Canadian woman learns power of meditation is answer to stress problems

• It changed Michelle Cahoon's life and she's hoping it will do the same for others.
• The power of meditation, Cahoon said, has made it possible for her to manage her full-time job in the chaotic airline industry and her relationship with her teenage daughter -- making her passionate about sharing the discipline with others through a series of workshops.
• It all started with a trip to Cuba last December.
• "The time that I was there, something changed for me," Cahoon said.
• A friend turned Cahoon on to the practice of vowelling, or the repetition of sounds, which she did for 30 days -- and which she said made a world of difference for her at work, where she had a tendency to "match emotions" with her often upset, panicky and generally irate customers.
• After all, her mother is Judy Cahoon, widely known in the Airdrie area for the guardian angel workshops she organizes with spiritualist medium Margaret Davenport Freed, as well as the breathtaking garden she plants and tends along Nose Creek, south of Summerfield Boulevard.
• That journey led her to Calgary, where she began taking workshops on guided meditation and full moon meditation -- both of which she has started teaching in Airdrie.
• Tomorrow night, Cahoon will host a guided meditation workshop for chakra clearing, followed by a full moon meditation workshop scheduled for June 22.
• The cost is $10, which goes toward the cost of workbooks and crystals, with the remainder being donated to charity.
• The workshops are for beginners and Cahoon is hopeful that the group will grow and learn together and have a positive impact not only on each other, but those around it.
• "(Meditation) brings peace and harmony to those around us," she said.