In my 40’s I became a certified massage therapist with an emphasis on acupressure. I worked on hundreds of people over a two-year period, and continued to see clients on a part-time basis for many years after that.
I slowed down with exercise in my early 50s and THEN when I was 56 and waiting for a green light to cross the street, I asked, “What do I really want in life?” It came to me clearly almost welling up inside: “I want to be strong, very strong.” The next thing I remembered is waking up in an ambulance. My first thought was, “Somebody is having to ride in an ambulance.” Slowly the fog cleared and I began to remember being on a walk. I had been hit by an old Chevy SUV that had turned left into the crosswalk and I had been thrown about 15 feet to the ground. My skull was fractured, I had a serious concussion, and a broken thumb. But the rest of my body was not even bruised, even though there were dark lines across the thighs and legs of my pants where the car hit me. After three days in the hospital, that included plastic surgery to close up my head wound, I was released with a bandaged head, my arm in a splint, and a blue and yellow pallor on one side of my face.
As soon as I could manage I started doing Yoga again. I believed it would be healing and something I could do even with a cast and wounded head. Slowly, methodically, my core got stronger and stronger. Six months later I learned about high intensity interval training and began getting into many fun programs, grabbing any of my friends who would join me. I did MAX Workouts, mountain biking, Insanity, T25, and P90X3 to name a few, and I got great results! I lost the extra 15 pounds I had gained and firmed up even stronger than when I did body building in my 30’s.
Natural, healthy whole foods have also been a focus for me as far back as I can remember. I married my husband, Mike, when I was 20 years old and the poor man didn’t know he’d be eating so many nuts and seeds and whole grains. But he eventually became as enthusiastic about it as I was.
In my pursuit, I also developed lotions and salves for skin care and healing, using only simple products and essential oils with no added chemicals.
As you can see my interests span a number of areas, but they all center on healing and health. I do massage, personal training, offer group exercise classes, and produce healing salves and creams.
