Today we’d like to introduce you to Theresa Priya (Freese ).
Hi Theresa, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a teenage mother, I began my higher education and first career through a hybrid in-person/long-distance program in IT and business—back before online learning was common. It was the only option that allowed me to pursue college while remaining near my son’s father. Earlier, I had considered nursing, but at the time my vision of what I could achieve—while maintaining that relationship—felt limited. My focus was simple: finish school and earn money to support my three-year-old son, whom I had at sixteen. While living with my parents, I worked several jobs to provide for him.
I completed my AA and landed my first career role as a Technology Coordinator for the very school district I grew up in. I loved the job, but it was the early days of networks and infrastructure. As technology became a greater priority, I was shared with other districts and my responsibilities grew. During that time, I re-enrolled to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership and Information Systems, wanting to explore opportunities beyond the public school system.
My career naturally evolved toward education—first supporting and teaching software applications, database design, and websites, later moving into online curriculum and content development. Over time, I realized I was a natural leader, often finding myself in leadership roles informally. Yet, without a Master’s degree, I felt held back from securing those positions officially.
When I hit the time in my life where my oldest son was preparing to leave home. I began to see myself more clearly: I had followed a path for income, not for my heart. A long list of dreams felt out of reach, and my career had become just a paycheck—a life filled with noise.
Around that time, I was also supporting my dad through heart disease and later heart failure. With a similar genetic makeup, I saw my own health risks ahead. Everything shifted when I had an adverse reaction to anxiety and depression medication—a wake-up call for my well-being. I decided to approach my health differently than my father had, and began a meditation practice. That change magically led me to where I am today: holding a Master’s in Integrative Studies with a focus on Leadership, Human Development, and Holistic Wellness.
Near the end of my program, I started my own business—initially as a passion project to offer services philanthropically to those who couldn’t afford them. As a single mother who once felt limited by resources, this was deeply important to me.
Professionally, I’ve worked as a mid-level leader managing up to 30 supplemental staff, all while sharing my true passions on the side. I’m a dreamer who sees the big picture and knows how to get there. Now, I’m both excited and scared to finally take the leap and invest fully in my passion business. I’m also giving myself grace—because although I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart, I’ve never fully promoted myself.
Until now. ☺️
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth? It makes me laugh—because in a way, it has been, and in a way, it hasn’t. For the first 40 years of my life, I navigated hard circumstances with almost no confidence, yet somehow it felt easy. People would ask me, “How do you do it all? Four kids, a full-time career, volunteering, a master’s degree?” I never knew how to answer. I just did.
I had developed a powerful meditation practice and learned to live in flow amid the chaos. But after I turned 40, my limiting beliefs began to dissolve, and my heart’s true desires kept returning. As a yoga practitioner, educator, hypnotherapist, RTT practitioner, and devoted student of human development and consciousness, I understand deeply how ignoring what you truly want impacts your whole being—creating dis-ease and dysfunction. I also learned that resisting that desire plays its own part in the struggle. That’s when the road got real.
This is why I am passionate about guiding others to embody and live a heart-centered life: transforming and transcending limiting beliefs not just physically, but emotionally and energetically—for the well-being of mind, body, and spirit.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I currently run YOUru—which stands for “YOU are your own guru.” My menu of services is designed to empower you to transform and align with your heart-centered life. My approach is holistic, built on a unique framework that guides individuals back to their own inner wisdom—to YOUr inner guru—through four pillars: breath, awareness, expression, and sound.
I also draw on my background in curriculum and instructional design to create content for my workshops and online courses. And while I’m still learning to embrace social media, I look forward to weaving my own original music into future offerings—deepening the path to inner alignment through sound and creativity.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Life is a full spectrum journey meant to be fun. We were fooled by fear and now we know otherwise. Align with your heart, remember the child that you were not allowed to become, and believe in yourself. It all starts and ends within.
Pricing:
- Refer to my website and social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yourucenter.com/
- Instagram: @Youru.center
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourucenter
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/TheresaPriya
- Youtube: @YOUru-Channel123
