I believed that what I was looking for was either somewhere outside of me – or waiting on the other side of becoming someone different.
If I could just find…
the right personal or spiritual development training…
the right way to finally lose the weight once and for all…
the right teacher or healer…
the right partner…
…then perhaps life – and I – would finally feel different.
Better.
Easier.
Less of a struggle.
I believed that if I could just get everything – and everyone – on the outside lined up just right, life wouldn’t feel so hard.
Looking back, I can see that I was asking the outside world to give me something it never could.
I was looking in the wrong place for what I longed for…
peace…
ease…
belonging…
and joy.
Instead, I was caught in the riptide of constant self-improvement, self-criticism, and self-doubt.
Always pushing myself to become someone – or get somewhere – different.
It took me a long while to understand what all that searching was pointing toward…
something that was never “out there.”
I was searching for a way home to myself.
And once I began to orient back toward myself…
my own needs…
my own desires…
and the essence of who I had always been…
everything began to change.
I discovered that the life I had been searching for wasn’t waiting somewhere else.
It began to emerge naturally from the relationship I was rebuilding with myself.
And when I began integrating somatic work into my life, my relationship with myself deepened even further.
It changed not only how I understood lasting change…
but how I lived it.
The most important thing my own life has taught me is this:
Everything begins with the quality of the relationship we have with ourselves.
From there…
The way we meet our circumstances changes.
The way we relate to other people changes.
The choices we make begin to change.
And perhaps most importantly…
The way we meet ourselves begins to change.
And slowly…
often in imperceptible ways at first…
our lives begin to change too.
A Little More About Me
If you’re someone who likes to know a little about the person you’ll be working with, here’s a bit about what has shaped both my life and my work.
Since early in my life – and perhaps because of the experiences that influenced me as a child and into adulthood – I’ve been fascinated by what helps us find our way home to ourselves.
It’s a question I’ve devoted much of my life to, and one that continues to inform both the way I live and the way I work.
By weaving together coaching, somatic practices, and compassionate companionship, I create spaces where people don’t have to navigate life’s challenges alone – and can discover a different way of meeting their lives.
My background includes:
- Master of Science in Human Development (Nutrition & Biochemistry)
- Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC)
- Certified Eating Psychology Coach
- Advanced Certificate in Mediation and Conflict Studies
- Ongoing study and practice in somatic approaches
Over the past twenty-five years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside executives and professionals from a wide range of industries, artists, educators, nonprofit leaders and teams, and people navigating poverty, domestic violence, incarceration, and other circumstances that often leave people feeling unseen, unheard, and unsupported. Each experience has deepened my understanding of people and what supports them as they learn to navigate life’s challenges with greater self-compassion, courage, and trust.
My life and my work have been deepened through many years of study, personal practice, and ongoing integration of somatic work, grief tending, circle facilitation, and Nonviolent Communication – along with the many teachers, clients, and life experiences that continue to teach me.
These days, I live on the coast of Maine with my husband, Don, and our sweet rescue dog, Jack. When I’m not working with clients, you’ll often find me walking along the shore, exploring woodland trails, reading, writing, and continuing my lifelong practice of cultivating a more compassionate relationship with myself.