Mind Body Spirit Transformation
MIND
I’ve spent most of my life in my head, trying to avoid the discomfort of being inside my own skin. This worked out super well in a culture that values head over heart, brain over body, “rational” thought over an embodied, deep sense of knowing. I apparently liked being in my head so much I went on to obtain a doctorate in psychology.
I’ve not only spent way too much time in my own head, I have been privileged to enter the sacred inner minds and hearts of thousands of clients over the course of the past 20 years. My clients have by far been my greatest teachers and I have considered it a great honor to hold space for them.
I think and see things in terms of patterns, threads of similarity, weaving and creating meaning and sense out of the seemingly meaningless depth of suffering that the human spirit can withstand. My superpower is seeing potential. Underneath all the layers of life experiences that have dulled our brightness. And I am passionate AF about bringing forth that deepest part of you to the forefront. Because this is how the world changes. One human heart at a time. Let’s work on that mindset.
BODY
I’ve struggled with anxiety for virtually all of my life. With bouts of seasonal and situational depression sprinkled in. I still daily experience thoughts and feelings related to both. I’ve also spent my life on a quest to feel better. To evolve and improve on myself to make being in my mind, body, and spirit less painful. Yet living life exclusively to eradicate pain is not fulfilling. We feel most alive when we have an active flow of energy streaming out of us. Not when we are contracted in, hiding, trying to stop feeling anything at all.
I grew up long and lanky. I could never find pants as a kid that were long enough yet fit over my tiny waist. I was teased and bullied for many things throughout my elementary years (that learned freeze-collapse response made me an easy target. I’d just shrivel inward and take it). And then junior high came. This is when I learned that I was not okay in the body I was in. In fact, this was repeatedly thrown in my face over and over and over again by other kids. I was skinny. Had a giant appetite but I’d always been thin. All of a sudden it was especially not acceptable because girls were supposed to be getting boobs and curves that I had no chance in hell of pulling off. I was a late bloomer. I was teased endlessly about being “flat” or small-chested. And nonstop asking me if I was anorexic. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been asked that in my lifetime. And then comes this weird pressure to want to eat in front of the A-holes that called it out. To prove that you are not intentionally trying to starve yourself.
I later gained significant weight in my 20s after I moved out on my own and life stress fully hit. I had always had a belly but became especially self-conscious of it when it started to stick out more and more as I gained weight. This was further reinforced by negative comments about my body from my partner at the time. And then I fell in love with my belly while pregnant with my first babe. Only to feel like it was a terrible thing that needed to be gotten rid of immediately once baby came out. I worked so hard to hide my belly in those early postpartum days. Until I realized how insane this nonsense is. I still struggle with my body image daily. But I’ll tell you that I have a new response for when those thoughts show up. I intentionally recall all of the magic that has happened inside my now loose, hanging belly to make it that way. Some days are easier than others. But it’s still worth the effort.
Never have a felt more at home in my body as when I found yoga. I’ve been practicing now for two decades. The more and more I specialized in trauma specifically as a mental health therapist, the more aware I became that we needed to be talking less and moving more. With intentionality. So I pivoted. I am a 500-level trained yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance (the international credentialing body for yoga teachers) and also a Reiki Master. I have been leading and teaching meditation both individually and in groups for over 15 years and I have been teaching yoga for the past 6 years. I have also been trained as a certified intrinsic coach and worked for several years in grad school as a health and wellness coach. Coaching naturally aligns with my style and has always been a part of how I work.
SPIRIT
I have always been drawn to the spiritual and metaphysical realms. I am highly intuitive. When I was three I told my mom that she was pregnant with my brother before she knew it. And I was right. But I grew up within very conservative Christianity and intuition was the last thing that I was supposed to be bringing into the world. So I kept my insights and wisdom to myself. And these qualities were not nurtured in me. Yet I’ve always stayed connected inside.
I’m also an empath. Which means that I essentially feel in my body what others are feeling in theirs. When someone shares a traumatic story, I literally can picture it vividly in my head and then feel the effects of it in my body. This had been overwhelming for most of my life, until I learned to harness these skills to help heal others.
The benefit of working with me as an intuitive and empath is that I tend to “get you” rather quickly and as such we can dive in right away making progress. I have repeatedly been told that working with me feels incredibly natural, easy, validating, with an equal flow of energy between us that is contagious and transformative. This allows us to be very efficient in our process and get you where you want to be sooner.
I have had more spiritually profound experiences than I can fathom. I have seen miracles before my very eyes. And most beautiful of all is that Spirit speaks to us in the language that we understand it. I have worked with incredibly diverse humans from many, many walks of life and diverse faith traditions. And I am amazed over and over and over again how Spirit shows up as a part of our process and speaks to us in the language we understand it in. Imagery shows up. Jesus shows up. Buddhist symbols show up. Nature speaks to us. As long as we learn to get out of our own way first and learn to deeply listen.
I conceptualize spirituality as a very broad construct. Essentially anything that connects us to the feeling that we are not alone, that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, that which gives us meaning, purpose, a deep sense that we belong here. I am comfortable working with just about any belief system as long as it is in line with restoring justice, eliminating systems of oppression, and elevating you to your highest calling.
TRANSFORMATION
I quit my last traditional therapy job in October 2019. I had been working in a toxic clinic setting that was abusive, gaslighting hell. After trying to make things work for way too long in a system that devalues the hell out of emotional labor and wanted clinicians to see more and more clients as if we worked on an assembly line. Things became so awful at my last job that I eventually became suicidal. Because I felt so trapped. So I took a ginormous, scary leap of faith and quit the hellish job. And then proceeded to completely fall apart. This is where I met my highest self. Deep in the quiet of the woods when I felt broken and anxious and fragile as can be. When spirit shows up to catch you when you feel like you might just freefall forever. But I caught the wind. And learned to soar. At least I’m learning and striving towards this each day at a time.