Transformation can manifest in unexpected ways.
“Beautiful are those whose brokenness gives birth to transformation and wisdom.”
John Mark Green
My journey to becoming a Naturopathic Medical Doctor many years ago was a calling inspired by my own health struggles that could not be fully resolved through conventional medicine. I was also powerfully influenced by my love of nature and the natural healing world that surrounds and supports us.
Centered around discovering the root causes of illness and disease, and personalized integrative treatments, this approach to healing deeply resonates with my beliefs.
Being an instrumental guide in my client’s life-changing transformations continues to be abundantly gratifying. I feel incredibly honored to share in their healing journey and be part of their remarkable story… as well as sharing my own.
My Story
We all have stories in our lives that have challenged us, tested our limits, and shaped who we are today.
If you are fortunate, you will view your challenging stories as hidden opportunities and blessings for growth, evolution and wisdom. Further still, should you choose to share your stories with others, you hold the sacred potential to impact and influence someone else's life.
I have one such story that not only rocked me to my core, it forced me to wake up and it completely changed the trajectory of my life in a profound way.
I know what it's like to have your entire world fall apart... to feel like you are losing control over your life, your health and your sense of well-being and safety.
Several years ago when I was first starting my practice, I was involved in a relationship with someone who had two prominent, opposing versions of his personality. One version - a partial representation - was shared with the world. The full version - the truth - was revealed to me behind closed doors.
This narcissistic relationship was a toxic concoction of charm, romance, encouragement, support and mixed with intentional acts of cruelty, manipulation, unpredictability, arrogance, and deception.
My world with this person was filled with inconsistent and covert behavior, blaming, lack of accountability, and gaslighting. I was living with a familiar stranger who frequently changed the rules without notice. Joy, laughter, and feeling connected would often turn to fear, confusion, heart racing, stomach pain, and tears of emotional pain. With a shaky sense of stability, living with chronic stress became my norm.
Narcissism inflicts emotional, psychological, and physical pain like an insidious form of poison. Staying involved and engaged in a narcissistic relationship has the intense, stealthy power to destroy your life, including your precious health. And it's so incredibly common across ALL relationships, not just with intimate partners.
On a personal level, my entire health became adversely affected.
Suffering from chronic stress, I experienced chronic fatigue, anxiety, depression, irregular menstrual periods, insomnia, hair loss, gastrointestinal pain, hyper-vigilance, and more. I felt depleted and spiraled into bouts of despair.
On a professional level, my ambition, focus, mental stamina, tenacity, and enthusiasm for my business plummeted. With the sympathetic nervous system on overdrive, I was stuck in fight, flight and freeze mode.
I tried my best to just "get back in the game," force a smile and forge ahead. As a business owner and a human being, some days I could barely function and I couldn’t separate the personal from the professional.
“You can’t have breakthroughs
without massive breakdowns.”
I felt stuck. I felt alone. I felt shame. I felt disempowered.
How in the world did I allow this to happen? Why is this happening to me?
Strangely, this volatile roller-coaster relationship became difficult to jump off. It had become a vicious addictive cycle. On a deeper level, I was addicted to the trauma and didn't realize it at the time. Bad enough to leave…but “good” enough to stay.
That last paragraph is critical. It clearly demonstrated that I needed to do some deep, inner healing work to understand my own dysfunction and accountability.
After finally leaving that relationship, that chapter of my life, I felt a sense of relief and freedom. Yet I also felt isolated, insecure, and invalidated, and would later come to understand that I was struggling with a complex form of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (c-PTSD). My external environment and circumstances had changed but my brain continued to ruminate on painful memories from the past.
My body was still operating under the ongoing hormones of stress - as if it were still happening. It didn’t know the difference.
I was lost and I couldn’t find my way back to myself.
Intellectually, I knew I no longer wanted that person in my life, but I was still unraveling from the destructive effects of this relationship.
Intuitively, I knew I was about to embark on a journey that was essential in order for me to heal at a much deeper level.
I was about to undergo a life-changing transformation.
I was forced to surrender.
In fact, what if I told you that all of that was supposed to happen in order for me to transform my life? That it happened for me as a blessing in disguise.
My experience nearly broke me — yet ultimately gifted me with the opportunity and time to excavate my authentic self, learn how to release my negative feelings, develop self-compassion and grace, and strengthen my entire being so that I could pave a new path.
I discovered that true healing requires taking a vulnerable, deeper look within, an openness to all possibilities, and a deep respect for the all-knowing, inherent wisdom within ourselves.
It is there to serve us if we are willing to listen.
I spent the next few years engaging in essential therapy sessions and a detoxifying and rebalancing yoga practice. I spent more time in nature, allowing my body and mind to feel connected, grounded, and clear. I practiced more uplifting and encouraging words, beliefs, thoughts, and actions. I rekindled my passion for inspirational, personal development books and podcasts.
I began investing in business, mentorship, and mindset coaching to revamp, refine and scale my business.
I discovered a genuine love for meditation, breath-work, sound healing, and many other mind-body medicine practices.
I learned to trust myself. I learned to believe in myself. I learned to forgive myself. I learned to love myself.
I dedicated more time to nurturing relationships with good-hearted and kind human beings. Most importantly, I walked away from people that were depleting me. I created healthier, self-respecting boundaries. I began to attract new communities of people with whom I felt resonance and alignment.
I gained insight and awareness of the amazing power of community and connection. LOVE: It is the strongest force and truly the medicine we all need to heal.
“Your mess is
your message.”
What was once a dark period of my life has transcended into a greater opportunity to generate more light within myself and share my insights and wisdom with my clients and with others throughout this world.
From post-traumatic stress to post-traumatic growth, my journey allowed me to revitalize my passion for studying the dynamic human body, mind, and spirit. The human potential for transformation is nothing short of a miracle and truly is unlimited.
I wasn’t lost. I just needed to recalibrate, find my true north, and create a life in alignment with the woman I was becoming.
This is all possible for you as well.
It would be my honor to guide, educate, and empower you to create a healthy, revitalized life in alignment with who you are and the person you are yet to become!
My Education
& Experience
I received my Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University, a leading accredited institution in Seattle, Washington that includes rigorous science-based programs, clinical research and the study of evidence-based natural medicine therapeutics intended to treat the whole body. I am a member of The Institute for Functional Medicine and have received additional professional training from The Center for Mind-Body Medicine.
Before starting my own business, I spent several years working in an integrative clinic in Seattle and had the opportunity to learn from one of the most successful and respected integrative medical doctors, deepening my expertise in bio-identical hormone therapy, urine hormone testing, safe and effective compounded hormone prescriptions, and evidence-based nutritional medicine therapies. Prior to becoming a Doctor, I earned a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Food Science from California State University, Chico. Nutrition continues to be a significant foundation and a passion that I instill in patients and practice in my own life.
Having gone through my own personal health challenges, I know what it's like to feel really sick and defeated.
Throughout my life, I have struggled with menstrual irregularities, cystic acne, migraine headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, food intolerances, sugar addiction, chronic sinusitis, severe insomnia, chronic stress, anxiety and depression.
With the amazing support and expertise from a variety of health care providers and other healing practitioners, I have repeatedly healed my body and mind.
I wholeheartedly believe in an integrative, collaborative approach to healing
the whole person.