Nourishment is our primary healer.
The foundation of my philosophy is that nourishment is our primary healer. This philosophy grew out of my childhood experiences and the journey I took to heal my body/mind/spirit. I believe that our stories lie at the core of our beliefs and through their unraveling we come to know who we are and are not. Stories build the foundation of our personalities and
are a profound map to our healing. Here’s a taste of mine:
As a child, I was constantly affected by sinus conditions, tonsillitis and feelings of not belonging. The first two were treated with multiple doses of antibiotics while the latter was greatly ignored and became a driving force behind my apologetic, people-pleasing personality.
Southern comfort foods such as sweet tea, grits, and extremely overcooked or fried vegetables were at the forefront of my diet, so at a very young age, I became obsessed with cooking. I experimented with numerous “diets of the day” mostly out of disordered eating behaviors to lose weight.
I looked for connection through food, which sent me on many culinary and dietary journeys that have yet to stop. Growing up during the civil rights movement in the deep south, I became deeply aware of how environment, culture and separation affected my health and sense of well-being. I often felt like an outsider and very self-conscious.
I spent as much time as possible outdoors, seeking refuge in the natural world – there, I felt included.
By 17, I was on a journey to find what felt authentic to me and to heal my physical and emotional body. I delved into a variety of diets, therapies and spiritual paths. That exploration opened many doors and provided me with a toolbox of experiences to witness the world from a broad, multifaceted perspective.
Having grown up in the city, I found that by seeking refuge in the natural world I could activate the resonance of my wild nature and learned to look deeply into natural world to gain a deeper understanding of life.
Nature as teacher, taught me the most important lesson I could have learned – that we are fed and nourished by everything, picking and choosing our emotional and mental nourishment is as important as the foods we chose to sustain our body.
I’ve spent the past 35 years dedicated to learning everything out there related to embodied psychology, physiology and energetics of eating and healing dis-ease in the body.
After years of study in Touch for Health, 5 Element Acupressure, and Meditative Practices, I pursued a path to integrate western science and received a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition from Colorado State University. In addition I am a Registered Dietician and Functional Nutritionist. I earned my certification as an Intuitive Counselor from the National Institute of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and am a certified BodyTalk and Matrix Energetics Practitioner.
I’ve worked in healthcare with the migrant farm workers, the Navajo and Hopi Tribes, and have been in private practice in Boulder Colorado. I am the founder and director of the Nourishment Education Foundation(501C3), and the Seven Bowls School of Nutrition, Nourishment, and Healing.
As a pioneer in the field of the psychology of eating, I spent years working with Eating Disorders and Addiction, and co-designed the first Eating Disorders Program at Kaiser Permanente, Colorado.
I am the author of Alchemy of Nourishment: The Art, Science and Magic of Eating as well as many nutritional guides and articles. I have taught extensively at numerous colleges and universities including Naropa University, University of Colorado, and Southwest Acupuncture College.
My mission is simple: to give you the tools you need to heal yourself (or stay healthy) and live the life your soul longs to live. I want to help you activate your own inner-alchemy to understand how the consciousness held in your body and organs influences your physical, mental and emotional symptoms. The goal is to turn your story into gold so you thrive on life.