 National Magazine Names Yoga Nurse® First Modern Nightingale North Carolina resident, Annette Tersigni, former cover girl and Hollywood actor turned stress management expert receives national recognition for work as Yoga Nurse®. (Emerald Isle, NC. May 2009) Annette Tersigni, graces the cover of the inaugural issue of The Modern Nightingale magazine as the publication’s first “Modern Nightingale.” The premier edition features a full cover photo of Tersigni with hands at heart center, along with an article detailing Tersigni’s incredible journey from acting and modeling to Yoga Nurse®. Publisher, Myrna Santos, developed The Modern Nightingale to pay tribute to “our everyday heroes” and share lifestyle information seldom revealed within traditional industry publications. Her choice to feature Tersigni ties to the RN’s passion for educating and healing through yoga, and brings a spotlight to her work as the founder of the yoga therapy program for cancer patients at the Raab Oncology Clinic in Morehead City, North Carolina. Yoga Nurse Mission Statement: To create a global army of modern nightingales, yoga nurses, to uplift our ailing health care system; to relieve pain and suffering and increase quality of life by caring for patients and for nurses with therapeutic yoga nursing. “Annette [is] the consummate bridge between two worlds - savvy, practical, innovative, assertive, and at the same time visionary, spiritual, compassionate-All wrapped in a beautiful package with skill and expertise as the foundation. [She] brings yoga to nursing not just for patients in recovery, but also for nurses as a stress management and work-life balance tool. Thanks Annette for your inspiration to us all." Patricia Raskin, host of Positive Living™ Radio show. . ANNETTE TERSIGNI, THE YOGA NURSE® BIO Annette Tersigni R.N. is a former model and Hollywood actor turned nurse and stress management expert. This feisty, talented woman is now known as the Yoga Nurse® and has dedicated the past 15 years to educating people in Europe, Canada and the USA on leading healthy, spiritual lifestyles. She is the founder of Yoga Nurse Medical Yoga and Stress Management® and is the creator of the new field of Yoga Nursing® and the Yoga Nursing Institute®. Annette is an expert in stress management, back safety, yoga therapy in the work place, medical yoga and Ayurveda, the science of life and longevity. Annette is a sought-after speaker and presents workshops, retreats, corporate yoga programs and stress management refreshers throughout the country. She also works with hospitals to offer stress relief to patients with heart disease, cancer, depression and anxiety disorders, and facilitates a group for cancer survivors and their caregivers in coastal North Carolina with therapeutic Yoga Nursing. Annette makes yoga accessible to all people at all levels and specializes in gentle, medical yoga as a form of therapy. Regardless of the situation or aliment, she creates a safe and comfortable environment to help anyone pursue balance, healing and inner strength and cope with ever-changing and demanding work environments. Annette has found work-related stress leads to depression, a drop in work performance, and anxiety and affects businesses’ bottom line. She developed Yoga Nursing as the cure for stressed out, unhealthy Americans. Prior to her work in stress management, Annette had a successful career in modeling and acting both in Canada and the US. She appeared in television commercials and films and was on "The Tonight Show" as one of the "Mighty Carson Art Players." She retired from show business while still in her prime to pursue a new life in the medical field. Inspired by Deepak Chopra and David Simon MD, Annette returned to college and graduated with honors as a Registered Nurse. Annette appears frequently in the media regarding yoga, stress management, and her own unique personal story. She was featured on NPR, and in Associated Press, Charlotte News Observer and on the cover of Modern Nightingale magazine. She also writes articles for the nursing, medical and wellness fields. Annette has produced a CD titled, “How to Grow Younger with Yoga Nurse,” a mini-stress management program suitable for all ages. She will be publishing her book on Yoga Nursing soon. A partial list of clients includes: • Hewlett Packard • The Delphi Corporation, • Gowlings, La Fleur Henderson Law Firm • Le Page Real Estate • First Citizens Bank • Carteret General Hospital • Carteret County Schools • Coastal Canvas Marine • Raab Cancer Clinic • Seneca College • West Carteret High School • The Tiller School • York University Education and Certifications: • RN Wellness Educator • Certified Ayurvedic Health Educator • Stress Management Consultant • Certified Kripalu Yoga teacher • Certified Integral medical yoga teacher • Yoga Alliance ERYT 500 (experienced, registered yoga teacher) • Meditation teacher and certified Lay Pastoral Minister for the sick & the dying • Member of the National Nurses in Business Association FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. What is Yoga Nursing? Yoga Nursing® is the holistic, healing practice of caring and compassion provided by licensed nursing professionals who are also certified medical yoga teachers. Its mission is to create a global army of modern nightingales, yoga nurses, who will uplift the ailing health care system and relieve pain and suffering for both patients and for nurses. 2. What prompted you to create this field? I took a training in Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga, in the mid 1990’s with the brilliant Deepak Chopra and David Simon Mds. At that time I was a full time yoga teacher and they inspired me. I thought “Wow! If I became a nurse as well as being a yoga teacher, I could really make a difference in the quality of people’s lives.” Once, while I was still in nursing school teaching a yoga class, one of my students called me the yoga nurse! That‘s when the Yoga Nurse and the field of Yoga Nursing was officially created. I graduated from nursing and it became crystal clear that there was a natural fit between traditional western based nursing knowledge and the ancient eastern science of yoga. The marriage of therapeutic yoga and nursing offers people the best of both worlds and insures the greatest success in their healing. 3. How does therapeutic yoga help people with grave illness? Therapeutic yoga improves the function of the nervous and immune systems, increases function of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, decreases chronic pain, anxiety, depression and so much more. I have cared for numerous patients with cancer, heart disease, chronic pain, anxiety and depression to name a few grave illnesses. I have witnessed exciting and often dramatic improvements AND I have numerous testimonials; in addition there is now an abundance of clinical evidence provided from the NIH (National Institute of Health). 4. How can Yoga Nursing help to alleviate work place stress? Work related stress, anxiety and depression costs American businesses billions of dollars. Yoga Nursing helps to decrease work-related stress which leads to improved morale, productivity, decreased absentee-ism, less employee turnover and fewer work place accidents. 5. What made you switch careers from the Hollywood high life to Yoga Nursing? I believe it was destiny. Everything we do in life prepares us for our ultimate role or service. Although I was one of the fortunate ones to make a living in show biz, I felt increasingly empty in my heart and soul and my life took a radical turn. I decided to “leave the business before it left me” and ultimately dedicate my life to caring for others. Hollywood gave me a terrific training ground for my final role as the Yoga Nurse! Contact information: Maria Smith, Maria Rose PR To suscribe to the Modern nigtingale magazine contact the publisher Myrna Santos myrnyc@msn.com | 
