It all started my junior year at Arizona State (ASU). I was required to take the stress management course for my major. I truly believed the class was going to be just another “easy A” and then I would go about my year. I was wrong. Yes, the class was somewhat easy, but I never knew the lifelong knowledge I would actually gain from it. I remember the first day my teacher mentioned mindfulness being our core subject of the class. At this point in time, I had barely any idea what that meant, and I thought it was just about meditating.
At this point in my life, anxiety and depression had taken over. I felt like I was not myself, and was overthinking everything. It eventually became so bad, I experienced depersonalization. This meant my brain was protecting me from feeling any emotions due to the increase in anxiety. I felt like I was just floating through life, not really in my body. It was a rough year, for sure. Luckily, I had been taking the stress management class at this time. Looking back, I realize what a blessing it was to be learning about this subject during the hardest year of my life. As the semester went on, I learned more about mindfulness, and how it is so much more than just meditating. While that is a portion of it, I learned how to change my brain’s wiring, become present, and take my life back. This sparked my passion for the subject and got me interested in learning more. I took many other courses on mindfulness throughout my college career including mindful eating, full body health, etc. I was lucky enough to land an internship at ASU’s Center for Mindfulness as well, and met the kindest people. That experience truly opened my eyes to the welcoming and generous community mindfulness can create.
Fast forward to today, I have been practicing mindfulness for about three years now, and am passionate about helping others start their journey. Remember - this is a practice for a reason. I am always learning new ways to be mindful within my life, my emotions, or within work & relationships. It is important to remember mindfulness is not always going to be positive. To me, it is about being present with your feelings and thoughts, and acknowledging them - without judgement. I am so excited and grateful to begin this journey with you all, and hopefully inspire others to lead a mindful and happy life!