Dr. Bala Pillai PT,DPT,PCS
Bala Pillai is a Stress Management coach and nationally and internationally recognized doctor of physical therapy. She’s also the owner of Heart Brain Balance certified in Heart Math and Brain Gym which are two research-based stress management curriculums. She is passionate about helping youth, caregivers, adults, and seniors navigate challenging situations and learn how to govern their emotional responses when present with stress and anxiety.
Her dynamic Heart Brain Balance curriculum and programs educate and develop behavioral support implementation programs that address learning and emotional challenges in children, adults, seniors, as well as families experiencing challenges due to life’s transitions. This is accomplished through her signature programs that provide real-time tools and techniques to help individuals manage responses when emotionally triggered at the moment while building resilience to achieve inner peace and balance.
Her motto is REACH ONE, TEACH ONE, CHANGE A GENERATION. This is her motivation to continue to equip families and communities of all dynamics and backgrounds with the tools needed to develop healthy coping skills and behaviors while achieving emotional stability during times of uncertainty.
My Story and Coaching Philosophy
Hi, my name is Bala Pillai, physical therapist, holistic stress management coach, and human just like you- learning to navigate life’s challenges. With over 25 years of experience, I teach people to change the way we think about stress. The stress response is not our enemy- -enroll in my signature ABCD program for adults and children and find out how you can befriend your stress to navigate your hard moments while tapping into your inner wisdom, inner peace, and the ability to self-heal.
I help people who are successful on the surface yet struggling/drowning underneath find relief, feel better and develop a growth mindset- always open to possibilities.
I mostly coach parents and professionals, because I am one.
I love to coach people of all ages, backgrounds, professions, and life circumstances.
Research says we are stressed when we feel unsafe. We now know that our nervous system shifts us into a protective state when it picks up cues of danger from the environment. Most of us know this as our fight or flight response. All this is from a subconscious state and it is automatic. Most of us get stuck in these defensive or self-protective states. This does not serve us well and gradually starts straining our relationships and eventually our health.
I empower people with the tools they need to support their nervous system pick up safety cues when the threat is not real and negotiate their hard moments and situations with dignity, lightness, playfulness, and laughter.
My Story and Coaching Philosophy:
6 years ago, I felt I was living my dream
I had my doctorate in physical therapy from Northeastern University, a school-based PT respected by school administrators for innovative ways to provide solutions to teachers – especially for those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities, and sensory processing disorders ( invisible neurological conditions). I had a husband and 2 children. I lived in the suburbs and felt I was living a decent life.
Anyone working in public schools knows that it comes with its own challenges and I prided myself in being able to cope with any situation life throws at me- being that my caseload was spread from preschool to high school which included several school buildings, school teams, and personalities.
My bubble burst when my husband of 25 years got diagnosed with a poorly understood neurological condition that affected his physical and mental health significantly. The added stress brought out my tendencies to “fix” and provide answers in full force.
In spite of meditating and doing regular physical exercise every day, I found myself getting triggered at the moment when my husband struggled with his emotional dysregulation.
Giving recommendations on how to manage emotions at the moment and actually doing it myself were two completely different stories. Being a perfectionist did not help.
I found solutions through a combination of patience, self-compassion, neuroscience, breathwork, mindfulness, and relationship care.
I realized I was focusing on the wrong person- The focus needed to start with me first and then and only then could I think of helping someone else manage their emotions in real-time.
When I started changing myself, everything started changing
I started with intentional breathing.
From here, I learned to pause and be present and notice. And then respond with clarity and intention.
This approach transformed my mental health, my services, my parenting, my relationships, and my marriage.
Coaching taught me to pause, think and live life differently.
The blend of meditation, personal stress relieving workout with therapeutically calming movements, mindfulness and breathwork taught me to take full ownership of all aspects of my life.
I regained my inner peace, understood myself, actually started looking younger and learned to show up as my best friend in my life, my career, and all my relationships.
Connected coaching was the most impactful intervention I had come across in 30 years working in the healthcare field.
My Approach
Awareness, Balance and Choices (ABC®) are the integral components of my coaching, workshops and webinars.
It is a combination of neuroscience research and Eastern ancient wisdom . These tools help you to slow down, create space and understand your emotions.
They help you to let go of beliefs that are causing you unnecessary suffering and start being kind to yourself.
They help you to spend less time worrying about the past and fearful about the future.
And more time on what matters most.
