Somewhere along the way, many of us lose touch with ourselves.
We get busy being everything to everyone. We become the caregivers, the mothers, the wives, the professionals, the organizers, the ones who remember everything and somehow keep all the pieces moving. We learn what we're supposed to look like, how we're supposed to act, what success should feel like, and what we should be striving for next.
We spend so much time trying to become better versions of ourselves that we rarely stop to ask a simple question:
Do I even know who I am underneath all of it?
I've spent a good portion of my life learning the answer to that question.
The woman who was always doing
For as long as I can remember, I've been someone who likes to stay busy. I've always been active, independent, creative, and ready for the next adventure. I love being outside, working with my hands, exploring the woods, planting trees, mowing trails, and finding joy in the simple things.
But somewhere along the way, that love of movement and activity became intertwined with something else.
Doing more. Accomplishing more. Pushing harder. Keeping everything clean, organized, and taken care of. Being productive. Being helpful. Making sure everyone else was okay.
Rest didn't always come naturally. Sitting still could feel uncomfortable. There was always something else to do, something to improve, something to accomplish.
Looking back, I can see how some of these patterns were learned long before I was old enough to recognize them. Growing up with a lot of change and moving from place to place taught me to adapt. I don't look back at my childhood with blame. My parents loved me and did the best they could with what they knew, just as the generations before them did.
But as I grew older, I began recognizing how the things we experience, the environments we grow up in, and the patterns passed down through generations can shape the way we move through life.
Sometimes the habits we call discipline, independence, or productivity are also ways we've learned to feel safe, needed, or in control.
And we don't always recognize the difference.
When the body starts speaking
About seven years ago, I reached a point where my body was asking for something different.
I had spent so much time pushing, exercising, accomplishing, and keeping myself in motion that I had lost touch with what it actually felt like to slow down.
I was struggling with my health, and initially, conventional medical testing wasn't giving me the answers I was looking for.
This became a turning point in my life.
Through exploring holistic approaches to wellness, I began changing my relationship with my body and my understanding of health. I started looking at nourishment differently. I stepped back from intense exercise, incorporated meditation, breathwork, tapping, and grounding, and began spending more intentional time connecting with nature.
But one of the biggest lessons was surprisingly simple.
I had to learn how to rest.
Not rest because I had finished everything on my to-do list. Not rest because I had earned it. Not rest as another item to check off.
Rest because I am human. Because my body deserves care. Because being productive isn't the same thing as being well.
I began to understand that listening to my body was just as important as knowing how to push it.
And that changed the way I looked at health, wellness, and life.
Ancient wisdom, modern life, and learning to listen
My journey continued to lead me toward Ayurveda, an ancient system of wisdom that looks at health through the relationship between the body, mind, daily habits, nourishment, environment, and the rhythms of nature.
What I love about Ayurveda is that it encourages us to pay attention.
To notice how we feel. To recognize our individual needs. To consider how the seasons affect us, how we nourish ourselves, how we move, how we rest, and how our daily routines influence our overall well-being.
It introduced me to a deeper appreciation for the little things.
Warming oil massage. Mindful eating. Seasonal foods. A consistent daily rhythm. Time outside. Creating space to breathe. Learning to slow down enough to actually experience life.
These aren't necessarily complicated practices. In fact, some of the most meaningful changes can begin with the simplest things.
And I've come to appreciate that wellness isn't about following someone else's perfect routine or trying to fit yourself into a particular mold.
It's about learning what supports you as an individual.
Ayurveda is one of the beautiful tools that can help us explore that relationship with ourselves, but it isn't about finding one perfect formula. It's about developing awareness and learning to make choices that support your own well-being.
You don't need another version of yourself to chase
We live in a world that constantly tells us we need to improve something.
Our bodies need fixing. Our faces need younger-looking skin. Our homes need to look a certain way. Our careers need to be more successful. Our lives need to be more exciting, more organized, more impressive.
There's always another product, program, routine, or promise telling us that we'll finally feel good once we get there.
But where exactly is there?
When does it become enough?
What if the journey isn't about becoming a completely different person?
What if it's about getting quiet enough to hear the person who's been there all along?
The woman beneath the expectations. Beneath the comparison. Beneath the pressure to perform, please, accomplish, and keep up.
The woman who has her own intuition, her own interests, her own desires, and her own way of experiencing the world.
I believe there's something incredibly powerful about giving ourselves permission to discover that woman.
Not the woman someone else wants us to be. Not the woman we think we should be.
The woman we actually are.
If you get lost, look for the pine
There's a particular connection I have with nature, especially the woods and the trees.
One of the most meaningful symbols in my own journey is the Eastern white pine.
I once had a dream about a white pine being the landmark on my property. If I ever got lost, I would know to look for that tree. It would help me find my way home.
Over time, that image became something much bigger to me.
Life has a way of pulling us in a thousand different directions. We get caught up in expectations, responsibilities, comparison, and the noise of the world. Sometimes we wander so far from ourselves that we forget what home even feels like.
But perhaps finding our way back doesn't require us to become someone new.
Perhaps it begins with remembering where to look.
For me, that pine represents something steady. Something rooted. Something that remains through changing seasons.
A reminder that beneath everything we've been taught to be, there is still something uniquely ours.
If you get lost, look for the pine.
Find your way back to yourself.
An invitation to return
RETURN TO HER isn't about creating another set of expectations for women to live up to.
It's not about having the perfect morning routine, eating perfectly, meditating every day, or checking off a list of wellness practices.
It's about creating space to become curious about yourself again.
It's about learning to recognize what your body is communicating. Exploring what truly nourishes you. Understanding your patterns. Making room for rest, movement, creativity, connection, and joy.
It's about honoring ancient wisdom while finding ways to bring those teachings into our modern lives.
And most importantly, it's about recognizing that your journey belongs to you.
You don't need to have everything figured out. You don't need to follow someone else's timeline. You don't need to compare your path to the woman standing next to you.
You can begin right where you are.
Maybe that means taking a walk without your phone. Sitting quietly with your morning coffee. Preparing a nourishing meal. Spending time outside. Saying no to something that no longer feels right. Or simply giving yourself permission to do absolutely nothing for a little while.
Start paying attention.
Start listening.
Start noticing what makes you feel alive, connected, grounded, and at home in your own body.
Because this journey isn't about becoming more of who the world tells you to be.
It's about reconnecting with who you are.
And I'd love for you to explore that journey with me.
Welcome to RETURN TO HER.
