My journey to wellness started in 2006 (you can find my stories here and here) and over 12+ years I researched like a crazy person and literally tried every healing modality you can think of. The majority of my focus was on nutrition. Nutrition got me pretty far. It helped me to reduce my pain and remember what it was like to not feel limited. It balanced my body, helped me form a new relationship with food and made me realize the greatest thing we can control is what we put inside our bodies. I did very well with nutrition as my primary focus for years. However, even though I was able to improve and rid myself of chronic pain from Ankylosing Spondylitis I could not even put a dent in the Chronic Iritis I dealt with for two straight years. I was literally living at my eye doctor’s office. My diet could not have been more perfect during this time.
Feeling defeated and not knowing what to do or try next I found the mind-body connection. After working with a coach and then studying anything and everything related to how the human mind works I realized nutrition is only one facet of our total-whole. If your diet is clean but your mind is not it’s impossible to heal. Look at it this way, chemicals from pesticides are just as toxic to our bodies as negative thoughts. Healing my mind healed my body rather quickly. I still can’t believe how fast my iritis began to fade away. Now, it was not easy. I worked hard and healing did not happen overnight. But, it happened! And, it can happen for you too! I now truly believe the mind-body connection was my missing key.
In addition, there is one other facet that plays a role in healing and that is spirituality. My entire life I have had a strong faith in God and belief in a greater purpose. I feel having a belief in something bigger than ourselves whatever you want to call it is critical to truly living. Spirituality is our connection to something more, something bigger than ourselves. I believe connection is a component to finding purpose. Even though my spirituality was strong prior to my diagnosis through my healing journey my spirituality has grown significantly.
From my own experience, I gathered that if you are not approaching healing from multiple angles (nutrition, mind-body connection, and spirituality) it is almost impossible to make major improvements in your health. Each facet is important by itself and can be a starting place, but all need to be addressed at some point. My personal journey solidified this belief. I spent years figuring this out and in my heart, I knew I needed to help others. Whole Lovely Life blog has given me an amazing platform to share my story and connect with so many. Since starting it in 2015 I have connected with more people than I can count via phone, email and in person. I have openly and wholeheartedly shared as much information as I could with others so that they may have the opportunity to find healing just like me. I felt a calling to do more and that is when I thought to myself… can I make this into something bigger? Is there a better way for me to share my learnings with others? How can I become further educated and immerse myself into a learning environment where I can continue to grow and gain knowledge?
I had been thinking about the idea of coaching but was uncertain of how to make something like that happen. Then I heard Cynthia Pasquella-Garcia interviewed on two of my favorite podcasts The Model Health Show (Shawn Stevenson) and Bulletproof Radio (Dave Asprey) almost back to back. She is the founder of the Institute of Transformational Nutrition (ITN) and hearing her interviews solidified everything for me. During her interviews I learned about ITN’s approach and that it is not just about nutrition. Something I discovered on my own journey. In addition to the science of nutrition ITN’s coaching method focuses on psychology and spirituality as well. I could not believe the total alignment in what I already knew through my own experience. I immediately signed up for their mailing list and finally took the plunge a few weeks later and enrolled as a student. I never felt so in connection with a decision in my life. I was terrified of how I would complete the weekly work, handle my full-time corporate job and still be a present Mom and wife. All I know is that God and the universe provides. It was hard work but I made it through and it was the most rewarding experience of my life. I came out on the other end even more certain of my purpose to serve and help others struggling with their health. After I completed my Transformational Nutrition Coaching Certification I then moved on to complete my Autoimmune Specialist Certification. I knew deep within that I had finally answered my calling to help others with autoimmunity take back their lives.