I am a Mind Body Spirit Coach, with a mission to empower women to live their best lives physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma right in the middle of the US. I am second born to a big family of 6 kids. Our house was always loud and crazy, which might sound like a nightmare to some, but to me it’s just what happens when family gets together.
I grew up as a natural trailblazer, my parents could be sure if they told me to do something I’d do the opposite, people call this “refusing to accept authority”, though, I just wanted to be me and express myself.
My father is a music teacher which meant we were always around instruments and different styles of music. He considered making us listen to Mozart punishment which was not effective because I grew to tolerate, appreciate, and love it, I would pretend to hate it though because it was better than being grounded.
One time driving in the car with my dad listening to barbershop and he asked me if I could hear all the different arrangements this caused me to start listening to music differently and recognizing different harmonies. This experiences with my dad influenced my view of the world and Music taught me to listen to the meaning and emotion behind sounds which developed my listening skills when it came to people.
My mother is the most giving person I know, she feels deeply and never holds back love. As a stay-at-home mom raising 6 children, she would take us to different activities, serve in church you name it. She is the one who instilled in me a love of creating, listening to my intuition, service without acknowledgement amongst other qualities.
Growing up in a small town was hard for me because I loved exploring and wanted to live a glamorous life. I always felt I was meant for greatness, I wasn’t sure what exactly, but I knew I was meant to do great things, I’m sure this looked like snobbery and led to plenty of lonely lunches on playground
Education was high priority in our home. All my grandparents, aunts and uncles were educators! It wasn’t just encouraged, it was expected that you study hard in school, get good grades and go to a good university. I liked being smart and realized that the way for me to accomplish great things was to go out and explore the world. So, I went to university.
I studied exercise science at university and became disillusioned with the health and fitness industry during an internship I did prior to graduation. Everyone and everything at that internship was focused on how you look, not how you feel. Something about this mindset always bothered me, it seemed so shallow.
I took the first job I could get after graduating, but hated it after the novelty wore off. I worked some various positions over the years and was very unhappy in all of them.
During this time period I was unhappy with how my body looked and felt, I was gaining weight, felt sluggish and was depressed. I started exercising regularly, cut dairy from my diet, and started meditating—I saw amazing changes both in my body and emotional state and wanted people to know that they can start feeling better, I went and got certified as a personal trainer and started working with clients.
I soon understood that the key to my success was in the mindset work I had started, and began using it with clients. This led me to approach my clients with a mix of life coaching and physical exercise. I realized that, though I enjoy being in the gym with my clients, they could get a workout anywhere, my real value to them is in holding a vision for them to become the best versions of themselves and this is how the shift to mind-body-spirit coaching came about, my mission is to empower women mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually to help them reach their dreams. In working with all these areas, we are able to create space for the lasting change they’re seeking.
I had an amazing time and had a turning point in summer 2015, a few months prior I had completed a bikini (bodybuilding) competition, though I enjoyed looking toned and fit, I hated the rigidity of it all. by nature, am an explorer, I thrive on ebb and flow, listening to my body and keeping a balance in all areas of my life.
When preparing to compete, it’s like working a full-time job, your food and exercise laid out for you, have very few prescribed days off and unforgiving. There were good points to it like feeling strong when I lifted big heavy weights, the initial pride I felt when I refused my favorite now forbidden foods and the admiration I got from others, but the lifestyle definitely started to take its toll on me!
One Saturday I was struggling through my workout, I broke down and started crying my eyes out. I had been struggling with my emotions all week, wondering why I’d put myself through another competition. My body had also been calling to me to slow down, do more yoga and get back in touch. I hurried from the gym and called my husband for some support. On the way home, I swung by the store for a pregnancy test because my period was late and a chocolate croissant. As I pulled up to my apartment, I felt the beginning of what I thought was my period, turned out the bleeding was the beginning of a miscarriage.
The cramps were bad, but the flow was light at first, but by Sunday, I knew something was wrong. I was going through super tampons every hour. I texted my boss saying I wouldn’t come to work the next day.
By Monday, the cramps contractions turned violent. Deep down, I knew what was happening, but I was in denial. This couldn’t be happening! Though my last period had skipped, I’d taken a pregnancy test that came back negative! My period since my competition had been spastic at best, so I felt my body was just trying to get back on track, the test was negative. Finally, it was all over, I felt like the strange calm after the storm. Physically I was relieved emotionally, I went numb.
I searched for a new gynecologist and spoke with a nurse who was very kind to me and told me what I needed to do and how to look after myself. I started eating to fill the hole I felt in my heart.
The next few weeks were rocky, I started journaling to help me process my emotions, but I mostly felt confused and betrayed by my body. I didn’t know who I was anymore. This experience taught me balance in my life is number 1, my husband and I developed a stronger bond and learned to lean on each other more and it’s so important to release traumas & negative emotions- their buildup creates toxicity in the body.
I have had embarrassing moments in my life but there is this one experience that still upsets me to this day. In 4th or 5th grade a girl I thought was my friend pulled my shorts down at recess, the other girls were laughing at me. I was mortified and felt betrayed and humiliated. Months before that I felt many of the girls in my class didn’t like me but now I knew I had no friends.
To an extent am non-confrontational and avoided it like the plague when I was young, so after the no-pants incident, I ran away. The rest of the school year was lonely for me it was definitely a time I buried myself in books so that I could live someone else’s life.
As an adult, I’ve had to do some work around running away when things get hard, embarrassing or problematic. I still feel the instinct to hide when problems come up, but now I’m able to work through it. I have to acknowledge that I’ll never be perfect, but I’ll never stop working to eliminate the blocks to becoming my best self.
I love what I do as there is no better feeling in the world than someone telling you that you changed their life and because of that I know I can’t fail as I’m fulfilling the call of my heart. What I have room for is growth and learning, the only real failure is not trying.
Looking at what I have achieved, I learnt as women celebrating our wins, especially celebrating ourselves is important, it allows us to grab onto the high of our victories and stay there longer. One of my favorite ways to celebrate is dancing! I love to throw myself impromptu dance parties, where I do not care what I look like, I’m just excited to move my body, it feels awesome. I love to twerk, I don’t think I’m doing it right, but I don’t let that stop me, celebration doesn’t have to be expensive.
History and Herstory is made when people listen to their inner voice, follow their hearts, and go for their dreams They don’t accept “failure” as final, they get up and keep trying.
It’s my hope that someday, I’ll be out of a job because every woman will feel awesome about herself 24/7; she’ll feel empowered, balanced, & free; she’ll go for her dreams because she wants something, not because anybody else wants her to be a certain way. I pray that someday, that is our reality!
