More of My Story
8 years ago I divorced my husband. Our house sat on the real estate market for nearly a year and we lived in it together through that journey.
I eventually found a lot and opened a construction loan to start building a new home for me and my ten year old daughter, Peyton. The city delayed our building permit for 6 months. When our family home finally sold, Peyton and I ended up in interim housing for 6 months.
At the time of this life transition, I was a global Human Resources Director for a multi-billion dollar chemical company. I spent 50 percent of my time out of the country.
One day I was unable to move my right arm. I went to an orthopedic doctor and started physical therapy.
I went to the local YMCA one night to explore yoga as a new exercise option given my now inability to lift weights. The teacher, Susan, would change my life that night. After the class, she asked if she could touch my arm and shoulder. Then she stepped back and said, “I don’t think you injured your elbow in your garden. Every muscle is very tight. Are you under stress?”
I started crying my eyes out in the middle of the YMCA.
Susan suggested that if I wanted my arm to feel better, I could start coming to yoga every day. She said, “even if you only sit on your mat, come and just focus on your breathing.” I started going to yoga at the Y every night. I noticed that every time that I focused on my breathing, I was holding my breath.
I signed up for an 8 week yoga and meditation workshop .The first day of the workshop I was asked to complete a 5 page document with 100 questions on my physical & mental health. The only questions that I could answer were the ones that related to my right arm. I was completely unaware of my own health and wellbeing beyond that limited scope. I turned the document in nearly blank.
This workshop was my first experience with meditation. I learned that I was still hurting deeply from losing two of my nieces in a car accident years before. In fact, when I was forced to think about losing them I would have such tight constriction in my chest that I could not breathe.
I noticed that when I meditated I was free from all the stress and distractions in my life. I was calm, focused. I kept doing yoga every day. I focused on my breathing. My arm healed.
I quit my job and accepted a job as a Human Resources Director for a domestic Ag company with a mission to feed people. I earned my Meditation Teacher Certification and started a personal practice, meditating every day for twenty minutes.
I became a new person. I was calmer interacting with Peyton and my colleagues. I had greater empathy for other people. I had more control over my reactions in situations. In fact, I was downright calm in some pretty intense situations. I started listening more deeply when people spoke to me. I was more creative, a better problem solver. I was happier.
My employer, Land O’Lakes, asked me to launch a practice at work. This led to building a community that gathered twice weekly to practice meditation together. I spoke at business unit meetings and told my story and led meditations. I started coaching executives 1:1 on mindfulness and meditation. I supported meditation champions as they emerged, and they began building awareness of mindfulness and meditation across the organization.
And so it grew. Every day I had at least 5 conversations with employees about their practice, what was going well, the challenges they faced, and how the practice had impacted their lives, their health, their work.
I found myself coaching leaders and employees in critical roles, how to leverage meditation and mindfulness to build their Emotional Intelligence. I found myself coaching employees who were struggling with change how to leverage meditation to build resilience and find happiness.
This work was rewarding. I discovered my passion for bringing this practice to the people in corporate America who take on a lot, who build things, who look out for their teams and their colleagues, and who sometimes forget to take care of themselves.