My Story
My story begins on the waters of Kodiak Island, as the ocean is my first home. My parents were commercial fisherman in the 1970’s and I spent much of my childhood on our family boats. For 5 years now I’ve ventured out fishing and exploring on my pandemic impulse purchase, a 19’ foot skiff- Happy Clam.
I”m a mom of two teenagers, one of whom is headed to college this fall. On rainy days you’ll find me making chocolate cookies of some sort, trying out a new cake recipe or quilting. On sunny days, I enjoy walking outdoors, being on the water in Happy Clam, camping, fishing, spending time with friends, family and my husband.
My 25-year career as a physical therapist has provided me the opportunity to work with women across the lifespan, from prenatal to postpartum, perimenopause through the menopause transitions.
I’ve helped women address pain, weakness, incontinence, energy struggles, stress, and sleep challenges. I’ve sat with women during the births of their babies as a doula, guided families through the childbirth process as an educator and witnessed firsthand the most incredible strength, resilience, love, joy that women embody.
Around the time the pandemic started, things began shifting with my own body and I attributed these shifts to the lifestyle changes and pandemic stress. I started struggling with B12 deficiencies, had difficulty staying asleep, and experienced some unexplained weight gain despite no significant change in my diet or exercise.
I received occasional B12 injections, yet I realized the shots weren’t addressing why I was having the B12 deficiencies. I was increasingly fatigued and sleep deprived. I started to believe this was my new “normal” way of being.
I’d go to sleep fine only to wake up at 3 am unable to fall back to sleep.
Little did I know that I was in peri-menopause transition.
I’d heard about menopause, but what was this thing called peri-menopause? And why hadn’t I ever heard of it? Through my journey of learning about this hormonal transition of perimenopause/menopause, I began to understand how the medley of female hormones changes during this time and how to help reachieve balance during the perimenopause transition.
Realizing that there here was nothing “wrong” with me came as quite a relief! My symptoms were all explainable and more importantly, addressable. My journey was one of curiosity- wanting to learn more, feel better, disseminate information. And from that, Dancing Salmon was born.
The Dancing Salmon Approach
Dancing Salmon was born because women deserve more when it comes to their health and well being. It was born with a desire to re-imagine what a smooth midlife and menopause transition could look like.
Women deserve an individualized, thoughtful approach to their health–one where they are truly seen and heard and supported. One where they are front and center.
They deserve time for dialogue, for brainstorming, for connection with people in their health circle. They deserve options, solutions, and information about root causes of symptoms.
At Dancing Salmon, I’m here to help you bridge the gap between how you currently feel and how you want to feel.
Many of us have heard stories of our moms or aunts or sisters going through midlife and menopause transition without sufficient support, understanding or resources and perhaps as a result of this, we came to dread these years ahead. We have a whole Second Act ahead of us ladies! Let’s make it our best years yet!
At Dancing Salmon, You won’t find preplanned exercise or diet programs. The peri/menopause journey is unique to every woman and can span 15+ years from ages 35-50+. This is a unique, profound, transition period for a woman’s body and mind.
What you will find at Dancing Salmon is personalized education on the hormone shifts of menopause (and how those shifts can affect you every day), support with stress management, sleep hygiene strategies, guidance on nutrition, and most importantly an approach where you are seen and heard.
I’m here to help YOU determine what works best to help YOU fuel and support your body.
This midlife transition is also a time to re-evaluate habits, lifestyle, and even, priorities. I’m here to be your mentor, guide, and accountability partner.
I”m so glad you found me here today and took the time to get to learn about Dancing Salmon Health Coaching! I offer a free 30 minute Discovery call to see if we are a good fit to work together. To find out more about my programs and offerings, schedule a free Discovery Call today!
