About the Artist
Ashira, born in Texas and now residing in Bethesda, Maryland, is a multimedia artist. She combines preserved butterflies and other insects with plants and found objects.
Her interactive domes and framed dioramas are inspired by bringing the outdoors inward — capturing the perfection of nature in a place of peace, allowing the viewer to pause and experience a transformational work of art.
Background
Ashira Lavine is a professional breathwork instructor, licensed massage therapist and 500-hr certified yoga teacher with years of training in trauma resolution. She formerly held roles in the federal government as Special Agent/Criminal Investigator (DOI) and Deputy Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response (ACF/HHS). She has experience working with Military Veterans and across the law enforcement community.
She offers private and group sessions as well as worksite wellness and corporate events.
After more than 10 years making critical assessments on behalf of the federal government, the stress of having to repeatedly witness horrific events took its toll on her health. She could not seem to come down from a high state of anxiety and stress that ran through her body and mind 24/7. She was laid out in bed for a year, and did not see how she could continue working or even be in public.
She learned how to heal through advanced methods in holistic health (including breathwork, meditation, mindfulness and yoga). She successfully healed from a series of physical and mental ailments by cultivating self-awareness and building an advanced level of mental control.
Inspired by her own experience in both the law enforcement and health communities, she now teaches organizations and high performance individuals how to regulate their physiology and psyche using breath and meditative focus techniques. These techniques benefit the user by increasing concentration, healing trauma, and helping the active mind sustain performance long-term.