Action is the Answer

Still dreaming about what you want to do?

Still wallowing around in why it hasn’t magically transpired out of thin air?

Action is the Answer.

There are times when it all seems impossible.

I know. I’ve been there.

Stuck Stuck Stuck.

But this is YOUR one big life and no one can take it away from you - except you.

Sure, we all encounter obstacles along the way.

But let’s reframe it.

If you are living in a first world country and you own a laptop and/or and iPhone, you are light years ahead of most of the people on the planet. That’s a quick reframe

I am the first person to give you immense understanding and positively hold space for you. If you are self-made, self-sufficient, have been through copious amounts of loss, grief and life challenges, trust me, I relate. But anyway we look at it, eventually we must start where we are.

My first suggestion is to allow yourself, even if no one else will, to be where you are. Be with whatever is happening. Second, listen to no one around you. No one. Only you are having your current experience. No one can take that away from you. Go easy on yourself. Third… you know what’s coming,… start. Start small. Start now.

Finally. Find neutral support. An even-keel sounding board will take you from where you are to where YOU choose to be.

If this resonates, reach out today. That is an action!

Adrenal Fatigue. Who Knew?

Stressed about work, family, relationships, forest fires or whatever will come next?

Living in a constant state of stress is detrimental to our holistic, whole, health. We can eat all the kale in the world, but it will not save us from stress and its best friend, fatigue. Stress is said to be America’s #1 health problem. Tough to detect, adrenal fatigue may be one of many results of chronic stress.

Types of Stress:

1. Physical Stress – accidents, injuries, falls, traumas, poor posture
2. Chemical Stress – poor nutrition, smoking, drinking alcohol, toxic chemicals and hormones in food/water/personal products, cleaning products, bacterial, viruses, heavy metals; all affect blood sugar levels, hormone levels and much more
3. Emotional Stress – family tragedy, major illness of a loved one, loss of a loved one, job loss, finances, divorce, strained relations, small and large trauma, negativity loops

When I couldn’t figure out what was going on in my body despite being a life-long athlete with exceptional nutritional intake and a daily yoga/meditation practice, I had a big huge puzzle to solve. Eventually, after years of seeing medical and related professionals, I came to my own conclusion that I was living with adrenal fatigue. 

I had been doing all the “right” things for so long, but the severe stress from multiple events spanning over several years got the best of me. My adrenal glands were compromised and no longer doing their job. Given the way adrenals work, they were actually working overtime, akin to pressing the gas pedal and the brake at the same time.

“Over 80% of us will experience adrenal fatigue multiple times over in our lives.”

 It’s an epidemic that many people have no idea exists. It most often stems from chronic stress which can affect every physiological system in our bodies including the thyroid and adrenal glands.

The symptoms of adrenal fatigue include, but are not limited to:

weakness
lack of energy
trouble concentrating
depression
anxiety
insomnia
waking up feeling unrested
crashing mid-morning or mid-afternoon
becoming “wired” in the evening
decreased ability to handle stress
easily confused
forgetful
trouble completing tasks once found easy
hoarse voice
poor digestion
constipation
body aches
lack of interest in sex
increased struggle with PMS and menstrual cycle
weight gain around mid-section
food and environmental allergies
postpartum is often the result of adrenal fatigue as well

Because so many of these symptoms overlap with other issues, adrenal fatigue can be super tough to identify.

The adrenal glands are located directly above each kidney. Their duty is to promote hormones essential to your health including adrenaline and cortisol. It is believed that adrenals stop producing these hormones when they are fatigued. However, this varies greatly based on any existing health issues such as hormonal imbalances, emotional stress, nutritional deficiencies, and environmental factors. They actually swing back and forth between producing too much or too little hormones. This fluctuation is what creates fatigue. It is as though the gas pedal and the brake pedal are being pressed at the same time.

The adrenal glands are amazing. They give us the ability to get through challenges such as short-lived stress and highly charged emotional experiences. However, if the stress is chronic, lasting for a long time or constantly recurring, the adrenals will behave erratically and become fatigued. 

Unfortunately, this type of stress is all too common in modern life. Under these conditions, not only do the adrenals become fatigued, but the adrenaline emitted specifically becomes acidic and corrosive. Our bodies can handle brief emissions to protect ourselves, but when this quality of adrenaline is constantly flooding our system it can also become damaging to the brain, liver, pancreas, and more.

Questions to ask yourself beyond simply creating awareness of the symptoms listed above:

•  Are you addicted to the adrenaline rush of action sports?
•  Do you get a rush from meeting every single demand of the day as a working single mother or entrepreneur?
•  Are you overcommitted in meeting the expectations of your work, family or fans that you skip lunch relying on the high of the “wins” to get you through the day?
•  Is what is being asked of you by your boss, your relationship, or even your lifestyle straight up ridiculous?

RECOVERY

The recovery period was long. And I’ve had to go back a few times to recover again more fully. While everyone is unique, I made many shifts over a long period of time although outwardly I appeared to be performing optimally. But in my personal life, I moved inward, taking everything in, one day at a time. 

I became a self-care junkie.  

Several years later, I’m now functioning at the exceptional level within body, mind and the big doozie, emotions/spirit/whateveryouchoosetocallit. 

Last year, I also opted into neurofeedback which showed that I still retained high levels of activity in the area of the brain that houses emotional trauma. That information alerted me to go even easier on myself. I began working with my emotions and taking notice when anything at all triggered me. 

It takes time to hone the skills necessary to integrate emotions and allow feelings to pass like waves. Even with years of yoga and meditation, this intel offered me the opportunity to pay even closer attention. When we become more aware, we learn that there is always something lurking around the next corner that is gonna try to take our flame away. This is why we must move beyond optimization and tweak and turn the levers at every level so that when we get caught off guard - because we will - we are better prepared to stay present with what is happening rather than run.

Due to a prior health scare, I had already put extra attention on my nutrition, yet tweaked it further to focus on fatigue. I left my career. I took a good chunk of time off even though it may have been a financial risk. I trusted my instinct that if I did not attend to this now, my future may be less bright. Everything in my gut told me this semi-break was absolutely necessary. 

I kept one small client in place, dropped into more education, and went surfing – a lot.  

I shifted some of my yoga practices to more receptive and restorative, I skipped running and walked a lot more. I took my social life down to almost nothing. I stayed in and rested. Socializing mostly included seeing friends at daily yoga and maybe grabbing lunch or tea afterward. I rarely went out at night. I drank almost zero alcohol. I ate as well as I could, but without being neurotic about it. I ate when I was hungry which resulted in lots of grazing. I listened to my body and tried to give it what it needed. I went to bed early, rested a lot, and spent a lot of time outside. I made art. I studied. I read. I let go of friendships that lacked depth. I let go of all relationships that were out of balance. I lived at the ocean and took full advantage of its healing waters as much as possible. Cold plunging almost daily no matter what time of year. I put my bare feet on the ground every single day. I finally fully taught myself to surf – something I had wanted to do for years, but with work, never had the time nor energy to battle the waves, the traffic, nor the people in the waters of Los Angeles.

I felt guilty about all of this which was not to my benefit. But I did it anyway and slowly but surely trusted the process. After all, it had become almost impossible to get out of bed for months. Trusting my intuition was key.

After about 3 years, I began to gain some pep in my step. I was finally on the uptick. 

My advice – LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

It takes copious amounts of self-care to reset one’s system. Yet it is 100% necessary.

Stress is no joke. Adrenal fatigue is no joke. They can take you out.

Never feel guilty about taking care of yourself. Always trust your gut. 

Good luck and please let me know if you have questions.

Is This Holistic Health Coaching for You?

Last year, I was inspired to write the following post on my former holistic health consulting site, Après Sessions.

Do you deeply desire a shift in your life?

The people who deeply desire to make changes are always those most open to offerings from holistic health coaches. They clearly show commitment to moving past their stories. Most people, regardless of being tagged a “high-performer”, are usually still lacking in a few realms of life. I feel so fortunate to support these folks. It is truly a collaboration where we learn, gain and progress.

I have so much appreciation and respect for this commitment to oneself in order to authentically inspire and support others. Progression is potent on any level. But in a high-performer, progression equates to tenfold the ripple effect.

I love when I hear about a fellow holistic coach or consultant: “Man, she’s super strict.”

Good on her. Or him. They are being a coach. Would you expect anything less from a professional football coach? Looking back, "strict" may not be the best descriptor, but it gets the point across, yes? As a client, know that we must hold firm boundaries as our job includes holding you accountable.

The thing about this work is that we already have the understanding that no matter who we are, there is an area, maybe two, perhaps even three, where we are officially “over it”. We are fed up with our patterns. We are sick and tired of continual drama that, yep – we are in part responsible for – and ready to own.

We are ready to commit to due diligence and climb that hill. Deep dives are required. When we are ready, this is something to celebrate in and of itself. And hey, High Performers - this level of holistic work is about understanding that no matter how “successful” you are on the outside, the inside is where we are headed. Why? Because change is inevitable and constant. In order to be successful in all realms, no amount of Instagram followers is going to fulfill your soul. There are always areas, usually deep within, where each and every one of us, instead of avoiding, can not only tune in, but turn up the volume. 

Tune into THIS to learn whether this style of holistic coaching is for you…

This style of holistic coaching IS for you if you: 

            …are ready to hone in on every single realm of life and tweak this+that to move from where you are now to where you want to be

            …want to become more potent at what you do

            …are ready to step up not only for yourself, but as an example to those you touch each day

            …are killing it at life except one or two little areas in the back of your head that are driving you nuts

            ...personal and professional development is something you LOVE to geek out on

            …understand that there are no hacks. You just have to do the things. And there are always more things. They can never be avoided. And they change and ebb and flow with time.

            ….want to eloquently integrate your own personal development into all of your personal and professional relationships

            …want to collaborate toward a global consciousness of collective change

            ….want to locate a network of people to support you, guide you, teach you, coach you and your teams from where you are now to where you want to be

            …want to identify what is no longer serving you - today

            …are open-minded, open-hearted, know there is always more to learn, willing to look at yourself completely, with acceptance, and become more open to receive - even when sitting in the "hot seat"

            …want to find your very own unique version of true freedom that works for not only yourself, but all of your different partners in life 

This style of holistic coaching is NOT for you if you…

            …are looking for a quick fix - although sometimes small changes create massive transformations in very little time – awesome to witness

            …would rather just drop out and do what’s fast, fun and easy at the expense of yourself and/or another

            …think you already know everything there is to know about yourself, your loved ones, your business, your career, and it’s about changing someone else

            …are set on changing someone else

            …think you have tried everything

            …are not open to trying new things or even same/similar things you have tried in the past

            …prefer to stay stuck in your story

            …are “the boss” in some or all facets of life and unwilling to be coachable

            …do not want to challenge yourself

            …do not want to step out of your comfort zones or take risks

            …do not feel you could use a neutral eye on areas that are disturbing the peace

            …are not craving connection

            …are not interested in relationships based on truth, sometimes brutal honesty, vulnerability and transparency

            …are not interested in being part of a greater collective consciousness

            …do not want to BE the change in this world

            …have no desire to live a life that internally and externally defines freedom

Freedom is the name of the game. We must start where we are.

Tell me your story today.

What is Holistic Health Coaching?

Health coaching is still a newer industry. Much like yoga, there are many styles without a truly unifying alliance yet in place.  That being said, when the coaching is described as “holistic” we are referencing the integration of all realms of life. Holistic refers to the whole; an intimate interconnectedness of all parts explicable only by referencing the whole. We are speaking on the human experience - body, mind, emotion, spirit. “Spirit” can be substituted with whatever works for the individual from religion to nature.

Health coaching is an industry on the rise given the state of our nation’s health and its healthcare system. Health coaches are not doctors, therapists, or nutritionists, although the practice holds strong components from all three. We support these professions, in many cases working alongside them, as well as referring out to them as necessary.

So what happens within a coaching session? Holistic health coaching means we are peering into all realms of life to find areas we can tweak to benefit the whole:

Health

Movement of body 

Nutrition

Home & work environment

Relationships

Social life

Spirituality (insert your own vocabulary)

Creativity & self-expression

Finances

Career

Continuing education

Overall joy

We are looking at root causes of disease, or lack of well-being, preventing and healing dis-ease, rather than slapping a Band-Aid on the byproduct for temporary relief. 

For the coach, sessions include deep deep listening to the client often beyond what the client is actually saying. What does this mean?? Well, some folks want a coach to be specialized in order to understand what exactly they will offer and what exactly the outcome will be. Commonly heard: “I want to lose weight.”. Commonly thought: "This person will give me the magic combination of diet, nutrition, cleanse, green juice and exercise which will for sure help me lose weight." While all of these will certainly assist and often remedy an issue, many times a deficiency in an area seemingly unrelated is actually the missing link!

Digging deeper, and this happens quite often, the client eventually finds that a certain person in their life, friend, relative, or partner is actually causing tremendous stress, turmoil, obsessive thought, and all related emotions leading to a severe lack of wellbeing expressing itself through additional weight, that annoying skin condition, chronic fatigue, loss of additional relationships, and so on. These conditions then will not go away by adding more vegetables to one’s plate. In fact, when a force to be reckoned with is sucking so much of one's time and energy, it’s really hard to eat more vegetables. So once we get to the root cause, we begin the evolution.

Holistic health coaches listen, support, guide, teach, coach, consult, deduce, heal, and inspire change in mind, body, thought, leading to transformation. Taking people from where they are now to where they want to be is what we do.