It all begins with my Dad…
Meet my dad, Steve…aka “Superman Steve”.
A previous “poor boy” farmer, a gardener, a builder, and one of the most hard-working people on the planet.
He always did whatever he needed to do to provide for the family and always made time for us kids.
Back in the day, if he wasn’t working or playing with me, my brother, or my sister, I could usually find him in his shed building something, working in his garden, or exercising.
He loved being outside, creating beautiful things with his hands, and moving his body.
Some of my favorite memories with him are being outdoors and following his footsteps in his garden.
My love of playing outside, being in nature, and moving my body were all inspired because of my dad.
Unfortunately, he dealt with a lot of physical pain. Specifically joint pain and chronic lower back pain
Watching his back “go out” (as he would say) was something that happened often.
Even though I was young, I saw how this impacted his life.
His time, his hard-earned money, and his energy all suffered. And it seemed to be over the simplest things.
Like picking up a freaking pen on the floor!
Back then I didn’t know about muscular imbalances, how nutritional deficiencies can contribute to inflammation in the body, that your “gut” holds 75-80% of your immune system, and that technique and form mattered inside and outside of the gym.
All I understood is that when my dad was in pain he couldn’t do the things that brought him so much joy. It negatively impacted how he performed at work, decreased his energy, and stole time away from us kids and my mom. It negatively impacted his entire life and those around him. And he hated it. We all did.
While recovering, I would watch him do his exercises from his physical therapist and then get back into his P90x videos and all the other “stuff” he did to try to diminish his back pain.
The older he got, the less he could do.
No more football or baseball with my brother, no more basketball or running at the park with me. He had to work his day around everything he did to prevent another injury. His joints hurt him, his shoulder hurt him, his back hurt him, and he would say,
“I feel like my body is falling apart”.
His energy, vigor, and quality of life diminished.
At the time, I had NO IDEA that this would be what first inspired me down the path I walk today….teaching and coaching others – on how to move their body, and how to nourish their body with food, sleep, and restorative practices and movements.
My first “real job” (you know where they take taxes out) was at 15 years old at Gold’s Gym. I loved moving my body. I saw how moving and exercising helped my dad feel better and I loved how it made me feel – stronger, more energized, and more confident. Working at Gold’s Gym led me down a rabbit hole of many years working in different jobs in the wellness and health industries. Some of these included: medical spas, day spas, plastic surgery, integrative and functional medicine, and family medicine. Throughout my years working in these offices, I witnessed many suffering from cancer, substance abuse, physical and emotional abuse, Autism, Lyme disease, hormonal imbalances, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple Sclerosis…the list goes on.
This further impacted my desire to help others.
I hated watching people suffer.
One very common theme among many of the patients was regretting the past.
As they had routine labs done and received IV treatments, I spent a lot of one on one time with them. Over the years, they would end up disclosing to me that they wish they had known what they knew now and maybe they wouldn’t be in this position…of fighting for their health and life.
One cancer patient, I’ll never forget, looked me dead in the eyes and said,
“Whitney, I don’t want to die”.
If only she had paid more attention to her body, her emotions, and her environment maybe it would be different, she explained.
During my years of dropping out of college and returning, I changed my major 5 times which included dropping out of nursing school – after working SO hard to get accepted to the nursing program, but I realized this wasn’t how I wanted to help others. A few years later I finally finished college with an Exercise Science degree. This further led me down the path of many other different fitness & wellness certifications.
I’ve taught hundreds of different bodies over the years. Including professional athletes, aspiring dancers, and individuals with debilitating structural issues like rheumatoid arthritis, scoliosis, plantar fasciitis, and many others who just wanted to lose some weight and get healthy.
Looking back – it seems like I’ve been all over the place.
And I used to wonder if I’d ever find my place – my purpose in life.
Through all of these different positions, I learned that our bodies speak to us.
Every day.
All the time.
We have to listen and learn its language. We must become advocates for our own bodies. I learned that movement, mindfulness, sleep, reducing stress, and food are all medicine. And that our body, mind, and spirit are ONE. And most importantly, I learned that so much can be prevented if we allow ourselves the time to look deeper beyond what’s on the surface.
So fast forward to 2020. A lot happened….I was forced to make some big decisions. Starting a business was one of those huge decisions. Thankfully, I chose to start my wellness coaching business. I had this yearning desire to help people and really help them….not just “FEEL” better, but help them learn the fundamentals – the building blocks that they could apply to their lives forever that would transform them inside and out.
My goal was to help simplify noisy topics like diets, fitness trends, and mindfulness and help people apply fundamental concepts to these areas so that they could get the results they were seeking in a way that worked for them.
And you know what, I never realized how much my dad played such a significant part in this journey until recently.
He has been my biggest source of motivation in following this path. And what’s crazy, is I can still remember him sitting me down during some tough lessons as a high school athlete and saying,
“Whitney, this is preparing you for something bigger in life one day. It’s teaching you not to quit when things get hard. This is making you stronger for something great later in life.”
My Dad, my inspiration, and the quiet voice inside my head telling me to keep moving.
Thank you, Dad.
The foundations of health can sometimes feel difficult with so much information out there.
It can feel extremely frustrating when you do things and they don’t work, or do, but you end up back at square one.
What seems simple can feel so overwhelming especially if you’re not sure where to start or what your next best step should be.
If you’re looking for more than a trainer and more than a fitness class, I’m here to help you.
You could get started with my online fitness platform which goes over techniques and a variety of classes to help take your fitness to the next level. Found here.
Or
If you’d like to dive deeper for a more personalized and custom exercise prescription and wellness plan schedule a call with me here.
We’ll dive deeper into where you’re at now, what you’d like to change, and how I can help you get the results you’re seeking.
You owe it yourself. You owe it to your loved ones (fur babies included).
