We are Beautiful Magazine WRBM Jan Feb 2018 Issue | Page 37

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Holly Wade
Most testimonials or stories that you hear have a
“this was my life before” and “after doing xyz, this is
my life!”
I
a
started having digestive issues about 20 years ago. My weight fluctuated, with
extreme unexplained weight loss, then later bloat which I thought was weight
gain. I was in college at the time. My dad has Crohn’s Disease and at that
particular time, if you had a pre-existing condition, health insurance wouldn’t
touch you.
It wasn’t until after grad school that I was able to seek a diagnosis…and THAT
took over 2 years. Sure enough, I had Crohn’s.
In the meantime, I decided to approach my health a different way. I’d observed my
father’s decline in health through the use of pharmaceutical drugs. “Here, THIS will
be the one!” “Oh, there’s a new drug out. Let’s give it a go.” Instead of taking care of
the initial issue, the drugs were creating other issues.
I found a Naturopath and started to dive in to really understand my body and my-
self in all layers. It started with nutrition. (I was already a fitness person and knew
movement). Then I started incorporating mind/body practices like Pilates and Yoga
and letting go of the “hit it hard” types of classes. Meditation and journaling began
to be part of my daily practices. I already had a strong sense of faith.
I dove wholeheartedly into the process of learning about me THROUGH understand-
ing my body on all levels. I began to understand what behaviors and beliefs were
learned and to reestablish my own Truths. I learned to say “no” and that it wasn’t a
bad thing. I’d been a high functioning over-achiever, a people pleaser, a perfection-
ist, a stress addict, and really good at hiding my insecurities. What was happening is
that layer by layer, I was having to deal with various relationships: my relationship
with my body, food, God, life, and most importantly, myself.
In 2006, I was hired to be the Coordinator of Group Fitness & Wellness at James
Madison University. In a little over 8 years, I’d grown my program area to 43 Student
Group Fitness Instructors, 3 Massage Therapists, operating over 100 classes a week,
and several workshops that our campus community could attend. I also taught 3
academic classes. And that was a small part of my job. It was demanding to say the
least.
I’d had a dream to leave and venture on my own as a Wellness Expert. I wanted to
write, present, and GROOVE. But, as a single woman with a job with benefits AND a
chronic condition, I didn’t know how I’d make that happen.
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