mY JOURNEY
My
discovery of ChiWalking came after completing The3Day, a
60 mile walk, to raise money for breast cancer through the Susan G.
Komen
Foundation. I had
never participated in
a fundraising walk, so I trained for the intense event.
After I completed the walk, I realized how
much having purpose in my walking was important to me. Thankfully
I found the ChiWalking® book on my
mother-law’s arm chair the Thanksgiving after the walk. ChiWalking®
brought purpose
back to my walking
as well as increasing my physical ability.
After practicing ChiWalking® myself I trained to
be a
ChiWalking®
mentor, and now a certified instructor.
I have
reflected many times on
why ChiWalking® “hit the spot” with me. I
have always loved walking in the outdoors and recently started
entertaining the
idea of getting a masters in physical therapy.
ChiWalking® has blended my love for walking
outside and my
desire to understand
body mechanics as well as my passion for teaching.
I like learning new things and particularly
things that are holistic in nature.
I have now grown to love ChiRunning® as well. After
I left my hometown I traveled for jobs and had the
opportunity to
meet so many people from so many different places.
I now realize I owe a great deal of thanks to
everyone for adding to my “life’s recipe”.
My
journey began for the most part in North Carolina. I grew up in Roanoke
Rapids, located next to Virginia
in north central North Carolina. After graduating with a BS
in Biology from Wake Forest University,
I took a
journey around the country. I
explored
various environmental and service oriented jobs.
I began with participating in Student Conservation
Association. I
spent a summer at ArchesNational Park
in the southeast desert of Utah. Inspired by the grandeur
of the land and the
park service’s mission, I realized what I would really like
to do was quite
simple: help protect what I enjoy.
I
returned to Wake for my senior year with the goal of becoming a park
ranger. The
following summer I was
employed by Timpanogos
Cave National Monument
in American Fork, Utah. After a season at the
Cave, I researched more
about the AmeriCorps program. I liked that it is a service-based
program with
an opportunity to participate in a specific program addressing
environmental
concerns. For my
first AmeriCorps stint,
I was given the fortunate opportunity to serve with the Montana
Conservation
Corps. As one of
the standard crew
leaders for the Kalispell region, I was helping many different groups
with
their projects while seeing some incredible and undeveloped places in
MT. I
frequently had to do a reality check to make sure I wasn’t
dreaming. I was
meeting incredible individuals while working outside on rewarding
projects. I
was making a difference. However,
I did
miss the opportunities to do educational programs.
After my hitch in Montana, I was
looking for an AmeriCorps
program, which focused on environmental education.
I joined the Institute
of Ecosystem Studies
in Millbrook,
NY
and was assigned to the Building Watershed Bridges Team. Our focus was to unite schools,
communities,
and local organizations through watershed education and protection. I learned about stream
ecology as well as
other environmental programs, even the ecology of maple sugaring. After my completion of
term of service, I
entered the world of AmeriCorps Alums.
During my two years of service, I gained a
wide variety of skills and a sense of satisfaction from meeting
community
needs. Looking for another
rewarding and challenging position, I joined the staff of AmeriCorps
Cape Cod
for 4 years. My
husband and I thoroughly
enjoyed living in Cape Cod
but had the desire
to return to NC. Job
opportunities and
family brought us to western North Carolina.
Since being back in the state I have worked with Carolina
Mountain Land
Conservancy and AmeriCorps Project POWER
program at
Children First / Communities in Schools of Buncombe County. In April
2009 my husband and I had our first child and I have learned that "good
chi" works miracles with little ones. I have enjoyed learning
about the body's mechanics with ChiWalking/ChiRunning so much
that I am pursuing a masters in physical therapy at Western
Carolina University.
