How did you start your fitness journey?

• • • My fitness journey took flight when I was in university. It was my second year and I was moving through a low period in my life, feeling depressed because of the lack of passion I felt in what I was studying – my heart was not in it and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I found myself partying every weekend to numb the pain, sometimes 4-5x every week. I loved the freedom, and I loved to dance. I had spent most of my life as a competitive dancer, and now I felt a dark void in my heart without my creative outlet.
      
      As the anxiety became unbearable, I found myself in the gym. My addiction came on quick, I started to understand that the more I strengthened my physical body, my mental health paralleled. As within, so without – the gym became my place of self-mastery, building resiliency in my body and mind. My workouts were my therapy sessions, I would bring all my adversity to alchemize into my greatest strengths.
      
      It seemed like fate, the day I was invited to watch a friends bodybuilding competition, I had no idea what it was but I showed up to support. As soon as I sat down, I saw a ‘fitness competitor’ come on stage and display her solo dance/gymnastic routine, followed by a presentation to the judges with her action figure-like physique. My heart jumped, and I saw my future. I found the way to ignite my passion again; a way to marry my two greatest loves (fitness and dance) together to live a life I could love. In that moment, my life turned 360. I stopped partying in that instant, started eating differently and completely changed my lifestyle with this new found purpose in my heart.
      
      2014 was the year I did my first show, and in 2016 I became Ms.Fitness Canada IFBB Pro – awarded 1st overall at Canadian nationals and becoming an international athlete.
      
      

How have things changed since you first started to where you’re at now?

• • • As the journey to winning my pro card led me down a path of extremes, it gave me the opportunity to become aware of, and align to a new meaning of what it means to be ‘holistically fit’.
      
      My big win, and experience as a Pro athlete came with it’s shadow side. On one hand, I won my show and the prestigious IFBB Pro Card, I built upon my self-mastery, self-discipline, and work ethic. I learned so much about myself in the process, along with the trouble you can get in to with a mentality of ‘fitness at any cost’. On the other hand, the extremes I was willing to ran my body down to the ground; I was left with chronic adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalances, intestinal issues, bloating, loss of my period for 2+ years, hypothyroidism, decreased insulin production, anxiety, and a binge eating disorder. But it is with a grateful heart that I tell this story, because without those experiences I would have never been turned on to the world of holistic health.
      
      It was 2 months post-show and my symptoms had not let up, I went to my doctor and we ran tests to which each one came back with the words “theres nothing wrong with you, you’re fine”. I didn’t feel fine, and knew in my heart I was anything but. It was that night I decided to take healing into my own hands, and enrolled into the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition to become a holistic nutritionist. I thought, if I want longevity in this sport, if I want to truly learn how to truly care for my body from the inside out – to bridge the gap between fitness, bodybuilding, and holistic health – then I need to do this myself.
      
      Since then, I’ve been on a healing journey. I’ve taken a break from competing to heal my body, mind and spirit as one. I’ve healed my eating disorder by getting in touch with the inner most parts of my soul, and spiritual being. This journey has opened me up to the metaphysical realms and awareness of my energy body – where trapped emotions are, how this plays a role on our physical body, our ability to ‘transform’ on our fitness journeys, and what keeps us stuck. I learned that fitness begins in the mind, before results translate to your body.
      
      
      

With everything you’ve learned, what do you think is the most important thing people should know about health?

• • • I think the most important thing for people to understand is your mindset and beliefs about fitness come before any age-old rule of ‘calories-in, calories-out’. Fitness is not just  a matter of metrics; it’s also about what you’re thinking, and what you believe to be true.
      
      There is a new fitness paradigm emerging, one that uses fitness as a tool for self-love and self-mastery, rather than focusing on losing an extra 5lbs to fit into your dress. I believe that having physical goals is very healthy, and I also believe the fitness journey runs much deeper than that. It’s about the connection to your body, your mind, and your spirit as one – growing in all aspects. With what I call, INTENTIONAL training, your workouts are your laboratory, and you are the alchemist transmuting darkness to light. The journey is about (re)building yourself from adversity, and evolving as your highest version – as within, so without.
      
      Lastly, assign a deeper meaning to what you do and focus on how you will feel in the process. Instead of thinking about losing weight or your physical results, do it for the benefit that it brings to your body and mind. Understand the role your holistic health plays in your results; when you tune into this balance, weight loss becomes a by-product of your transformation. Alignment becomes effortless when you attune to this deeper meaning; you will be moved by an infinite supply of life-force at a soul level.