I used to live in the stress capital of the world, New York, earning a six-figure salary that I squandered on endless drinks and distraction. I kept a schedule so full that I needed six over-priced coffees a day to power through.
Back in my covetable Bedford Ave apartment, I couldn’t sleep at night—but it wasn’t just the caffeine. I was unfulfilled, tossing and turning and wondering, “Isn’t there MORE?”
Eventually, I did what burned out people do at their breaking point: I quit and took a long vacation. Actually, I went full Eat, Pray, Love cliché, traveling Europe and training to be a yoga teacher in India.
Nine months later, I decided to “change my life” by moving to Berlin… but it wasn’t long before I was replaying my old life in New York. Work became all that mattered. Forget dancing in Berghain on weekends; I was thinking about my to-do list.
Here’s the truth about burnout, and stress in general: context doesn’t matter as much as you do.
A few twists and turns—and another experience of burnout later—and I began to put as much effort into changing myself as I did my job and location.
I saw that all my stress was information: about my values, my needs and my stories.
Today, with the help of excellent coaches, deep education in ‘change work’ and somatic healing, and quite a few milestone self-growth experiences, like sitting with plant medicine and a ten-day vipassana meditation:
I am deeply versed in how to turn stress into strength.
I love helping ambitious leaders to thrive in high-pressure positions.
My approach is both fierce and compassionate, rooted in the stance that nothing is ever wrong with you. There are no mistakes. And you cannot fail. There is a gift in all of it.
And? Any blind spot or counter-productive habit—and we all have them—that is not in service to your success or wellbeing can be changed, quickly, when you are ready.
I use a unique blend of talk coaching and somatic modalities like breathwork, EFT tapping, body scanning and ‘somatic hypnosis’ to rewire your stress response and reprogram your mind for sustainable long-term success.
My mentors include Melissa Tiers of the Center for Integrative Hypnosis, Ashley Meyer of the Energy Therapy Centre, Jessica Benstock of the Phoenix Path Coaching Institute, the Luminous Awareness Institute, Pause Breathwork, Andrew DeGregorio, Craig Wiener & Suzanne Fageol.