My Health Journey
I have been curious about health and interested in wellness since I was a teenager—but I started where lots of teenage girls start: dieting to look a certain way. For years I used control (think: diet and exercise) to be “healthy.” I did not have an eating disorder but I did have a focus on food and body size. When I discovered exercise (running, weightlifting, biking, swimming, yoga), they were all wholesome activities that felt great but were in service to a singular idea of wellness: health as a vehicle for looking and feeling good, but mostly outwardly focused.
My concept of wellness expanded and changed when my adored mother was diagnosed with early dementia. I was devastated as I watched her personality and physical abilities ebb away over the next seven years.
I began to explore inner wellness, which turned out to be much broader than what I ate and how I exercised.
Inner wellness included a deep dive into meditation, mindful self-compassion practices and other aspects of personal growth. I tried different approaches in the search for inner peace (some comical and some wonderful) and I started a new career in the growing field of health coaching.
I loosened my idea of “controlling” my health and expanded the concept of what whole health means. For me, it includes the balance of inner and outer, mind, body and spirit. This has become my philosophy and approach as a health coach and how I create success for my clients.
My Training
I am a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). I graduated from Duke IM Integrative Health Coach Training Program and am certified by the ADAPT Functional Medicine Training Program. I also hold an MBA from Columbia University and a BS from the University of Virginia.
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