Meet Casey Mauro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Mauro.

Casey, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Where did it begin…. well, as a zygote inside my mom, I suppose. I don’t really remember, but that is the story I am sticking to for now. On September 18th, I had had enough of exploring the insides of my mom for nine months. My curious self wanted to see elsewhere so I expanded my horizons into the world outside the womb and haven’t stopped moving, discovering and asking questions since.

I grew up in a little beach town in New Jersey dancing, riding horses and surfing, When I was 18, I moved to NYC to continue my dance career while simultaneously getting a degree in Biology/Neuroscience. NYC was my playground. I could go to my Organic Chemistry lab, start a titration, run to an Avril Levine music video audition and make it back in time to complete the experiment.

Upon graduating, I worked as a neuroscience research assistant at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, while thriving in a right-brained career in dancing, modeling and acting. After seven years of running around NYC, I yet again became antsy, burnt out and needed a change. I couldn’t pinpoint why I felt empty because I was a committed New Yorker and could not slow down to think about it. LA? *insert eye roll here* Ew. It wasn’t until one day I had gone home to NJ for Easter and my dad confronted me with the “what are you doing with your life?” question. Instead of facing the question, I responded with the most threatening answer a daughter could tell her father, “I am moving across the country!” The look of sheer terror on his face and the joy I felt after saying this outlandish idea out loud sealed the deal. What started as a joke turned into one of the best decisions of my life.

I have been able to combine my love for movement, neurophysiology, nutrition and holistic health into a private practice. I am a YTRx-500c Yoga Therapist, NASM certified personal trainer, Adult/ Kids Yoga Certified and lifestyle nutritionist… sometimes. Other times I am a dancer, model and actor on stages, TV or in movies. Depends on the day really. Oh, and if there are waves, cancel all plans mentioned above, because I am going surfing.

Has it been a smooth road?
There have definitely been some bumps and many bruises along the way. As a dancer, a physical injury feels like the end of the world. In 2009, I was dancing my best life and smacked my head on my knee so hard I got a concussion but didn’t know. I had a fat lip and a bad nauseating headache. Meh, be tough I told myself, you are fine and kept dancing for another hour. My roommates at the time, told me my eyes were dilating funny and that I should go to the hospital. The hospital looked at me, didn’t believe my story and since I wasn’t blacked out they just sent me home. I was also in an off-Broadway show so I wasn’t going to jeopardize not being able to continue to perform. I kept my mouth shut and pushed through ignoring all of the signs my body  was telling me.

Three months later, I was at a dance rehearsal spinning upside down with my partner and felt particularly dizzy afterwards. I somehow managed to take the subway back uptown to my apartment, walk up five flights of stairs just barely making it to my bed. Falling on my bed and not being able to get up, the whole room began to spin and not the fun kind. I called my parents in NJ and my mom came all the way up to NYC, carried me down the five flights of stairs (bless her motherly soul) and drove me all the way home. Talk about feeling car sick! Turns out I had been dancing, spinning and living life with a concussion and whiplash for three months untreated. Oops.

I went to our family chiropractor who correctly diagnosed me and recommended I get some brain scans done and see a neurologist. Yet again, the neurologist looked at me like I had three heads when I told him the story. He gave me some vertigo pills and told me not to dance anymore since that seemed to irritate my brain. I cried and never went back to him or took the useless pills. I spent the summer going to my chiropractor who worked with me to put my neck back in place from the whiplash and regain strength in my brain particularly the cerebellum through daily exercises and supplements. Never let anyone tell you to stop your passion.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Casey Mauro – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Ahhh the famous question. “sooooo what do you do?” People often look to put you in a box based on “what you do” as a way to connect and understand. Fair enough. I used to cater this answer to the person or audience to avoid the stares of disproval of being a dancer/actor/model vs. pre-med neuroscientist. It is funny how people here anything in the medical field and assume intelligence and anything in the arts is well, poor.

It is 2019 and I am 3 decades on this earth and I am all of the above and then some. You can call it Yoga Therapist, Personal Trainer, Performer, Dancer, Model, Actor, Neuroscientist, Academic Tutor, Dance Teacher, Nutritionist, Holistic Practitioner, or whatever you choose.

The entertainment industry isn’t all fake BS. It is a great platform to share who I am to inspire people to be who they are. I also hold space for people to improve their wellbeing and reach goals through a holistic approach that LAST. We could be training in a gym, creating meal plans, on the yoga mat, sitting in nature, or watching me perform on a stage or in a commercial. The common ground is sharing and communicating. Meeting another human where they are at and where they would like to go from there can materialize in many forms. I am proud to be able to offer expertise and experience in various avenues to create a unique approach catered to the individual. We are all different and have different protocols to find our inner superhero. My purpose is to help inspire others find where they shine so they can then share with the rest of the world from their best self.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
The moment I stepped off the plane from the East Coast, I knew I was home. It was my mom’s birthday and when she asked how I liked it so far, I didn’t have the heart to tell her I don’t see myself moving back east anytime in the near future. I waited until the next day 🙂 In LA, I am able to be all of Casey and not just bits and pieces of me at particular times. I am surrounded by inspiring and supportive people opening up my mind to the endless possibilities in the quantum field. I am creatively utilizing all of the knowledge I have been acquiring my entire life. I can surf, work, dance, meet up with friends and sleep all in the same day! Yes, traffic is not ideal in LA, but it is the tradeoff for being able to satisfy my soul in so many other ways on a daily basis. Right now, it fits for me and I am fortunate to be able to live here.