“Do you think you’re going to finish?” someone asked.

The six of us had just run 16 miles together, training for the Honolulu marathon. 13 more miles than any of us had run before we met two months ago. 

I was feeling good.

“Finish? I’m going to cross that line whether I’m bloodied, battered or broken,” I said.

Four months later, with two tenths of a mile to go, my right leg swung out in an awkward half circle toward the road in front of me, unable to engage my hip flexor due to a groin pull at mile 18.

Two tenths of a mile.

I hear my name from deep in the crowd behind me.

“Kat!” 

Charles. 

Our pack splintered at mile 5 for various reasons. Charles: knee injury. 

Gimping along, 21 miles later, he and I remained determined.

He looked at me, eyes twinkling, knowing I loved to sprint at the end of a long run. Even now. 

“Let’s go!” we said. 

With adrenaline flushing the pain, I ran. As we crossed the line, our hands clasped together and raised like the Olympians we’d never be.

I side-eyed the triage tent as we fell on the grass in agony.

Was this the moment my wellness journey began? 

No. 

Best & Worst Case Scenarios

It would take another 4 months and an MRI to show me why my leg wasn’t healing. 

See, what happened in the marathon was a result of what surfaced on an 8-mile “wind-down” run three weeks before the race. From out of nowhere, the tendons behind my right knee became so painful, I could barely lift my leg. I was forced to turn around and walk back four miles to our meeting point.

I saw a bodyworker who thought I’d torn my hamstring. Determined to still run the marathon (not me being stubborn), I backed off training to give it time to repair. And while I sailed through up to mile 18, I hadn’t calculated that the lack of prep would lead to an insane amount of lactic acid and a groin pull.

Four months later, the MRI showed that ‘tear’ to be a tumor that wrapped around my sciatic nerve. When they told me they wanted to operate, and that the best case scenario was losing “some” mobility and the worst case was paralyzation, I went into shock.

I wasn’t even 35. I had a bright future that included more marathons, maybe even triathlons, and definitely hiking, and walking, and living.

Overcoming The Fear

The fear wrenched me. And I knew I had to work through it if I was going to heal. I delved down the alternative path: acupuncture, herbs, essential oils. I learned about toxins hiding out in our homes, in our toothpaste, deodorant, lipstick, and in our food. 

Western medicine has its place. The wrist I broke wouldn’t be in stellar shape today if not for the doc who set it in a cast. But, I found greater comfort in the perspective of other cultures: Chinese medicine treats the body as a whole, not just symptoms. It looks at cancer as an imbalance in the body and turns to what the body needs to find balance and heal. Ayurvedic medicine is similar in how it treats the body, and it adds spiritual practices to treat the consciousness as a whole.

I changed the way I ate. I changed the way I thought. I processed emotions I didn’t even know I had. I dove into a different kind of therapy. Unlike talk therapy, it dealt with emotional residues, or dis-ease in our consciousness that, when left unresolved, can manifest in our body and lead to disease. It was a life-saver.

Little by little, I got better.

The Wellness Journey Continues

Sometimes it takes a crisis to shake us up, to wake us up to see ourselves in a new way. I learned that being “well” isn’t just about physical health. And that you can’t separate your physical health from your emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.

This new perspective organically sparked my desire to share information. It ignited a passion to help others find healing and wholeness in the face of challenges and fear. It led to what would become my wellness business.

Now, it leads me to support wellness practitioners looking for an easier, holistic approach to business. One that relieves overwhelm and creates sustainable success that protects your energy and aligns with your values while you serve others.

I wish I had more guidance as I started my business. Like me, every successful beauty, health and wellness practitioner I’ve met had no more than a day of “business” training and were forced to figure it out on the fly. If you’re just starting out, or are burning out, I’d love to offer support. Let’s hop on a free call to see how I can help.