How I got my start

My journey into holistic health and life coaching has really been a life long journey. I’ve always been interested in how the human body and mind functions. I was coaching people before I became a coach.

I became a yoga teacher just before my first baby was born. Yoga changed my life, and provided me with the tools I needed in order to achieve and sustain a sober life. I use mindfulness and breath work in my every day life. I’ve spent the last 6 years teaching in the local Cancer Center to cancer patients.

I became a doula after my first baby was born. I was so moved by how profound birth is, and how critical having the right support is during such an intense experience. I have been a doula for a decade, supporting a variety of families in a variety of situations, and settings. I have used a doula for all three of my births.

I was catapulted into my own healing journey after finding sobriety, becoming and mother, and recovering from toxic mold poisoning.

When I first became sick from toxic mold...
I was on the phone with my practitioner every other day in a near panic. I called over every symptom. I cried all the time, because I could barely manage to get my basic needs met, and my kids had needs, and I was in so much pain.

I never shared about it anywhere, outside of my close friend/family circle because I was so ashamed and scared.

I was a health coach, I wasn’t supposed to be sick. I wasn’t supposed to be overwhelmed, living in fear or suffering. I was a yoga teacher, I wasn’t supposed to be so anxious and afraid.

I was “supposed” to be the picture of health and peace.

I felt like I was on the brink of death. No one could help me, and I was often told it was “all in my head.”

I was doing all the right things. I was taking the supplements, doing coffee enemas, eating the cleanest diet, seeing the practitioners, meditation, but I still wasn’t better.

Why was this happening and why wasn’t I getting better? Why couldn’t anyone help me?

The missing piece was my nervous system.

I was in an active state of protection, hyper vigilance, and immobilization for years.

I didn’t feel safe. My body had betrayed me, or so I thought.

How could I trust a body that was “supposed” to be healthy when I was doing all the “right” things?

Gah, it was so confusing, overwhelming and disheartening.

I suffered debilitating anxiety, fear, and overwhelm. I felt so unsafe in my own body. Every sensation, symptom, and sometimes thoughts were a trigger. Everything felt threatening.

Something inside of me knew this wasn’t the way I was supposed to exist. I knew that I deserved to feel at peace, safe, and calm.

Over time, I learned that my body and nervous system were doing EXACTLY as they were designed to. They were trying to protect me.

I was told repeatedly by various providers that my symptoms were all in my head. That I was tired because I was a new mother.

Something inside of me knew this wasn’t right. I knew I wasn’t supposed to feel this way.

I learned that healing is not a one-size-fits-all modality, and that there are as many different paths to wellness as there are people.

I brought my recovery as far as I could with diet, supplements, and healthy habits, and yet still found myself dealing with significant symptoms.

When I began addressing trauma, autonomic nervous system, and my own internal parts, I noticed that my immune system improved, my health improved, and my emotional and mental wellbeing improved. Things that used to upset me were no longer debilitating. I could handle more than I knew I could. I was able to navigate every day stressors without collapsing into despair.

I am a Certified Natural Health Practitioner, Certified Doula, Certified Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master, and Trauma Informed and Trained practitioner. I have over a decade of experience of supporting and coaching clients through a variety of challenging experiences.

I am now living a rich, full and beautiful life, as a mother to my three amazing babies, and wife to my husband (and best friend). I am nearly a decade sober. I am proud of my past, and I am excited about my future.

I have over come traumatic brain injury, substance abuse, depression, seizure disorder, anxiety and C-PTSD.

I am telling you my story, because I want you to know that I’ve been there too. I know what it feels like to be stuck, lost, and scared. I know what it feels like to have no hope, and to be afraid of the future.

There is hope, and I am here to show you!

xox

Mandy