My Origin Story.

I often get asked…

What made you want to get into the field of physical therapy?

And there is really no straight forward, easy answer.  That’s just where I landed when I accumulated enough knowledge and skill in the subjects that interested me.

Curiosity of the Human Body & Mind

I started my journey in young adulthood educating myself on the intricacies of the human body and mind.  I nearly went the route of psychology.  It was a 50/50 thing between the body and mind for quite some time.  In the end, I landed more in the physical realm simply because it seemed more black and white. Little did I know then how interwoven the two are.

The spirit just lingered in the background.

I didn’t grow up in a religious home.  I was exposed to church via friends and grandparents but never landed any place where I felt I belonged.   I never found a community or a belief system that I resonated with.  I even went out in my young adulthood and explored traditional christianity.  There was an underlying peace and truth in it but it also seemed to be seeped in other non-truthful ideologies that didn’t ring true. 

So I put a pin in it.

I put that yearning for something deeper and bigger than my physical body and human thoughts aside.  And focused on what I wanted to do and be in my life.

Physical Therapy School was a rigorous coursework…

that was also very experiential.  I had to absorb the didactic knowledge then learn how to use all my sense to receive input: listen to the client’s words, see how they postured and moved as well as feel with my hands how their tissues responded.   I then used my mind to synthesize the information in order to determine what I could do to make the change someone was asking of me.   

Early in my career, I had a deep seeded longing for knowledge.  I couldn’t learn enough.  I wanted more and more techniques to help people get better.  It seemed the more I learned, the more I got the complex patients and the more I needed to know.  It was a passion that fueled me for many years.  Admittedly, part of that fuel was a desire to “be the best.”  (Whatever that means?)

Then that old restless energy started to stir.

I had a yearning again.  A yearning to create, to “do it better.” So I left my financially comfortable job and took out a big ass loan to open my own wellness center and physical therapy clinic.  I was determined to leave behind the corporate rules and boxes and “do it better.”  I was looking for more satisfaction and ease for myself and the people who came to me for help.

This is also when I dove deeper into yoga.  The physicality of the practice drew me in and all the other “stuff” kept me there.  In yoga, I found a spirituality that wasn’t covered in dogma.  It was unique to me and it was whatever I wanted and needed it to be.

My body proved to be a window into my spirit.

I realized that when I quieted my mind (which I had always struggled with.) I could sense a spirit deep in me.  This, surprisingly to me, was accomplished with physical movement and breathing.

I was not sure how it worked, but it worked.

This exploration was initially driven by an aversion to feeling bad. (This is still the case sometimes.) My yoga practice allowed me to weather some of the hardest periods of my life such as starting and failing a wellness business, getting divorced after 17 years of marriage and mothering teenagers.  

It was pure desperation that got me on the mat some days.  

Those days that I honestly had no clue what to do or how I was going to handle everything coming at me, were the days I knew I had to get on my mat. I could do the poses and the breathing and then find some semblance of my spirit.  I found a place that felt free and easy and full of love.

I took my first CST class and all the pieces started fitting together.

Around this time I was also drawn into the world of CranioSacral Therapy.  With CST, I felt like I had accessed this whole new, integrated world.

CST introduced me to the ideas of…

• how energy and structure are intertwined &
• how emotion is stored in our bodies.

And then magically, into my world came friends that held similar spiritual beliefs as me.  I found a group to meet with that has real-life spiritual discussions.  We offer each other non-judgemental time and space. Here I feel better about being human me, not guilty or shameful or like an outsider. 

It’s only recently I realize just how interconnected all of these events have been.  

They are the background to how I got to where I am now.

And where did I land?

We all have truths.  They are deeply personal and reflect our experiences.  We can choose to believe what we were conditioned to believe or be more intentional.  I ask myself everyday if my biases and underlying beliefs are because of conditioning or because I choose them.  After my lifetime of experiences so far, here are the beliefs I choose:

• We are an equal mix of Mind, Body & Spirit.  Each are equally important and integral to the other two.
• Our bodies are divine. 
• We can feel in our bodies the state of our mind and the state of our spirit.
• Our mind (and emotions) affect our body and are a conduit to our spirit, if we allow it. 
• Our mind can also be under the influence of the conditioned ego. It’s our choice what we tune into. 
• Our bodies and minds are unique and individual.
• We can put forth effort and see a change in how we think, look or feel. 
• Our spirits are unique and individual yet we all connected.
• We are all growing and evolving, individually AND collectively. 

My purpose & vision…

Which is reflected every day in what I do in my business:

My life’s purpose is to elevate awareness of the body, mind and spirit connection in order to facilitate meaningful change in people’s lives.

With sincerity, honesty and creativity, I help those with pain or physical limitation who are in need of guidance in their healing journey.  I am dedicated to improving awareness of the physical body and it’s connection to mental and emotional states.  I  guide those in my care to improved function and reduced pain in order to create more ease, satisfaction and joy in people’s lives.