When my parents were deciding to raise a family, they had two choices. One, Move to the big city and make more money. Or two, move to a rural area and make less money. Thankfully, they chose the latter. It is honestly that decision they made 35 years ago which has played a pivotal role in who I am today.
I grew up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Northern California, not far from Lake Tahoe. When I wasn’t swimming or playing softball for my local club teams, or skiing and playing water polo for my high school, I was snow skiing, biking, hiking, getting lost in the woods, and swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Yuba river. Being “in nature” was just a way of life. I never thought of it as something separate from my everyday experience. It wasn’t until I was an adult, and I met my husband (who is from the Gold Coast), that I had ever heard someone refer to “going into nature,” or say “ah, now we’re in nature.” It was then when I realised how many people actually see “nature” as something separate from us; from our everyday life, our everyday experience.
That moment really made me understand how far we have drifted as a people, from our natural form, and what it means to be human. It also made me truly grateful for my own upbringing.
For as long as I can remember, I have been concerned about the well-being of my fellow humans. I feel all the feels deeper than most, and find my purpose in helping others. This led me to finish university as a human rights activist with degrees to match, then to become a movement specialist through Pilates with an interest in injury rehab (you can find me at The Body Method), and ultimately now with Heart & Lava, where I can meld my two passions together.
With the founding of Heart & Lava, I am so excited to finally have a space where I get to share my love of the outdoors for the reasons that are mostly unspoken. It’s the lessons we learn through being fully emersed in the grit and the grace of mother nature, that is my “why” for starting Heart & Lava.
