At 27, I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, and it brought my life to a screeching hault. I returned to the States after nine months in Asia, where I had to quit my job as an international aid worker to move back in with my parents. Going from doctor to doctor, nobody could give me answers or solutions. I spent my time between my bed, physical therapy, labs and lying on the floor staring at the ceiling and crying.

Eventually, I took matters into my own hands. Somewhere deep in my being, I heard the voice: Get yourself cleaned up.

I stopped drinking, stopped taking birth control (which I had been on for 12 years), cleaned up my diet, learned about herbs, found a functional medicine doc who put me through an extensive educational program about nutrition, lifestyle, hormones, and immune function. I reconnected with my childhood love of nature, spending countless hours outside, wandering around on the trails near my house and sitting next to rivers. And slowly, with the help of a lot of good people, I began to heal.

Looking back, I realize that my body was leading me the whole time.

Later that year, I met a woman who taught a course called Women Awake, and I enrolled, opening my life not only to a teacher and mentor, but to a community of women of all ages who became friends, guides and sisters. The curriculum shattered my conditioning and shifted my worldview from one of linear thinking to cyclical understanding. And above all, the felt belief that my body is sacred.

I took Women Awake four more times and became a Sister-of-Support to Therese Jornlin, who is still my mentor to this day.

It took a few years to fully heal from Lyme, but I can say now it was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Crisis can be the catalyst to deeper connection and expansion if you choose it. I was changed, and there was no “going back” to who I was before. I had learned how to listen to and care for my body in a whole new way, one built around my menstrual cycle as the blueprint for health and the fundamental truth that my body doesn’t make mistakes. She is always guiding me to the most vibrant, alive and authentic version of myself.

I consider being a woman to be the most badass incarnation I could have been given this time around.

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Professionally

I’ve been a freelance writer and storyteller for nearly 20 years, working on projects in the travel, wellness, business and marketing worlds. My work has been featured in LAYoga, Inside Himalayas, OM Magazine, Edible Communities, Print & Promo, and many more. As the former producer of The Dandelion Effect Podcast and creator of Storymapping Experiences at the Feathered Pipe Ranch, I’ve helped hundreds of people explore their stories, integrate their identities and develop a deeper sense of self-compassion and appreciation. I had the privilege of spending many summers at one of the oldest conscious living centers in the country, where I worked alongside talented multidisciplinary therapists and practitioners to create environments for healing, creativity and connection to thrive. Still, the greatest teachers have been my own body, the magic of life’s unfolding, and Mother Nature.