When my children were in school I went back to college to train to be an Occupational Therapist, which is a discipline that uses activity or exercise that is appropriate to building up what the patient needs to heal. It is work that requires many skills, one of which is really deep listening to what the client values and would be enthused by to determine the goals of therapy. It is very holistic and I was always trying to find the natural ways to encourage healing through good nutrition, proper breathing and meditation. All good treatment plans addressed body, mind and spirit. This concept was even more obvious in the years I worked in Breast Cancer rehabilitation and Lymphedema treatment, where healing can happen on every level. This took me to learning all I could about meditation, present moment awareness and wellness. While working as an Occupational Therapist I began coach training at Coach U in 2001, which has rounded out my own life by showing me how important it is to have the gift of collaboration to really achieve my goals, and to challenge me to think bigger about everything I thought to be true.

There is nothing like a few of life’s critical moments to make you walk your talk. As I look back it is easy to realize that many of these traumatic episodes of my life were heralds of an era of midlife, or menopause. That is one area of my life I was in total denial, until experiencing the symptoms. I began waking up in the middle of the night with intense anxiety; generally it was worry about family members, who didn’t ask for my concern, thank you very much. That was the beginning of the change for me, which included missed periods and spotting, no more regularity and no more PMS. It was all ups and downs, ongoing, rather than just a few days a month. One such crisis was when my mother was ill and I had to assume an important caretaker role during her recovery. It meant leaving my home, ending my part time work, the interruption of the start of my new business of coaching; it was difficult and took many resources to keep my own strength and vitality intact.

What sets me apart from other life coaches is my background in mind/body medicine and my experiences that prompted me to arrive at my own developing peace of mind. I have a 7 step proprietary system to achieve serenity and I offer free and fee classes to reduce stress, which in turn is scientifically documented to ease the hormonal challenges of PMS and menopause, including hot flashes!

I work best with a woman who is open to listening to their own inner voice as it speaks up for her in various ways, and is courageous to take on the challenge of change. The women I work with understand that I am not going to tell them what to do, that they can count on me to help bring out their inner wisdom in order for them to see the choices available to them.