About PFAC
Bringing to fruition the Practice for a Cure Foundation has been the motivating intention behind the endeavors of founder, Chris Warner, and her husband, her inspiration, Mike Maguire, for many years. Having together experienced personal trauma—on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels—and having been granted the grace of coming through traumatic events to a life that is happy, healthy, and free, has motivated Chris and Mike to dedicate their efforts and resources to serving those in need. Both Chris and Mike know this: Pain in life is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Through the practice of mindfulness, on the mat, on the cushion, and throughout life, we need no longer suffer; we can, instead, bring our compassionate awareness to each precious moment, see things as they are, rather than as we might wish them to be, and, most importantly, come to know, as Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh gently remind us, that our suffering is not separate from the suffering of others, and that our happiness is not separate from the happiness of others. We are all connected, we are all one. Thus, whatever we wish for ourselves, so too do we wish for all beings. By ending disconnection and suffering in our own lives, through our practice, only then can we heal the separation and suffering of the world in which we live.
Towards this end, Chris founded the Practice for a Cure Foundation, and the mission is this: that through our efforts, on the yoga mat, on the meditation cushion, one pose at a time, one breath at a time, we might alleviate (‘cure’) the suffering of all beings. Our wish is to share the gifts of our mindfulness practice, and its fruits, with all, and to thus dedicate our resources and energies to those in need, to draw together like-minded individuals and groups in order to provide teaching, sponsorship and support of mindfulness practice programs to those who desire its benefits, to raise money in order to offer assistance to those in need, and to extend this practice to all, regardless of ability to pay.
Knowing also the suffering of those with cancer, and the effects of this disease on the families of those with cancer, the PFACF strongly supports cancer research, through donations of funding, as well as through working with those currently undergoing treatment, and with cancer survivors, offering support programs, practice programs, and individual consultations and home visits. The PFACF currently supports cancer research at the Dana Farber Institute through the PMC/Jimmy Fund, with the intention of expanding support through partnerships with hospitals and health care providers in the coming years. Additionally, the PFACF understands that a happy and healthy world begins at home, and is thus committed to serving children in need, to supporting programs promoting healthy development, and to bolstering the strength of families, particularly at this time, through working with the Tri-Town Council on Youth and Family Services.
History
Mike Maguire began riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge (a 200-mile bicycling event in Massachusetts that raises millions of dollars each year for cancer research) in 2003, in honor of a long-time employee who had been diagnosed with cancer, and in honor of Elaine Niels, Chris’s aunt, who had recently died of colon cancer. Once he’d participated in this event, having met so many during that first weekend who were survivors, or currently undergoing treatment, or who were participating in the event in honor of lost loved ones, he was profoundly moved, knowing then that so long as he could, he would ride, in service to those suffering with cancer.
In August of 2006, a week after completing his 3rd PMC, Mike suffered two strokes. He and Chris then realized that his supposed 'electrolyte imbalance' the week prior to the PMC had actually been the first stroke; thus, there had been a series of three. Following many tests, weeks of hospitalization, and, finally, brain by-pass surgery, Mike not only survived, but returned home to recover, having been informed, however, that he might never ride his bike again. This was a blow—as Mike was deeply committed to the Pan Mass Challenge, and had, in the process, become an avid cyclist. Once home, recovering, Mike and Chris then suffered another blow: Mike was informed that his long-held position as vice-president and general manager of his company was being eliminated—immediately— and that their 'retirement' business was to be sold.
Health: uncertain. Job: lost. Income: gone. Lifestyle: forever changed. At that point, the future appeared bleak.
However, within weeks, Chris helped Mike get back to the yoga mat for Yin yoga (long slow deep stretching), and back to the meditation cushion. For although Chris and Mike had practiced yoga together for years, Mike had previously resisted committing to a mediation practice. While recovering from brain surgery, however, meditation and a quiet contemplative yoga practice was all that he could do—and so he committed—knowing that his life depended upon it. Within just a few months, Mike was back on his bike and back to work. They both knew that Mike's recovery, and their joint survival, on every level, was due to the miracle of mindfulness, and was made possible through their commitment to the practice of yoga and meditation.
Having experienced, then, first-hand, the healing powers of yoga and meditation, Chris found her calling as a teacher of yoga and meditation, and found a ready-made venue in which to share the practice with others—the studio that she and Michael built at their home, originally for their own use, a place of serenity and peace, a sacred practice space—the studio now known as Śānti Yoga—where she began to offer classes in order to share the benefits of practice with others. Chris’s wish is that all might find their way to health, happiness, and peace—without having to first be brought to the precipice through life-threatening trauma such as a stroke (or a series of strokes, as the case may be). And having not only survived trauma, but having come out on the other side happier, healthier, and free, Mike is also ever-more committed to serving those in need, with gratitude and humility. Through it all, Mike’s thoughts were never focused on himself, on his difficulties, on his anguish, but were always, and continue to be, on how he might better serve his family, his friends, and those in need.
Both Chris and Mike welcome you to join them and the other members of the PFACF team on this journey, that our efforts together serve to alleviate suffering, so that all beings might be happy, healthy, and free.