They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

I find it challenging to open up and share my ‘real’ story of how I landed in the field of nutrition and wellness. It’s taken me years to publicly articulate exactly what happened, and how it profoundly changed me and the course of my life. I went through a pain and a tragedy that I thought I never could heal from, and 10 years later I share this story in hopes of connecting with someone else who has felt pain unimaginable. 

It was the summer after graduating college with a B.S in psychology. I had so much joy and adventure ahead of me and was ecstatic to finally chase my dream of going to New York City to dance professionally. I was in NYC for only two months.  I will never forget the worst day of my life… the same day of my first professional audition was the same day I received a tragic phone call from my mom. My father and two brothers who were flying a private airplane to a family reunion in Idaho had crashed. No survivors. That afternoon I had to get on a plane myself, and fly home to Idaho to be by my mothers side and grieve the most horrific grief I could have ever imagined.

For days, weeks and months it was a triumph to get out of bed.

My mom and I would look at each other in the morning and if we had the courage to get up and put our mascara on, we knew we could get through that day together. I lived one day at a time. Day by day. Week by week. In my confusion, devastation, and horror I was looking for a distraction. 

That was when I stumbled into my first yoga class. For the first time in months, I felt what it felt like to breathe. I could feel my body again and with this awareness I was able to soften and relax and tap into a tiny sliver of comfort. It was this yoga class that dramatically changed the direction of my life. I immersed myself in yoga. I took all of the trainings I could take in the local area, and soon became a teacher. I knew if yoga could bring relief to my trauma, I could help others by leading them down this same path.

While I was studying yoga and surrounded by people who were living a very healthy lifestyle I realized there was a huge disconnect with me. My ‘normal’ college eating habits included a pepsi almost every day, the Wendy’s drive through on occasion, and zero mindfulness about what I was eating, and how it was effecting my body. For the first time I started to question why I had been on antibiotics for 2 years for my skin, and still suffered from terrible acne. I slowly put the pieces together that what I ate was directly effecting my energy, my complexion, and my digestion.

As I made some very slow changes in my diet, I became fascinated with nutrition. I knew this would compliment my yoga training so I enrolled in school to become a Clinical Nutritionist. In a few short months of applying what I was learning to my own health, I turned a huge corner. My energy sky rocketed, my skin was vibrant and clear again, and I was actually feeling energy and confidence. It was an incredible transformation, and one that I was very inspired and passionate to help others make.

After a few years of studying and working with clients, I opened my private practice NourishMint Wellness. I now see clients daily, and have the incredible chance to make a difference in their lives. I live for the days when a client walks through my door to tell me that a suggestion I had made created a positive and sometimes drastic change in their lives. I love being able to help others- and I am living my dream job.

Grief is a lonely place to be, and it took me years to see a blue sky instead of a gray sky. I like to think that though it was a horrific experience that changed me profoundly, it has given me the gift of a new and unique perspective. I believe when life gets hard, it can be very revealing, and I think it dramatically changed how I show up in the world. My life experiences has brought me to this place where I can connect with others. Pain is pain, no matter how severe. I use this unique tool to help women feel supported, and to create balance and peace in their lives through a new perspective, holistic nutrition, yoga and mindfulness.

Creating the DIY cleanse with Tenley has been a such a fun experience. Our shared vision of supporting and helping others feel well and feel balanced is what sparked the idea for this program. It’s all about baby steps whether it’s grieving and getting out of bed, or whether it’s changing a few things in your diet to create more health and balance.

With love,

Emily