I have spent 26 years of my life dancing- starting with competitive studio dance where I trained in jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, musical theater. In high school, I trained in ballroom and pom. In college, I competed and choreographed for the College of Saint Benedict Dance Team in Pom & Jazz- bringing home the first national championship for our school. I danced professionally for contemporary and hip hop companies in both Minnesota and Los Angeles. I have taught and choreographed contemporary dance and pom. I now dance professionally in Las Vegas for Ghost Light Odyssey, where we elevate live entertainment by acting in motion.

My health journey starts at my birth. I was born a premie - two months early at three lbs and five oz. I was a C section baby and in the NICU for 2 months. Having a naturally weakened immune system and a not-as-diverse gut microbiome, I grew up getting sick constantly with what seemed like never-ending strep throat and, later on, Mono.

In February 2004 at ten years old, I fell while in rehearsal for a dance competition. Learning I had a spiral fracture of my femur, I was in for two surgeries and nine long months of recovery. Once surgeries were complete and rods were removed, I sported a wheelchair, walker and crutches. I rehabilitated with physical therapy and sports training with former NFL running back Amp Lee. I am grateful that I got to train with someone that came from such a different background than I did at such a young age. It helped me get back into dance faster and to be able to perform at the high caliber that was expected.

In July 2018, I found out I had a blood clot while performing. A DVT of my subclavian vein made my right arm swell like the Hulk, loosing movement in my wrist and fingers. I was immediately put on the highest dose of blood thinners. Within a week I went from performing over ten minute set to gasping for air and out of breath from walking up a flight of stairs. My body began to re-learn how to function and in about two months, I began to dance again.

Throughout this time, my arm kept swelling as I danced. In rehearsal I would alternate runs with using both arms and switching to one arm to try an minimize when my arm was moving overhead. This flip flopping between two versions of muscle memory left my brain on overdrive while trying to keep my swelling at bay. Needing full body function to do my job, I pleaded my doctors for any and all solutions. I was recommended to be on blood thinners for life, that it would be my new normal. Unsatisfied, I was referred to a vascular surgeon in LA that gave me two options : 1) do nothing and continue to live with swelling and uncomfortability; or 2) remove my rib so they structure issues were removed. I scheduled surgery for April 2019, where my full first rib was removed.

My recovery time was quoted about five months from my Vascular Surgeon. Exactly a month after my last procedure, I had the incredible opportunity to assist and teach dance in Italy. It was my first time Western Europe and had the best guides (my directors/mentors) to show me around. I had the most amazing time there, so excited to get back moving with my new and improving body. I am blessed to have had that experience and wouldn't change a thing! What I didn't take into account was an extremely weakened immune system while traveling and recovering from major surgery. When I returned, I would end up in the hospital a few more times before the end of the year. A combo of back-to-back antibiotics and ER visits made for no sign of swelling reduction in sight.

At the beginning of 2020, I was so tired of being on the patching up of my body. I was told that I would never be able to get off blood thinners in my lifetime. I was on the highest daily dose allowed and even with my rib removed, was seeing very minimal improvement in the swelling. I wanted to try something different, a more holistic approach to see what it could offer me. I had felt that I was running into a wall in the Western medical space because I wasn't progressing any further.

I began seeing Chinese Medicine doctor and Acupuncturist Dr. Amy in March 2020. I started to go to her weekly to receive updated daily herbs, acupuncture and cupping. When the pandemic hit, we met online weekly where she talked me through applying acupressure seeds and the herbs she had sent. Once she was allowed to see a few patients, she immediately called me into her new office. I would end each acupuncture and cupping session in her individual infrared sauna to help detox and increase blood circulation. In 7 months of working with her, I was completely off blood thinners with my gut fully restored. My back pain had subsided and the swelling in my arm was gone! I resumed working out and experienced minimal side effects compared to the full swelling that I had typically occurred. I am so grateful to Dr. Amy for helping me regain full function of my body through holistic practices that didn’t involved me taking more pills for temporary solutions.

I was relieved to finally be in a neutral space with my body, to have a good foundation for everything else to be built on top of. I was inspired to learn every way to keep my body in a good space. Although I had initially heard about Human Design in 2017, I dove deep into decoding charts and learning all I could in 2021. I began to read charts for friends and family while starting the journey of experimentation with my design. It gave me a compass for when I felt out of my body and helped me narrow down what lean into to get myself back on track.

With Human Design, I finally was consciously aware of my energy and my actions- not locked in cycles of burnout and hazily going through life. This newfound awareness coupled with learning my design gave me a blueprint on what to look out for, how to navigate my energy and how to best show up for myself. My relationships with others improved as my awareness increased. I was taking back my power as I began to take more accountability for my actions, being an active and responsible participant in this thing called life. Incrementally, and with a lot of patience and grace from those around me, I have grown into the best version of my self to date. The more I experience and experiment with my design, the more aware and better I become.

I received my personal training certification in April 2021. Working out as an athlete all my life, I had basic knowledge of the body and its muscular functions. This certification allowed me to dive deeper into the fundamentals of structuring the human body, how to optimize strength and gain muscular chain coordination.

I started to learn Shamanism in 2021 and built my own tools, symbols and Shamanic Reiki techniques. I began to infuse my meditation classes and movement classes with Shamanic symbols, to help bring these transformational energetic tools into the physical space. Releasing stagnant energy through the body has always been satisfying to my soul, so fusing these ideas felt natural and exciting.

I became a certified holistic health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition by January 2022, learning a multitude of health modalities and practices from renowned people in the wellness space. At IIN, physical food comes secondary to the influence of the various areas of life (home life, career, relationships, etc). This training gave me new perspectives and refreshed eyes when approaching my own health. Coupled with Human Design, it gave me a jumping off point on what is possible for healing and future development in my overall wellness.

I use these tools continuously to keep my mind, body and soul in alignment. They all have been so instrumental in my life and I continue to learn more each day!

The body is such a miraculous technology - the systems and programs it runs subconsciously is truly remarkable! The body is constantly fixing and recalibrating in the background while you live life each day. If you give your body a chance to heal itself with the correct nutrients and environment, it will come back even stronger than before.

As I keep expanding and experimenting, I hope to share my experiences with you to help support you in your own wellness journey! Know that you are not alone and as we shift into a new reality, you deserve to be happy and well in all areas of life.

If you got this far, thank you for listening to my story! It is forever growing, just as I am, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store. The future is bright and I am happy to be here to see it!