B.A in Biocultural Anthropology and minor in Psychology
Experience in CrossFit and Yoga
I grew up in Ellensburg and graduated from Ellensburg High School. After high school I moved to Bellingham, Washington to attend Western Washington University and got my B. A in biocultural anthropology and a minor in psychology. Currently, I am planning on getting my master's degree in nutrition. I grew up going hiking with my family and played volleyball throughout high school, so I have always enjoyed being active. I continued to stay active throughout college however my last year and a half I was taking 20 credit quarters and working and my focus and routine with exercise decreased. In my last two quarters, I decided to start going to yoga to try and help with stress management. Ever since then, it has become a consistent part of my weekly routine and something I always look forward to. It reminded me of how important and helpful moving my body is. I started getting stronger and feeling better. During that time I started running to also help with stress and it turned into something I love. Even though growing up I never really enjoyed running. But I started with the mindset that I just wanted to get outside and keep my body moving. Since then I have been able to run consistently and would like to run a half marathon in the near future. In my free time, I like to do yoga, run, read, go hiking and biking, and bake!
My turning point was changing my mindset about exercise. Throughout high school and college, I always had the mindset that it was something I did to stay fit and get stronger. But then when it started to take a back seat I realized it was so much more than that. With a lot of my energy focused directly on school and work I didn’t realize how much stress was affecting my everyday life. Once I started going to yoga it was very clear moving my body was so much more than what I had previously focused on for fitness. Running became an outlet as well and something I looked forward to instead of dreading. I never liked running but when I changed my mindset to the goal of just getting outside and keeping my body moving my enjoyment of it increased dramatically. I started being able to run longer distances and I was having fun doing it. I started feeling more confident and comfortable with myself. Even on days when I really didn’t want to run, I pushed myself because I knew if I went for, even a short run, I was going to feel better and overall have a better day. I would go with the mindset to just get outside or get myself in the gym and find a way to get my heart rate up. And on days I didn’t want to go I knew those were the most important days to go. I knew getting my heart rate up and completing the stress cycle was going to be one of the best things I could do for myself. Ever since then health and fitness have been completely different for me. Other healthy habits came along with my change in mindset around fitness. With changing my mindset my relationship with it completely changed. Instead of feeling like it was something I had to do I found forms of exercise I look forward to and enjoy doing!
My passion and motivation come from simply wanting to help others feel good! Health and fitness mean different things to everyone and I would love to be part of others' journeys. To help people find the mindset and goals with being active that makes it enjoyable and sustainable for them. I understand and experienced how sometimes habits can get set aside when things get crazy or it’s hard to find the motivation. But I am passionate about helping people find that relationship and balance with health and fitness that continues to make people feel strong, confident, and happy.
