Kripalu’s evidence-based initiative to create more people-centered, emotionally intelligent workplaces.
Edi has overseen the mindful resilience training of thousands of educators, health and human services providers, law enforcement personnel, business leaders, and middle and high school students.
PUBLICATIONS / PRESENTATIONS
Outcomes of Edi's work has been published in:
*The Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health
*The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
And presented at:
*The Worksite Wellness Council of MA
*American Academy of Management
*The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine & Healthcare
*The Embodied Positive Psychology Conference
*The Symposium on Yoga Research
Hi, I'm Edi!
EDI PASALIS, MBA, MTS
Transformational Leader & Facilitator
I believe life offers each of us many invitations to grow up and wake up in life and in our leadership. Menopause is one of those times.
Before menopause, I spent my career working at the potent intersection of well-being and leadership. I love helping people thrive and succeed in their important work.
As a non-profit leader, I built and designed systems to create greater well-being for organizations and their communities. As an award-winning program developer, I guided hundreds through transformational learning journeys grounded in resilience, mindfulness, and creativity.
Plus, for almost a decade, I was on the leadership team of Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, enhancing the well-being of 40,000 people annually. I am part of a team that delivers Kripalu’s renowned Transformational Leadership Program.
So, I was not at all worried about menopause influencing my well-being or my leadership. I thought I knew enough about taking care of myself and enough about skillful leadership to navigate with ease.
But yowza, menopause is not business as usual. Its intensity caught me by surprise. I ended up with every conceivable menopause symptom (including the dreaded brain fog, which makes word recall challenging and confidence plummet) and even went out on partial disability for six months because of vertigo that no one told me could be connected to hormone fluctuations.
It’s an understatement to say menopause was a big wrench in my well-being and my leadership.
But still, I didn’t realize.
It wasn’t until my sister-in-law, an entrepreneur in the healthcare space, showed me the statistics of menopause in the workplace (20% of the workforce is in menopause, 99% say their symptoms have a negative impact at work, 60% take time off, 15% reduce their leadership…..) that I realized my situation is far from unique. Most women meet menopause with little information and no community.
Since then, I have become certified as a Menopause Coaching Specialist and committed myself to discovering this life stage's developmental and transformational aspects that ultimately lead to greater well-being and leadership.
My mission is to shift our experience of menopause from a physical condition to be managed one person and one symptom at a time to an extraordinary invitation to our personal and collective growth.
I invite you to join me.
"No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see."
-Taoist Proverb
"Edi is amazing!"
Edi is amazing - she did an excellent job with helping me get to the right frame of mind. I loved her compassion and approach for helping us get to a better place mentally. Her strategies helped me manage my menopause stressors, and they were easily applicable in both my personal and professional life.
Leigh E., VP and General Manager
Want to learn a little more?
Fun Facts About Me...
* I live in the Berkshires with my wife Candace, who went through menopause before me, and our elderly poodle Bertie, who is on hormone therapy.
* I learned to sew because of menopause - nothing fit anymore! Since then I have remade almost my whole wardrobe.
* My menopause angel was friend and colleague Mindy, who gently told me when I was going ‘over the top’ and laughed with me about the absurd messes our bodies can create.
* Hot flashes have taught me a lot about anger – and when enough is enough.
* Menopause brain fog has taught me a lot about the power of presence.
* The most unusual menopause symptom I had was vertigo. The most unusual menopause symptom I’ve heard of is extremely chapped lips.
* The thing I hate most about menopause I’m too embarrassed to put on this page - but I will tell you when we meet.
* The thing I love most about menopause is feeling community with other women.
My Method
MY METHOD
4 Pillars of the Menopause Leader
How to walk through menopause with ease (W.A.L.C.)
Whole Being
Menopause is a powerful teacher that impacts our whole being and whole lives (work, relationships, community). Seeing this big picture helps us take menopause seriously.
Awareness
Becoming more aware of menopause and our unique experience with it can alleviate the fear and anxiety associated with this era and create more possibilities for well-being.
Life of Learning
Menopause is another part of our adult development journey and signals an opportunity for growth. Meeting it with a growth mindset and open mind allows us to grow with it.
Community
Menopause has too long been isolating and shaming. We change the culture of menopause by coming together and talking, sharing, and supporting in community.