My favorite way to work with my mind is on the trails, hiking with my pup, Potato. I have hiked my way through many of life's ups and downs. Through it all, I have consistently found my way to a kinder, happier, and more present way of being - towards myself and others.   

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I've hiked anger, fear, and anxiety out of my body and breathed in tremendous beauty and clarity of mind. Inquiry is the most powerful tool I've encountered and when I combine it with movement, I can drop in more deeply.  Resistance subsides, my mind opens and powerful insights become available.

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Recently, I completed 13 months of treatment for an aggressive form of Leukemia. This was when it became abundantly clear that my time outdoors was about tending to my mind. My "daily" practice during treatment was crucial (on the days that I could get out of bed and wasn't hospitalized). I hiked bald, weak, and slowly - attached to various bags full of chemo or immunotherapy.  Sometimes the hikes were quite short; it didn't matter. I saw it as my job - to take care of my mind while my body endured treatment. It soothed my soul to do this in nature.

 

When I felt fear or anxiety - and at the end of treatment, a severe chemically induced depression - Inquiry and movement were the tools that helped me clear my mind and find freedom from stressful thoughts like, "I'm so diminished," "My life will never be the same," and "Cancer takes everything."

 

Part of what moves me to offer this experience is that I don't think I would have come out of treatment doing so well without this support. Cancer survivors are at a greatly heightened risk for many mental illnesses and are twice as likely to die by suicide compared to the general population.  My treatment plan was extremely aggressive and involved some medical traumas, yet here I am, doing just fine.

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I have learned that hard things don't have to mess you up! There is always a path toward clarity, peace, and joy. I'd love to share this approach with you!