My Story

“It's helpful to realize that this very body that we have, that's sitting right here right now... with its aches and its pleasures... is exactly what we need to be fully human, fully awake, fully alive.” Pema Chodron

I’ve been blessed with good physical health so far in my life. I’ve had a few dings here and there, but nothing serious. Having a clean bill of physical health doesn’t make life all peaches and cream, though. I was awarded a mega dose of anxiety early on in my years that has hung around like a loyal lap dog. I developed insomnia as a child that I’ve been dealing with along the way. Graduate school was the pinnacle of all time stress for me – working part time, studying and in school full-time, living away from family, and accruing serious debt. A friend counseled me during that time and said, “You don’t have to feel this way. There are treatments that can make this go away.” I’ve had treatments and worked with specialists since then which have helped. One of my doctors reminded me that I earned my anxiety honestly, through genetics that is. We weren’t sure if the sleep disorder was a byproduct of the anxiety or if it was the other way around. We agreed the goal was to regulate sleep which would result in being calm and focused during the day. He explained that my symptoms were the result of my ‘hardware’ and not my ‘software’. He thought that I could practice yoga and mindfulness to improve my general health, but that it wouldn’t really affect these conditions.

Six years ago I began a personal practice that included yoga. It will sound simple, but I believe I learned to manage my anxiety through training to recognize the anxiety as it arises. Armed with awareness, I can treat the anxiety before it gets out of control. To find stable ground when my thoughts start to race and my focus trembles, I do sequences of breathing techniques and exercises, depending on where I am and how I’m feeling. Meditation has also positively impacted my ability to reduce overall stress and to improve communication with my family during these times. I’ve learned to discern when bouts of anxiety arise and to acknowledge internally, “these feelings I’m having aren’t like the ‘usual’ me. I must be getting anxious. I don’t have to feel this way.” I can stop what I’m doing and take just a couple of minutes to slow down my breathing and clear my head. I’ve found that my quality of life is much improved and I sleep better than most. I like that I can ‘treat’ myself. I am empowered to know that I do have control and can actively help myself.

My desire to help other people integrate mind-body principles into their rehabilitation and wellness experiences has inspired me to become a Physical Therapist. Now a Doctor of Physical Therapy, I am enthusiastic to integrate medicine with the science of yoga in my clinical practice. I believe that cultivating mindfulness and self-awareness in any case will maximize healing and long term quality of life.