Meet

Mary Ann Copson

Just the Basics
What I'd like you to know about me.
More than you need to know about me.

Official Short Bio:

Mary Ann Copson is a Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Coach who is a Licensed Certified Nutritionist, a Level II Verified Biochemical Profile Clinician, and an American Association of Drugless Practitioners Certified Holistic Health Care Practitioner with over 30 health and wellness certifications.

She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Development specializing in child development and psychology and early childhood education and a second Master’s Degree in Psychology and Counseling with a concentration in Organizational Development.

For over 30 years she has helped women live happier, healthier, personally more successful, and more meaningful lives by reconnecting to their natural rhythms. She is the founder of the Evenstar Mood & Energy Wellness Center which uses life coaching, nutritional medicine, longevity principles, and optimized daily routines to help women live a better life through more effective management of their physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual energies.

Mary Ann is a graduate of CoachU’s three year Coaching training program and is a licensed coach and trainer in several proven coaching programs including Extreme Self-Care, Personal Freedom, Attraction Principles, Toleration Free, Personal Foundation, Personal Evolution, and A Perfect Life programs.

Mary Ann is also is a practicing Eco-therapist focusing on nature centered therapy and contemporized rites of passage.

What I'd like you to know about me

My basic philosophy and approach

I believe we all deserve the opportunity to be our best and to live the life we desire. I work with individuals, groups and organizations in designing (and living!) successful and healthy lifestyles and I coach them to be their personal, professional and organizational best.

Women working with me connect to their natural rhythms through learning how to better manage their own moods and energy. For me, nothing is more important than that you feel good. To this end, I founded the Evenstar Mood and Energy Wellness Center and created the Evenstar Mood and Energy Management System. I work with women from all over the world by phone and email and see people who come to the Center in Virginia.

I want my clients to have great fun designing their own life adventure and laying out the stepping stones to get to their dreams. My work is fueled by my belief that your dreams and desires are your most important contribution to the world. Your dreams and desires are the vehicles by which you bring yourself into the world. My greatest desire for you is that you experience what it is like to tap into your power to live your dreams and desires.

I know a lot about what I do and I have a passion for my work. I offer comprehensive health and wellness and personal development coaching, consulting, and assessment and functional health testing services. My expertise is in lifestyle, natural health and wellness, and environmental enhancement. My focus is on helping you reconnect to yourself and on uncovering the optimal internal and external design for supporting the best of who you are.

I can leverage many tools and knowledge bases for helping you find your way back to yourself.

• Peak performance principles
• Longevity health principles
• Nutritional medicine
• Personal foundation development and evolution
• High performance thinking principles
• Brain chemistry optimization
• Functional health testing
• Personal development assessment
• Herbal medicine
• Many alternative health care modalities
• Personal coaching
• Women’s spirituality practices
• Multi-dimensional healing practices
• Attraction principles

Who Am I?

I think that my personal strengths and preferences can tell you a lot about how it would be to work with me - more than my credentials and experience, of which there is plenty listed further below.

When I took the Authentic Happiness Values in Action Strength Survey interest and curiosity showed up as my number one signature strength. And I scored 100% in each category of comparison - which apparently means that I am interested in everything.

My signature strengths are:

Curiosity and interest in the world – I am curious about everything. I am always asking questions and find all subjects and topics fascinating. I love exploration and discovery

Creativity, ingenuity, and originality  - I think of new ways to do things. Why do it the conventional way when a better way is possible?

Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness  - I take the time to think things through and examine them from all sides. I don’t usually jump to conclusions and tend to rely on solid evidence to make a decision. But I don’t get locked in and am able to change my mind when needed.

Love of learning- I love, love, love learning new things. Just look at all the certificates I have. I am at home in an academic setting, read voraciously and jump at the chance to participate anywhere and everywhere that there is an opportunity to learn something new. I think that this may be a “strength gone wild” and at times needs a little taming.

Perspective (wisdom)  - The feedback from clients indicates that they value my perspective on matters and turn to me to get my point of view. It seems that they think that I have a way of looking at the world that makes sense to them. 

And from StrengthFinder:

Intellection – I am a smart person and have a developed and disciplined intellect. I favor introspection, musing and reflection. I love asking questions and figuring out problems and I am fascinated by ideas. I have to discipline myself to stay away from all those discussion lists as I could spend all day exploring the intricacies of an idea. I am always on a quest to stretch my mind and master something new – or old. Sometimes this side of me gets a little stuffy and stiff but it gives me a good balance and keeps me from getting too far “out there”. I dream of being part of a “think tank.”

Strategic – I must say I was happy to see this side of me reflected in my strength profile. I am a whiz at creating alternative ways to do things. I can spot the relevant patterns a mile away and just naturally see potential obstacles and those paths that will lead nowhere. I have a knack for finding ways out of confusing situations and finding the best way through the clutter. I am good at finding a strategy that keeps things moving forward.  I once was afraid that these tendencies would make me seem to wishy-washy – I could find my way around anything and was always able to find a new course if needed. But now I see this is actually what being strategic is all about.

Learner – I can’t escape it. I am passionate about learning and am obsessed about continuously improving what I do. I am energized by the prospect of increasing my competence. And I love to work in dynamic environments that challenge me to learn a lot.

Relator – I am not comfortable at cocktail parties and meeting people in large groups. I’d rather develop close relationships with people and help them achieve something they have set out to do. I connect with people one by one and can understand their fears, hopes, dreams, goals, thoughts, and feelings. I easily partner with people - holding a vision for their possibilities. As a matter of fact I can’t help it and I am working on getting a little bit personally detached from the outcomes of others.

Futuristic – Envisioning multiple future possibilities comes to me naturally. I see no limit of detailed scenarios and visions for the future. I am inspired by what could be and am a great dreamer for both myself and others.  I have no problem in supporting others in raising their sights and their spirits. I let daydreams pull me forward. After all, dreams are the stuff from which realities are made.

Compelling Experiences in  my life

How did I get here?

I grew up poor. Mostly perennially low on money but sometimes really poor. It wasn’t always like that for my parents. My father started out as a professional baseball player (and he made it the Majors as a pitcher for the Washington Senators and Chicago White Soxs in a time when players were not paid like they are today) but by the time I was 8-10 years old we were really into being poor.

We never made it to homeless but it seemed we were just one step away too often. And it mostly stayed that way for my parents until I was in my 30s and helped them get their first home.

When I was younger, I watched my mother and father see their dreams slip away from them as they struggled to just stay afloat. As I experienced their struggle, I also experienced their energy and mood slip away from them.

The experience of growing up poor made a lasting impression on me. It defined my work in the world for me and was the perfect preparation to help me develop a strong compassion for helping people realize their dreams in the world and helping people get in touch with feeling good as the path toward self realization.

Of course, I took on much of this ancestral linage  – most significantly the tendency to see my mood slip into depression. I am a very high energy person and it was not that I was always depressed. Rather depression and anxiety seemed to lurk around the corner and make unexpected visits now and again- sometimes being more disruptive than other times.  These unhappy moods took a good deal of my life energy and focus until at age 48 I made the choice to stop being ruled by poor moods and energy and learn how to get truly in touch with who I am authentically and naturally.

Since then I have not looked back. I took up my life work and connected with the wisdom around and within me. I found out that bad moods don’t have to rule your life. I reconnected with myself, learned about the natural rhythms of moods and energy and learned that you can manage your moods and energy – even if you weren’t born with a natural good mood set point or even if through your life experiences you have somehow gotten ‘stuck” in bad moods and low energy.

Because my childhood experiences predisposed me and my brain for depression and anxiety, I pay close attention to the everyday management of my moods and energy. But since that choice at age 48 I have not been at the mercy of unmanaged moods and energy.

My hope for you is that you also will learn how to create good mood and energy wellness for yourself – that you will never be at the mercy of unmanaged poor moods and energy. I learned that you can claim feeling good for yourself – you can turn feeling unhappy, depressed and anxious into feeling happy, calm, peaceful and joyous. You don’t have to wait for the good times to show up - you can cultivate and grow good mood and energy.

When you let your dreams and desires guide you through life the better your moods and energy will be – and the better your moods and energy are the more your dreams and desires show up in the world.

Where Have I been?

Psychology Finds Me

Even as a kid I was intrigued by the meaning of life. I remember living in two worlds – the imaginary and the physical. Retrospectively, I think I was aware of experiencing multiple realities simultaneously - the multi-dimensional experience that is the natural state of the human being but that we are taught to ignore.

When I was in elementary school I wanted to be a teacher. Later, in high school, I wanted to be a writer. That did not seem to meet with much approval though, and I stumbled into psychology. I loved psychology. It was sort of like being a writer – getting down to the core and connecting with someone about the meaning of life - but oh so much more professional.

(In high school I also met my husband – and that is a 40 year ongoing journey of understanding the strange, rewarding and enriching nature of relationships.)

In college I fell even more in love with psychology –  I just devoured the whole idea. And in college I linked up my desire to be a teacher with psychology and discovered child psychology and early childhood development. I was in heaven. I threw myself into learning all that I could and went on to the University of Chicago to get my Master’s and study more about children. It had become my life.

By the time I finished my Master’s degree, I was pregnant with my first child. I knew I was on the verge of a serious burn out, and politely turned down an offer to get my Ph.D and went with my husband (of 5 years – we married young) to Minnesota to have our baby while he got his MFA.

The End of Illlusions and the Beginning of New Paths

I grew hearty in Minnesota. There is a lot of snow there and we did not have a car. Undaunted by this, I got my pregnant self and then myself and my baby daughter around on a bicycle and some public transportation. During that time I fulfilled my dream of being a teacher when I took on the job as Head Teacher for a community preschool program.

When I was pregnant, I was so sure that I knew everything there was to know about children. After all, I had been studying children non-stop for five years. This whole parenting thing would be a snap.

Oh, the end of illusion came swiftly and unexpectedly.

First, it was time to junk my fantasies about hospitals and natural childbirth. I was very prepared but so naïve about how hospitals really worked. We managed to “squeeze by” without the forceps delivery.

That experience set me on a path that determined the Childbearing Year (link) part of my life - for the next 20 years.

And then there was my daughter – apparently she had not read the same books about children that I had. I look back on it fondly – now - but I can still feel the utter surprise and confusion as my entire life dissolved around this baby.

I am guessing that part of my daughter’s task in this world was to point me in the direction of my life’s trajectory. When she was 9 months old she had her first chronic ear infection. I hadn’t ever been sick much myself, so I didn’t have a lot of experience with antibiotics. I dutifully administered the antibiotics the doctors told me were necessary for my beautiful little girl. And for the next nine months I did that again and again until the doctors proclaimed that surgery and tubes to drain her ears were the only hope.

There are certain turning points in life that set you up for your life’s work -  and here I had reached one again. Sitting there in the crowded University of Minnesota hospital with sick children all around and confronting the same issue over and over again, it dawned upon me that something was amiss with the system. There had to be a better way.

That was it for me – life had put me on a path to finding a better way to take care of health and wellness. (And I never had to use antibiotics again for any of my children. And even as they enter their 30s, except for my first daughter, they have never had to have antibiotics.)

I Find That’s There Is More Out There

Five children later, I was happily in the midst of raising my family, homeschooling my children and having a grand time working with women during their Childbearing Year – teaching childbirth classes, working with breastfeeding women as a lactation consultant and delivering babies as a homebirth midwife. Plus, it was during this wonderful time in my life that I started my herbal company and embarked upon the whole heal everything with herbs journey.

As happens in most people’s lives, my spirit got a bit restless. I went looking for deeper existential expansion. This took me on a fifteen year journey with metaphysical experiences. I explored women’s spritituality, nature centered and traditional practices of healing and claimed my medicine names.

My most intense soulward experience was in a twelve year apprenticeship to a Cherokee mystic. In Native American culture a mystic is the spiritual authority of her culture.

Joan Borysenko in her book, The Ways of the Mystic, describes a mystic as one who “… sees beyond the illusion of separateness into the intricate web of life in which all things are expressions of a single Whole.” She quotes Albert Einstein as having once remarked that “the illusion that we are separate is an optical delusion of consciousness.”

The central core of all mystical traditions is: We are One. One must know that no existing thing has an independent existence. One must know that all things are interdependent. (Percepts of the Gurus, Tibetan Buddhist Text).

Some day I may write a book about that profound, crazy and whirlwind experience – because it’s quite a story. But one thing I’ll say now that it did for me was to open my eyes to the fluid nature of reality. I became very clear that healing is not a linear process – and has little to do with getting fixed up with a pill or whatever. Never again could I be satisfied with “Let’s see what herbal tonic is going to cure you”.

And the multi-dimensional nature of healing had claimed me.

There I am-  a snapshot version of the life experiences that compelled me to  this work and various viewpoints of how I operate in the world.

As you can see, I am a healer and educator of various persuasions.  I have now partnered with thousands (literally) of people to help them become healthier and happier.

Maybe we will choose to partner together too.

More than you need to know about me.

A rich personal life

I live in Virginia with my husband of 38 years, our five grown children living nearby with their spouses, three grandchildren, and our dogs, cats and plants (and granddogs and grandcats).

Impressive pertinent work experiences

My professional experiences have been an opportunity for me to support people to do something better for themselves. My work is a chance for me to assist clients toward optimal development and performance and greater well being.

• Personal and Professional Life and Health and Wellness  Coach, Licensed Certified Nutritionist, Certified Health and Wellness Consultant, Biochemical Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician , CEO, Evenstar - Mood and Energy Wellness Center: Life by Design, The Wellness Advantage, Sacred Journeys;1998-present

• Herbalist, Nutritional and Wellness Consultant, Founder and President Evenstar Herbs - an herbal and wellness products mail order company 1987-present

• Clinical Counseling Internship, Region Ten Community Counseling Service, Lovingston, VA, 2002-03

• Traditional Midwife, homebirth, 1986 -1998

• Lactation Consultant, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant - 1985-1995.

• Labor Support Professional (doula), pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum support - 1981-1990.

• Childbirth Educator 1981-1993 Informed Homebirth; American Academy of Husband Coached childbirth (Bradley Method); International Childbirth Education Association; Positive Pregnancy and Parenting Fitness - private practice.

• Preschool Head Teacher, 1974-1975, Matthews Center Co-operative Nursery School. Charles E Matthews Center, 2318 29th Ave. South, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55454.

• Psychological Tester for Head Start, 1971-1972. Intermediary Unit, Lewisburg school district, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

• Preschool Tutor, 1970-1972, Preschool Head Start. Intermediary Unit, Lewisburg School District, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

A well-rounded education

My education has opened many doors for me and given me many opportunities. I am secure knowing that I am well trained and have achieved certifiable degree of excellence. I can offer so much more because I have the confidence that my actions are based on a solid foundation.

• MA in Psychology and Counseling with a concentration in Organizational Development, Goddard College, Plainfield, VT, 2000-2004

• MA in Human Development with a concentration in Early Childhood Education, Psychology and Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1972-1973.

• BA in Psychology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 1969-1972.

An honored scholar

I love the whole process of learning in and of itself. I enjoy disciplining my mind in the pursuit of mastery. The most pleasant and worthwhile learning, for me, is one that requires a disciplined mind in the pursuit of wisdom while living a whole and complete, balanced life.

• Phi Beta Kappa (national honor society).

• Psi Chi (psychology honorary).

• Kappa Delta Pi (education honorary).

• Full tuition grant University of Chicago 1972-1973.

• Graduated top 5% of class from Bucknell University 1972.

• Magna cum Laude with honors in psychology, Bucknell University.

• Dean’s list, Bucknell University.

• New Jersey State Scholarship 1968-1972.

Continuing the search for new and better approaches

I have a passion for knowledge and wisdom. I crave understanding the details and any new insights that contribute to my clients achieving better results. A service professional and healer is no passive observer and must strive to make herself accountable for an outcome. I am in search of Nature’s secrets and am drawn to know them in their many varied forms. But despite all of the knowledge that we have accumulated, the energy that is the essence of all life is its own vital force.

• Professional Certification Program in Nutritional Science -2003, American Health Science University & National Institute of Nutritional Education, 1010 S. Joliet, Suite 107, Aurora, California 80012.

• Robertson Research Institute Level II Verified Biochemical Profile Clinician for the Brain Chemistry Optimization Program, – 2001, Robertson Institute Ltd., 3555 Pierce Rd. Saginaw, MI. 48604.

• Coach Training Program - 2000-2004, CoachU, PO Box 881595, Steamboat Springs, Colorado 80488.

• Board Certified Holistic Health Practitioner - 1999, American Association of Drugless Practitioners, 708 Madelaine Drive, Gilmer, Texas 75644.

Incorporating experience with proven coaching paradigms

• Personal Freedoms Licensed Trainer, 2003; Coachville School of Coaching

• Extreme Self Care Licensed Trainer, 2002; Coachville School of Coaching

• Toleration Free Program Licensed Trainer, 2002; Coachville School of Coaching

• Personal Evolution Program Licensed Trainer, 2002; Coachville School of Coaching

• A Perfect Life Program Licensed Trainer, 2001; Coachville School of Coaching

• Personal Foundation Program Licensed Trainer, 2001; Coachville School of Coaching

• Attraction Program Licensed Trainer, 2001; Coachville School of Coaching

• SimplyEffective Coach training , 2001

Varied Work Experiences

• Seminar and Individual Healing Work Coordinator, 1987-1995, Virginia Sandlin Associates./ Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336

• Childbirth Consumer Advisor and Board of Directors, 1986-1988, The Childbirth Center, Englewood, New Jersey.

• Professional Advisor, International Childbirth Education Association for in-hospital birth center, 1986 Pascack Valley Hospital, Westwood, New Jersey.

• District Advisor, 1983-1985, La Leche League, New Jersey

• Breastfeeding Counselor and La Leche League Leader, 1976-1988, La Leche League International.

Supporting Certifications

• Anatomy and Physiology, American Academy of Nutrition, 3408 Sausalito, Corona del Mar, California, 1999.

• Foundations in Herbal Medicine, 4840 Pan American Freeway, NE Albuquerque, NM. 87109, 1999-open.

• Diploma of Herbal Studies, Australasian College of Herbal Studies, PO Box 57, Lake Oswego, OR. 97034, 1999-open.

• Certified Practitioner and Teacher Sandlin Technique - Cherokee Native American bodywork private practice, 1997-1998, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Certified Practitioner Ritual Training counselor - 1997, Cherokee Native American ritual work private practice, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Practitioner Holographic Body private practice - energy health care practices, 1996, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Practitioner Shamanic counselor private practice - 1996, Shamanism, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Practitioner and Educator Touch for Health - kinesiology testing for muscle reconditioning private practice, 1995, Morris Institute of Natural Therapeutics, Denville, New Jersey.

• Practitioner Energy Dynamics counselor private practice - 1994, Energy Dynamics Training, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna Arizona 86336.

• Certified Practitioner Matrimatics Birth Professional - Cherokee Native American birth counselor private practice, 1994, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Certified Practitioner Matrimatics Herbalism - Cherokee Native American herbalism private practice, 1994, Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Practitioner Byronomics Energy Management and Diagnosis private practice, 1988, Gentry Chiropractic Clinic, 3616 NW 58th St., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112.

• Teacher - Wolf Clan Teaching Lodge earth energy charts, Seneca Indian Historical Society, 1988, 12199 Brant-Reservation Rd., Irving, New York, 14081

• Practitioner and Educator - Educational Kinesiology movement education for learning disabilities and cognitive restructuring - private consultations and consumer classes, 1988, Educational Kinesiology Foundation, PO Box 5002, Glendale, California 91221.

• Certified Reflexologist - practitioner, 1988, Laura Norman Reflexology Center, 117 East 24th Street, Suite 4B, New York, New York, 10010.

• Certified Childbirth Educator pregnancy and postpartum fitness private practice, 1987, Positive Pregnancy and Parenting Fitness, 51 Saltrock Road, Baltic, Connecticut 06330.

• International Certified Childbirth Educator ICEA - childbirth education classes private practice, 1987 International Childbirth Education Association, PO Box 20048, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55420.

• International Board Certified Lactation Consultant private practice and professional in-service, 1985, International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners, 2315 Wickersham Cove, Germantown, Tennessee 38138.

• Certified Childbirth Educator, homebirth childbirth education classes private practice, 1983, Informed Homebirth, Box 3675, Ann Harbor, Michigan 48106.

• Certified Childbirth Educator, The Bradley Method childbirth education classes private practice, 1981, American Academy of Husband Coached Childbirth, Box 5224, Sherman Oaks, California 91413.

• Breastfeeding Counselor and La Leche League Leader, 1976-1983, La Leche League, International, PO Box 1209, Franklin Park, Illinois, 60131.

• Comprehensive Cherokee Native American Healing apprenticeship including herbalism, childbirth, education, energy dynamics, multidimensional healing, 1987-1998; Virginia Sandlin, Cherokee mystic, author, speaker, consultant, counselor; Sandlin Institute, 180 Flaming Arrow Way, Sedonna, Arizona 86336.

• Herbal Apprenticeship, 1987-1991; Susun Weed - Herbalist, author, speaker, counselor; Wise Women Center, PO Box 64, Woodstock, New York 12498.

• Midwifery Apprenticeship, 1988; Sherry Willis - Traditional Midwife; 64 Box 85, Woodville, VA. 22749.

Continuing Education

• 2006 – Ailments and Natural Remedies
  American Health Science University
  National Institute of Nutritional Education

• 2005 – Balancing Moods for the Better
  American Health Science University
  National Institute of Nutritional Education

• 2004 – Metabolic Typing and Individualizing a Nutritional Plan
  American Health Science University
  National Institute of Nutritional Education

Publications

Booklets

• Menopause: the Promise.

• Herbs and urinary tract infections.

• Seven basic herbs for home health care.

• Beating the cold and flu blues naturally.

• A Woman's Primer to Better Mood & Energy Management

Articles

Over 80 articles by Mary Ann on a variety of Mood and Energy Management, Peak Performance, Nutritional and Longevity Principles topics are posted on this website. Index

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