Peggy’s Voice | Sharing Wellness Through Her Own Voice

ElevenLabs| 00:05:34|Mar 28, 2026

Chapters5

Peggy explains the onset of her voice changes and her ALS diagnosis, and how this affects daily life and communication.

Peggy shares how ALS altered her voice and life, and how an 11 Labs clone helps her stay connected with family, yoga, and gratitude.

Summary

Peggy, a 63-year-old grandmother and yoga teacher, recounts the progression of ALS and how it changed her voice since 2021. She plants and tends a vibrant garden—zinnias, daylilies, hosta, tomatoes, peppers, and more—and uses gardening as grounding and a way to nourish her family. Peggy opened Pepper Jam Yoga in 2018 after earning a 200-hour yoga certification but had to close the studio due to speech difficulties. Despite these challenges, she now offers live classes, online sessions, and on-demand videos, aided by a synthesized voice from 11 Labs. She describes the emotional journey of watching her grandson Wesley grow and the frustration of not being able to speak or read to him as she hoped. Peggy emphasizes the value of connection and memory-making, and expresses gratitude for the 11 Labs voice clone that lets her feel more like herself, even as she hopes to restore her natural voice someday. The piece blends personal resilience with a practical look at how technology can support communication and ongoing wellness practice. She closes with a hopeful, mindful routine—settling into breath and gratitude—while sharing her wish to continue guiding others through yoga and self-care.

Key Takeaways

ALS diagnosis followed a gradual change in Peggy's voice since 2021, accompanied by a constant sensation of cold feet.
Peggy opened Pepper Jam Yoga in 2018 after earning a 200-hour certification and taught there until speech difficulties made classes untenable.
She now offers live, online, and on-demand yoga classes, supported by an 11 Labs voice clone.
Gardening remains a grounding activity, with Peggy listing a diverse garden of flowers and vegetables that she tends for her family.
The 11 Labs clone restores Peggy’s sense of self and facilitates communication with family, even as she wishes for her original voice to return.

Who Is This For?

Essential viewing for people using assistive voice technologies or those exploring how voice cloning can support long-term wellness practices and family connection when speech is compromised.

Notable Quotes

"My name is Peggy. I'm 63. The last time I heard my natural voice was in 2021."

—Peggy introduces her situation and the timeline of voice change.

"With a clone from 11 Labs, my people get me back."

—Peggy explains how the voice clone helps others understand her again.

"It's not me."

—Peggy contrasts her natural voice with the clone, underscoring identity and authenticity concerns.

"Don't get me wrong. I'd much rather have my own voice restored, but if that's not a possibility, what you've done for me is beyond words."

—Peggy expresses gratitude while acknowledging a wish for recovery of her natural voice.

Questions This Video Answers

How can voice- cloning help people with ALS maintain communication with family?
What is Pepper Jam Yoga and how did Peggy adapt her studio for new realities?
What role does gardening play in wellness for people with progressive illnesses?
How does 11 Labs voice technology support emotional connection for caregivers and loved ones?
What are realistic expectations when using synthetic voices for long-term communication?

ALSPeggy’s Voice11 Labs Voice cloningYoga educationPepper Jam YogaGardening and wellness audiology / speech

Full Transcript

I understand. Very good. Hi there. My name is Peggy. I'm 63. The last time I heard my natural voice was in 2021. [music] It slowly began to change [music] and then became what it is now. I also noticed a constant sensation of coldness in my feet, even in hot water. Then I received a diagnosis of ALS. Gardening is something that keeps me grounded to the earth and provides food and beauty for [music] my family. There are flowers, zinnias, and lots of [music] different daylilies and peonies. Tons of hosta, which the deer [music] appreciate. I have tomatoes, peppers, [music] onions, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, carrots, and beets. Lots [music] of stuff. I make a mean salsa. [bell] May I be well. May I be safe and free from suffering. May I be happy. May I live with ease. Allow yourself to further settle in to your blankets, the floor, the earth beneath you. Then simply feel your body breathe. I started [music] teaching yoga in 2017 after getting my 200-hour certification. I opened my own studio in 2018 called Pepper Jam Yoga. It's important to be able to guide people, not just [music] into poses physically, but also to help them develop spiritually and emotionally. I had to close my studio because [music] it was becoming too difficult to offer classes since my speech was so messed up. But now I can create new classes to offer as live classes in person or online and as on-demand videos as well. That's pretty exciting [music] for me. I have been married to Jim for 30 years and we have three wonderful sons with amazing women in their lives and two grandkids. [music] Our firecracker Wesley is 11 months. Becoming a grandma has been one of the most enriching [music] experiences in my life and quite the contrast to the difficulties of navigating this depressing new reality of such limited communication. So it is not as I'd imagined it would be since I can't talk to them or sing to them. Even reading to them seemed out of the question. That is such an important thing to do with young ones. I was mourning the loss of [music] these capabilities, but this beautiful gift from 11 Labs has given me [music] hope that I can build these memories with my sweet little snuggle bugs. [music] This one has a little star. This one has a little car. Say, "What a lot of fish there are. Some are sad, some are glad, and some are very, very bad." I don't know. Go ask [music] your dad. His dad chewed the corners off of every book we ever handed him. It's such a tragedy to lose one's ability to [music] communicate. It's like losing a huge part of your identity and replacing [music] your voice with someone else's, even if it's Gwyneth Paltrow, whose voice is beautiful. It's not me. With a clone from 11 Labs, my people [music] get me back. I feel much more like myself. Don't get me wrong. I'd much [music] rather have my own voice restored, but if that's not a possibility, what you've done for me is beyond words.