My Wellness Journey: What I Never Expected to Learn
When I first stepped into the world of wellness, I believed the journey would be about movement, nutrition, meditation, and mindset. I thought well-being meant doing all the “right” things: practicing yoga, eating whole foods, strengthening the body, resting the mind.
But the deeper I’ve gone — through teaching yoga and Pilates, hosting international retreats, running the Leelanau Wellness Collective, supporting clients, and exploring my own emotional patterns — the more I’ve realized:
Some of the most important parts of my wellness journey were lessons I didn’t even know I needed.
They were humbling, surprising, and sometimes uncomfortable. And they changed me in ways that no workout or meditation ever could.
The True Definition of Wellness
Before I go deeper, here’s the definition that has shaped my work:
Wellness is a conscious, self-directed, and evolving process of achieving full potential.
It is multidimensional — encompassing physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, occupational, environmental, and intellectual well-being.
This multidimensional view is the foundation of the Leelanau Wellness Collective and the retreats I lead. Because we don’t heal or grow in one lane. We are complex beings with unique lives.
What I Didn’t Know I Needed to Learn
1. Facing My Codependency
One of the biggest awakenings in my personal healing has been confronting the patterns of codependency I didn’t know I had.
Codependency is:
A pattern of prioritizing others’ needs, emotions, or problems over your own to the point that it compromises your well-being.
It often involves:
Difficulty setting boundaries
People-pleasing
Feeling responsible for others’ emotions
Losing yourself in relationships
Needing external validation to feel secure
Realizing this was not easy — but it was liberating. It invited me into healthier relationships, clearer boundaries, and deeper self-worth.
2. Understanding & Addressing My ADHD
Another major chapter has been learning about my ADHD as an adult. For so long, I thought I was “scattered,” “inconsistent,” or “too much.”
But in reality, I was an adult woman with a beautifully wired neurodivergent brain trying to function in a world built for neurotypicals.
Traits of Adult ADHD may include:
Difficulty with focus and sustained attention
Emotional sensitivity
Impulsivity or restlessness
Forgetfulness and disorganization
Hyperfocus on passions
Feeling overwhelmed by daily tasks
An inner world that moves faster than the external one
Understanding this didn’t just give me language — it gave me compassion. I’m now able to design my work, routines, and retreats in ways that support how my brain works.
3. Realizing That I Need Close, Healthy Relationships to Be Well
I used to think wellness was something I achieved alone — through discipline, practices, and inner work.
But one of my deepest lessons has been this:
We cannot be well in isolation.
Human connection is a pillar of health.
I’ve learned that my nervous system thrives when I feel safe, supported, and emotionally connected. My well-being is directly tied to the quality of the relationships I cultivate.
4. Redefining What Well-Being Actually Means
I always knew wellness was multidimensional — but I didn’t know just how multidimensional until I stepped into deeper layers of:
nervous system regulation
metaphysics
subconscious programming
somatic practices
energy work
mind–body–spirit alignment
Wellness is not just what we do.
It’s how we think, how we feel, how we relate, how we inhabit our body, and how we connect with something greater than ourselves.
This has become a powerful part of my purpose.
5. The Subconscious, the Nervous System & the Body: My Greatest Teachers
The more I’ve grown — through teaching, leading retreats, studying movement, exploring spiritual practices, and understanding human behavior — the more I’ve fallen in love with the truth that:
We are metaphysical beings.
A spirit expressing itself through a body.
Our wellness is intricately connected to:
the subconscious beliefs we carry
the state of our nervous system
the patterns stored in our fascia
the emotions we hold in our tissues
the stories our bodies whisper before our minds understand
This has become one of my deepest passions — and one of the core foundations I now weave into every retreat, workshop, and class I lead.
How These Lessons Shape My Work Today
The Leelanau Wellness Collective
Growing The LWC has been an extension of everything I’ve learned:
Everyone’s path to well-being is unique — because we are all uniquely created.
This collective is my commitment to offering multidimensional, accessible, whole-person wellness to our community.
My Classes & Workshops
Whether I’m teaching yoga, Pilates, mobility, or mindfulness, I hold one intention:
That you leave feeling more connected, more grounded, more present, and more empowered in your life.
I want every class to remind you that your body is wise, your mind is powerful, and your spirit is speaking.
My Why — And My Ripple Effect
My goal is to keep becoming the best, most whole, most aware version of myself — not for perfection, but for presence.
Because the more I grow, learn, regulate, heal, and expand…
the more I can create spaces that help you do the same.
This is the ripple effect.
This is why I’m here.
This is what lights me up.
And this is only the beginning.
My Retreats Around the World
Every retreat — from Greece to Sedona to Sicily and beyond — is now designed not just as a getaway but as a transformation.
A space where:
the body softens
the mind resets
the nervous system regulates
the spirit feels heard
connection becomes medicine
people remember who they are
Retreats aren’t simply vacations.
They are catalysts.
Book Your Next Well-Being Adventure: Sicily, 2026