I experienced my first encounter with health, grief, and loss at a very young age, when my grandmother passed away from ovarian cancer. At that time, I vividly remember feeling an intense inner knowing that I was here, in this life, to help others live healthier lives, and that in doing so, I would help change the world. Even over 20 years later, that feeling has never left me.
My passion for health eventually led me to medical school; however, after studying osteopathic medicine for a few years in classrooms, hospitals, and clinics, I began to realize that my personal beliefs about health and wellness did not match up with what Western medicine looks like in practice, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that this path was just not for me. I knew in my heart that more focus had to be on things like prevention, nutrition, exercise, and in spending time developing deeper relationships with patients. While trying to find specialities that aligned with my views and interests, I felt like I was trying to shove a square peg (myself) into a round hole (the medical system). So I had a decision to make: continue to follow the path expected of me, a path guaranteed to make me “successful” in the eyes of society, and a path that felt safe and already paved for me… or: take a leap into the unknown and follow my heart.
Long story short, I finally chose the latter, and I have never looked back. While finishing up medical school, I obtained my personal training (CPT) and holistic health coach (CHHC) certifications, and after graduating with my doctorate (DO) from the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2013, I officially began my new career as a health and fitness coach. I worked in the gym-setting over the next several years and increasingly expanded my knowledge into the personal development, self-help, and mind-body-spirit realms. I became intensely passionate about health outside of just the physical aspects of diet and exercise, and I began to dream of starting my own business so that I could be my own boss and run a coaching practice that really aligned with me and my values. As I transitioned from my jobs in corporate gyms, I began my first solo business as an essential oils educator with Young Living, using the natural world of plants to enhance our health and wellbeing, while also becoming a certified Girls Gone Strong Coach and a licensed Desire Map Facilitator, which brought me more expertise into helping women’s health and fitness needs as well as how to support others with mindset and life planning skills, respectively.
In addition to the training, knowledge, and experience I’ve gained over the years, I also lean on my own personal journey of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing, as well as my gifts as a Highly Sensitive Person. I struggled with severe disordered eating, exercise addiction, body dysmorphia, and feelings of low self-worth for over a decade in my young adult life, and I have since been on my own self-love and self-discovery pilgrimage.
This has all led me here: to Root + Rise. This feels like the real beginning of what I have always been dreaming of. Utilizing all of my skills and gifts, I am here to empower you to look within yourself and to see the beautiful human and soul that you are. I’ll guide and support you to develop whole-self-health and to root yourself in your innate worth so that you can rise to live the life you are truly meant to live - a life full of meaning, health and love!
