Like so many people, I spent a good long while on a path that I thought I should be on …

I went to college, grad school, got married, and had two kids while climbing the corporate ladder. When I reached my goal of becoming a vice president in my early 30’s, I felt pulled in about a million different directions between my job and my young family. My perfectionist tendencies could not keep up, and my lifelong high-functioning anxiety disorder – something that had helped to fuel my “success” – suddenly was not so high functioning anymore. My stress levels were impacting everything and everyone around me, I wasn’t having fun, and I certainly wasn’t the mother, wife, friend, or person I wanted to be.

Once I was able to admit that I wanted to change, synchronicities started to present themselves. In 2015 I started two new jobs that allowed me to focus on what I really loved about my work (facilitation) and leave behind what I didn’t like (lots of politics). My new company, Collective Next (with THE most amazing people) was super supportive of me also starting a side gig teaching adults with a fear of the water to swim. You might think having a side hustle on top of a full-time job and being a mom is more crazy-making, but being in the water and slowing myself down was just what I needed to truly notice how dysregulated my nervous system had become. My experiences facilitating transformational change for others in the water – helping them to heal deep, lifelong fears – inspired me to seek change for myself on land. I wanted to be free from anxiety. I committed to a path of seeking, healing, and becoming a more present and embodied human by changing my relationship with stress and anxiety.

This translates into nearly a decade of various interventions to support my growth and healing. I learned mindfulness with MBSR and became certified to teach and guide in workplaces. I attended many meditation retreats, did 1:1 work with my mentor Darananda and worked with a Somatic Experiencing therapist to release stress that had been stored in my body for years. I also took embodied leadership training with Strozzi Institute, and foundational Integral Coach training with New Ventures West. Along the way, I’ve developed programs and experiences both on land and in the water to help my clients become more attuned to their experiences, decrease stress, prevent panic, and learn to connect with the wisdom of their bodies – where our lives unfold and our freedom awaits us.