My personal journey to holistic wellness actually began before I was born when my mother was given the 'miracle' drug DES (diethylstilboestrol) to insure a successful pregnancy and healthy baby in spite of her stressful life circumstances. My life has been laced with the devastating effects of this FDA approved, drug company disaster for which "oops" seems to be the biggest recourse.

I first became exposed to and fascinated with a non-traditional health model when in my teens, I suffered a serious back and neck injury and was treated by a holistic wellness practitioner - the road to healing was slow and painful but I consistently provided my body with the right combination of rest, nutrition and movement and consequently healed completely. It's 30+ years later and I don't suffer the aches and pains that I hear people half my age complaining about.

In my late 20's, I put my knowledge of nutrition to the test when I decided to compete as a natural (drug free) body builder and create my own diet for competition rather than follow the extremes that were so popular back then - it was an amazing experience and it was then I became intimately aware of the effects of different foods in my body. I knew what to eat, when to eat it, how much to eat and how it would make me feel.

It was during this time that I became the unofficial 'natural health counselor' for friends and family as I could never get enough of natural wellness and clean eating BUT not in a way that diminished my enjoyment or life experience.

A few years ago, after continuously pushing myself through periods of extreme stress without taking care of myself, I burned out. I'd completely exhausted my system.

• I worked all the time - really all the time; 
• I couldn't sleep;
• I barely ate but had put on 20 pounds for no apparent reason; 
• I couldn't quiet my mind;
• I wasn't breathing right - it hurt to take deep breaths if I could even manage to get one;
• I isolated myself from others so no one would see me at my worst;
• I'd stopped feeling;
• I was angry, grumpy, sad;
• My joints hurt & TMJ kept me in daily pain; 

... you get the idea - it was ugly and I knew I had to get help because this just wasn't me - I couldn't stand myself anymore. I was keenly aware that something had to be way out of balance and of course that made sense because while I was taking care of everyone else - I wasn't taking care of me. I rationalized that as a single mom with a thriving business and homeschooling my daughter, it just had to be this way as there wasn't enough time in the day for me... and I was tough anyway.

As I started digging for answers - knowing something had to change because this was not the mom or person I wanted to be - I determined my hormones were just were out of balance and that sounded easy enough so I sought help for that thinking that bio-identical hormone replacement therapy would fix me right up.

Then is when I found out that I was 'clinically depressed' (I didn't feel depressed - I felt numb), that my adrenals were exhausted (I knew about adrenal fatigue but I was past that), that I had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (an autoimmune condition where my own immune system was attacking my thyroid) and that indeed my hormones were a little off (the hormone part was the lesser of the issues).

The road to my wellness has been a long one and at times it's been a bit slippery but through doing what I knew I needed to do, managing stress better, eating right, allowing myself to rest, letting go of a lot that kept me stuck, creating strong boundaries and making choices that support the life I want, I've got my health back and live a pain-free, happy and fulfilled life.

It was at one of the 'intersections' in that road, that I decided to become a holistic health coach so I could help others find their way back to the self they know is there but have become so out of touch with that they can no longer find a way to connect to what's inside. 

So, aside from being a lifetime student (and my own guinea pig) in holistic wellness and nutrition, I'm now a Certified Holistic Health Counselor accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners. I received my 'formal' training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I was trained in more than one hundred dietary theories and studied a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods (many of which I used on my way back to health). Drawing on this knowledge, I will help you create a completely personalized “roadmap to health” that suits your unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals.

Are you curious about how health coaching can help you? Let’s talk. Schedule a free initial consultation with me today.