How My Journey into Mindbody Wellness Began

My first career was in the arts, working in the wonderfully creative—and intensely demanding—world of music videos during the MTV explosion of the 1980s and '90s. I eventually became an Art Director in London and Los Angeles, working on countless productions, including Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

I loved the creativity and the energy. But my approach to work was first one there, last one to leave, give it 1,000 percent. I had very few boundaries and an extraordinary capacity to push through exhaustion, stress and the signals my body was giving me. I thought I was unstoppable—until my body demonstrated otherwise.

A prolonged period of unexplained illness forced me to stop. Recovering from it became the beginning of my exploration into mind-body wellbeing, initially because I was trying to understand and help myself, and eventually because I wanted to help others.

Years later, I co-founded and ran a multidisciplinary wellness center. It was a beautiful, vibrant place bringing together bodywork, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, counseling, movement, somatic practices, workshops, art and community.

The setting had changed. My pattern hadn't.

Once again, I was giving everything away and overriding what I knew internally. I kept pushing through stress, fatigue and misalignment because I believed I could—and because pushing through was what I had always done.

Eventually, my body said enough.

This time the consequences were profound. I became seriously unwell and was eventually diagnosed with ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. For several years, pain, cognitive overwhelm and incapacitating fatigue dramatically changed what I was able to do and how I was able to live.

Thankfully, I recovered—and I have remained well.

That experience fundamentally changed my understanding of wellbeing. I learned that resilience isn't simply our ability to endure more. Sometimes it is our capacity to notice sooner, listen more deeply, establish boundaries, regulate rather than override, and stop treating the body's signals as obstacles to push through.

Today, we understand far more about stress physiology, the nervous system, embodiment, attention and the relationship between our psychological and physical wellbeing. My own experience ultimately led me deeper into those areas and, later, into the science of Positive Psychology.

It is why the work I do today begins with something deceptively simple:

Coming back into relationship with ourselves.

Learning to notice. To listen. To be present. To recognise what strengthens us and what continually depletes us. And from that more grounded place, to make choices about how we want to live—not simply how much more we can manage to push through.

I have always been a glass half-full personality and believe in seeing the silver lining. Life gives us lemons and we make lemonade. I adhere to the tenets of post-traumatic growth and transmuting our challenges into transcendence and opportunity. Positive Psychology provides the theoretical home for my credo, my work and natural skill set.

My life thus far, has led me here. I am a firm believer in Amor fati.

With much love and recognition for anything that may be challenging you that brought you here today.

Tanya

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