Martel Catalano

Martel Catalano is a yoga teacher, public speaker and the founder of Beyond My Battle, a nonprofit harnessing positivity, mindfulness, and self-care to manage the stress of living with disease and disability.

When Martel was 13 years-old she was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa, and it’s safe to say it’s had a huge impact on her life. Over the years Martel has slowly been losing her vision, and as a way to cope she disassociated from her disease. She distracted herself from the unfixable problem of blindness by creating problems that she could fix. Three years ago she realized she needed to address her illness. She saw what it was doing to her life, to her relationships, and to her body and she knew it was time for a change.

Martel’s words on reconnecting to the truth of who she is, and who she wanted to be, through yoga and mindfulness will remind you of the importance of pushing past our limiting beliefs and narratives. Her reflections on her journey, the gifts that her disease has given her, and her desire to make an impact through sharing her journey and her story will remind you that we are so much more than the battles we face. Martel is a light and her passion and desire to help others overcome their limiting beliefs around chronic illness is inspiring and needed. Sharing her story has changed her life. It’s given her the opportunity to educate and empower others to focus on what we can do, rather than what we can’t, and manage the constant anxiety that comes with living with something that we can’t simply fix.

To learn more about Martel and Beyond My Battle visit their website beyondmybattle.com and connect with Martel on Instagram @martelcatalano and @beyondmybattle

Stories of Inspiring Joy is a production of Seek The Joy Media and created by Sydney Weiss. To learn more and submit your story, click here.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Stories of Inspiring Joy.