VINEYARD HEALTHY LIVING- Inspiring Optimal Well-Being

This has been a life-long journey for me. As a child and teenager, I had no body confidence,  I did not  play sports or have any sense of what my body was. At the age of 18, I discovered modern dance at college, and for the first time, I began to feel my strength and power in my body. This was an amazing epiphany for me, but along with that came a high level of scrutinization. Between the mirrors that surrounded me, the self-criticisms of the other dancers, and the demand from the dance instructors to lose weight, I began to see myself as hopelessly imperfect, and embarked on my first diet.
 
I left the world of dance in my early 20's, (partially because I realized that my talent would never bring me huge success or pay the bills) and was happy to be free of the body-perfect obsessed world. Although I never developed a severe eating disorder, I developed disordered eating. I was always on a diet (have done them all) and carried the diet mentality with me beyond the world of dance (plus the dancer's favorite diet tool: smoking) So I lost my strength, my flexibility, and any sense of my body. By the time I was 26, I was too thin and really unhealthy. I finally quit smoking (I give credit to marrying a non-smoker, who never pressured me, but I knew that I just couldn't smoke around him.) and began to run. Now when I say run, I mean jog about a block. But soon I was running further and further and finally got up to 3 miles (which because of old dance injured knees is about as far as I ever run), but it felt so amazing. And yet, I still felt weak. At about the same time, I read an article about a dancer from Twyla Tharpe's troupe who said she lifted weights. (Keep in mind this was 1980: women did not lift weights back then) So I cut it out and began to follow the routine with some dumbbells and a bench in my basement. From there I began to add aerobic dance to my routines. I felt strong, and centered. I began to study nutrition, and learn how to eat more healthfully and to learn to listen to what my hunger was all about. Slowly I brought my weight up to a perfect, healthy place. This was such an exciting feeling.
 
But in the summer of 1982, I contracted Hepatitis A (from some bad seafood) and within 2 weeks, my weight dropped 15 pounds (mostly muscle) I was weak and chronically fatigued for over 2 months. Just as I was beginning to feel better, I got pregnant! This was great news (see Alex), but it took my entire pregnancy just to get my strength back to normal, and another 6 months after she was born to regain the added strength and cardio levels that I had prior to my illness. I was back! I had finally tapped into a successful formula for sustained energy!
 
I continued on this regimen and my confidence in myself and what I could take on in life, increased substantially. Just as the personal training profession was beginning to take off (about 1988), I made the decision to study, get certified and become a trainer. (One of the first to be certified.) Now I was excited to share my love of fitness and nutrition, and early on I realized that I preferred to work almost exclusively with women. (I have trained a few of my client's husbands along the way.) Together, I coached my clients to learn how to become stronger, eat healthier, and get that sustained level of energy for themselves.
 
And so my business grew. I had a beautiful private studio. I hired other trainers to work for me. I built a successful business. But I also had a lot of personal stress building up in my life. With the recession of the early '90's, came a drop in my husband's business, so I needed to push my business to grow to help support the family. In addition, my invalid mother-in-law moved in with us (for a year between independence and nursing home) and although we had visiting nurses, I had to help with much of her day-to-day care. Then my father-in-law was hospitalized for several months and died, so I needed to be a huge support for my husband. And I had my daughter to take care of. I was trying to be all things to all people and suddenly one day as I was driving, I began to hyperventilate. Not knowing what it was, I panicked and pulled into a police station. Later in the emergency room, after passing an EKG, the doctor said to me  "I think you might have been hyperventilating."  I was furious! How could he accuse me of this! What did I have to be hyperventilating over! I was in control, I was taking care of everything. And then I began to cry. I realized that I had been putting everyone else first, and risking my health to do so. It was from that day forward that I began to practice having a balanced lifestyle. To learn how to breathe, how to pace myself, how to give myself down time, to say no, to fully realize what my priorities were. It was the beginning of learning sustained serenity.
 
I began to meditate and study yoga and in turn, taught my clients how to meditate and began to teach them yoga. I coached them on how to create their lives to honor what was most important to them, to learn how to hold a clear vision of who they are and where they would like to go, and still be able to be there for their families. Together, we developed sustainable systems to support all that is important to them around their health, relationships and careers and they have learned resilience. 
 
I continued in my journey, by studying and becoming a lifestyle coach, and have found this to be a wonderful vehicle for sharing, supporting, and eliciting lifestyle change for women like myself. Additionally, to better serve my clients and truly share all  aspects of having a Balanced Lifestyle and Optimal Wellness , I have added a health and wellness line to my practice by joining Team Northrup becoming an Independent Distributor and having a home-based business for USANA Health Sciences.