My Story
I have been on the move ever since I was a small child. My mom told me that I used to jump up and down in my crib until I finally wore myself out and went to sleep. This carried on throughout my youth and into my young adult life. If it involved movement, I loved it. Run, bike, ski, triathlons, marathons. Exercise was my mental health therapy.
A few years ago, I hurt my back. I stopped all exercise and was afraid to really do anything. As you can imagine, this snowballed into several problems. I couldn't do what I loved, I felt down and didn't know how to manage my stress other than exercise. My wise husband advised me to start practicing mindfulness. It sounded boring and too slow for me.
Out of desperation, I tried it. I didn't enjoy it at first. It made me sit still and I didn't like sitting still and quieting my mind. My mind raced and I didn't feel better doing it. However, I kept trying. I started with 5 minutes, then it grew with time and practice. What I realized was that when I didn't practice I didn't feel quite as at peace and more together. From there, my practice of mindfulness grew.
I began to get curious about mindfulness and how this could help me heal and grow as a person. I used mindfulness to learn to cope with something that felt out of my control. I needed to turn down my nervous system and retrain my body and brain. I am a work in progress and practicing, so I can continue to grow as a person. We all have stress in our lives and using mindfulness helps us all cope with daily stress, creates awareness and teaches us how to be present in our own lives and how to react to adversity. My goal and passion is now to try to help others, so they can live their lives with purpose and meaning.