I got pissed, and I got better.

I was a teenager when I started feeling like complete and total garbage. I thought I was going to be an English professor, but my health and the health of my family side-lined me and led me down a totally different path – a path that involved a lot of studying, patience and a good dose of being really pissed off.

I have almost – I can’t believe I’m writing this – 20 years of experience in the world of health and wellness. I started doing yoga with my mom when I was 5 years old and throughout my life my yoga practice has always been my way back to myself when I get lost. I became a yoga teacher when I was 19 years old, and I’ve taught ever since.

My health issues started with chronic sinus infections, digestive issues and fatigue. And in case you think that doesn’t sound like a big deal – I can promise you that having a sinus infection 10 out of 12 months per year is its own special kind of torture. I was put on countless doses of antibiotics over the course of 10 years, and I even had a surgery to try to correct it. I still felt like hell.

By the time I was in my early twenties, my fatigue, sinus infections, digestive issues and now chronic low back pain and some really disconcerting hormonal issues were interfering with my life at a pretty profound level.

I was functioning at half my capacity.

Unable to go after my dreams or really show up in my life at all, I forced myself to take a good look at my life and my health. I realized that because I felt sick and tired most of the time, I couldn’t show up in my life to do all of the amazing things I had in my heart.

My body couldn’t handle my dreams, and I knew that if I was going to get better, I was going to have to figure it out myself. Doctor after doctor couldn’t explain to me why I was so sick. They wanted to help, but the tools in their toolbox were exhausted.

Seventeen years of my life had been spent in school, and I still didn’t know how to balance my checkbook or explain to you what compounding interest on a credit card was. I had just spent 17 years of my life in school, and yet I had absolutely no idea how to take care of my emotions, my mind or my body.

And here’s around the time that I got really pissed off.

I noticed that certain foods would make me feel like I needed to roll myself up into a cave and not come out for days, while other foods made me feel amazing and lifted the malaise of my fatigue. I started studying. I started taking note. I became a Pilates teacher and worked with some of the best in the business on chronic pain. I resolved my chronic low back pain and spent 15 years in private practice working with other people who suffered from chronic pain.

I became a Nutritional Therapist and a Restorative Wellness Practitioner so that I could not only advise people on their diet, but I could also read stool, blood and saliva tests so that my protocols exactly pinpointed their health issues. This approach has garnered amazing results, and I won’t lie to you – making these kinds of changes is hard work, but when you feel like hell and you want to kick ass and take names in life, you’ll show up for the hard stuff because the results are so worth it.

Three years ago I finally got a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and hypothyroidism that at least explained my hormone issues and more importantly, explained why my husband and I weren’t getting pregnant.

The doctor told us there was nothing we could do.

She said I would be 50% more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes, and that if we wanted to have a baby, our only option was IVF, and that may not work.

Did I mention that I was pissed off? Yeah. I was pissed. And I was defiant. I knew that I had come this far with my health and there was no freaking way my health was going to stand in the way of my dreams.

We now have a little monkey who is 2 years old. To clarify – I did indeed have a baby, not a monkey, but if you met her, you would agree that she’s the cutest darn kid. She’s rambunctious and talks just as much as her father – which is a lot – and she is incredibly funny – just like her Dad, and she gets really excited about things – just like me.

I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones.

I had the education to know that there were other options for me to help myself aside from what I was told. I didn’t give up, and my efforts towards my health continue to pay off. Don’t get me wrong – I still have struggles. There’s a lot in this sweet body of mine that needs to be cared for and attended to on a daily basis, but I’m here for it. And why wouldn’t I be? This body is the vehicle that makes it aaaaalllllll happen.

And so, as maybe you picked up on – I’m super passionate about health and wellness and I’m even more passionate about education. I believe that when we educate and empower ourselves, we can truly be embodied and when we are embodied – when we can really rely on our bodies – everything we dream of, yearn for and want to make real in our lives is possible.

The body is the ultimate vehicle for the expression of our spirit, and it is my deep honor to guide and to support people as they uncover their own path towards feeling strong and vital so they can show up in this world as their best selves.