A Balancing ACT

I’m realizing as I move through the different seasons of my life, that Balance is not something that you find and then have. It is a constant evolving process. It is something to work towards daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. Like in a dance, a balanced person learns to flow through the stresses, roadblocks, & changes of life, side stepping, swaying, ducking, and moving towards the direction of stability and peace.  Circumstances and Emotions change and as they do, if a person stays stagnant and set in a path, the dance becomes off-balance and is disrupted. 

Colorado Sunrise, September 2021

As I sat looking at the sunrise, reading my morning devotional instead of exercising, my watch began to chime.  It was a LOW HEART RATE alarm stating that my HR had fallen below 40 bpm over the last 10min!  At this moment, it dawned on me that this is what my balanced, calm, and peaceful self alarm looks like.  I had chosen to listen to that inner pull that says “ don’t go biking, just be still”. And while I was experiencing sheer peace and quiet joy, I was alerted that I had chosen well and was in balance.  

I don’t always choose the balance option. Sometimes the pressure to perform, stress to complete a task, or eagerness to check off my to-do list, begins my day striving.  But if I begin to feel off kilter, this pattern can easily be interrupted and peace and balance infused into the day. I can pause, seek and renew my balance.

Tennessee Sunrise, September 2021

Helping Clients find internal balance and peace in the midst of recovery

I work with clients to envision peace and calm resonating through their thoughts, emotions and actions.

What consumes us has the power to control us.  When stress enters, binge urges overwhelm clients with ED (eating disorder ) thoughts, which disrupts their balance and calmness. It can Throw a person into the depths of chaotic feelings. 

Taking the focus OFF of an urge to binge, and OFF the chaotic feeling is the first step to disconnect from the Panic emotion. To step back and Pause, I often encourage inserting slow, easy, deep long inhales and exhales.  The long exhales stimulate your nervous system to relax. Thus, Breath work has the potential to calm your mind and emotions. It takes practice so adding daily breath work into your morning routine and throughout the day will allow you to implement it in times of crisis. 

I often offer the imagery to ‘Allow GOD's quiet whisper of peace to enter into the depths of your whole self.’

• ED thoughts scream: “It’s just too much. I Feel like I’m suffocating. I need to run to get food to calm me. I can’t resist.“
• Intuitive, God infused peaceful thoughts whisper: " I am enough. I am strong and able.  I will allow those things that are not URGENT & not IMPORTANT to be released from my mandatory to do list. If I feel stress arising, I will pause and readjust my plan so that I can feel GOD's peace cover me.”

One of my Life Balance discoveries was to change directions in my own life. As a Pediatrician in Private Practice, a competitive cyclist, runner and triathlete, every aspect of my active life seemed to be infused with stress hormones. I never quite felt peaceful.  Changing  by focusing on coaching clients with Nutrition and Eating Disorder recovery, practicing yoga, and departing from the rat race called racing has completely transformed my mental health and state of wellbeing.  My hope is to offer this gentle peace to my clients and help them discover what their life balance looks like.