You are the rocks, the trees, the mountains and the breeze. You are everything and nothing, you are you.
Indulge in the luxury of being yourself.
Embrace Yourself was born out of my own journey from self-sabotage to self-empowerment. Never believing that I was enough to fulfill the greatness inside me. I knew that there was some unfulfilled potential living in me, some inner-genius that I was too afraid to express or tap into. I craved and desired my life to be different, for me to be different. I was stuck in paralysis and fear and all I wanted was a deep, whole, embodied hug. To be held by the universe. To be held by myself.
As it turns out, my angst, curiosity and spontaneity has taken me on adventures I never could have imagined. I explored an Honours Bachelor’s of Science in Cognitive Science and Neuroscience, with topics spanning: mindfulness, psychedelics, artificial intelligence, Indigenous wisdom, Buddhist psychology, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, philosophy, movement and mental health… and so much more. I also chose to add to that journey criminal literature, action film, and entrepreneurship. This only fuelled my deep sense of intellectual curiosity. I wondered what it might be like to live an integrated, embodied life – to apply this lens of cognitive science: this integrated, multidisciplinary approach to meta-cognition, into a way of living. The question of, “how do I apply this?” loomed over me as I looked for ways to enhance and optimize my living and get the most out of what I learned.
I decided on a Master’s of Education focused on Adult Learning and Global Change. This program was intercontinental between four different universities, one in each hemisphere of the world: University of British Columbia (Canada), Linköping University (Sweden), University of the Western Cape (South Africa), and Australian Catholic University (Australia). I learned to be iterative, critically reflective and self-reflective with an socio-environment, glocal, lens. This adventure became richer as I deepened my exploration of embodied living by becoming more aware of the conscious, connected decision-making I was doing. It involved looking at the lifecycle of the products and services I was participating in. I understood that I was apart of the whole world, not outside of it. That the products I choose, the choices I make need to be reflective and integrative of this understanding. I even entered into the Miss Globe 2018 Pageant, placing 3rd on the international stage in Beijing, with a platform of ‘conscious decision-making‘. I brought attention to the circularity of our decisions – the lifecycle and eco-system involved in how we live, and to be mindful of that as this world continues to proliferate, differentiate and integrate.
This conscious and inclusive lifestyle choice took me in another direction and invited me to explore earth-based traditions and ancient wisdoms from around the world. North and South American Indigenous mythology, Buddhism, Taoism, Sacred Geometry, Hinduism, Siberian Shamanism, Celtic Wisdom and more began to show me how to deeply connect with the earth and stars as part of myself. To embody what it means to be whole, and me. I saw that many religions had aspects of this, showing me the many faces and expressions of God and how connecting with that can enable me to be more gracious, honourable, and discerning. At the same time, I decided to work with Canada Suicide Prevention Service (now called talksuicide). I began to embrace other elements of me, other elements of my shared human experience and only through being on the lines did I truly begin to understand what it meant to have unconditional empathy, deep listening, and venerability. I felt the rawness of my fellow human’s life experience.
I am all of these experiences and none of them.
I thought I was complete until I was shown one final piece of the academic puzzle: The Feldenkrais MethodTM. This method showed up when I dislocated 3 ribs and had a concussion and needed to step out of the medical system to find sustainable and effective support. I had managed the initial symptoms of trauma, but was still having pain, dis-regulation and dissociation. The Feldenkrais Method enabled me to bring together all of my skills, academic curiosities and lifelong learnings into a form of embodied knowing. The method itself is a learning method of embodied wisdom. It enabled me to treat my system as a whole, include the environment in my awareness, and optimize my movement. As I continue to practice, I deepen my embodiment and optimization of my life.
The Feldenkrais Method is where I have landed (for now) on being able to share the skills, learnings, teachings of my lifetime. Through a gentle exploration of movement, I am able to share wisdom I have learned through the facilitation of coming into wholeness. You can learn more about the method on the Feldenkrais page.
I share my story to illustrate who I am and how and why I do what I do. How and why I know that we are all connected – you, me, the flowers and the stars. That living in connection and wholeness is the conclusion I’ve landed on for true embodied living and the highest expression of embracing oneself. That to Embrace Yourself is to embrace all that is and through the honouring of that, I was able to liberate myself from physical, mental, emotional and spiritual muscle tension. I was able to liberate myself from loneliness and fear. I found freedom from my movement to my mindset. Through this long, deep and rich inquiry I created an adventure for myself that unlocked my inner-genius. And my inner-genius knows that embracing myself is embracing us all and that is my way forward.
Working with me, we will embrace it all, be held and explore ways to create the environment for your inner-genius to come out and play. So that your whole, most-connected, version you have has a chance to show itself and be free.
Come and indulge in the luxury of being you – all of you.
My credentials:
- Honour’s Bachelor of Science, University of Toronto in Cognitive Science and Neuroscience
- Master’s in Education, University of British Columbia in Adult Learning and Global Change
- Digital Innovation Skills Certificate, Wilfred Laurier University
- Reiki Master, Lisa Powers
- Miss Globe International Second Runner-Up
- Energy Medicine Practitioner, The Four Winds
- Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner, The Kelowna Feldenkrais Teacher Training Program