Flexible. Intentional. Transformational.

Currently I’m enjoying the unique opportunity to rebrand and rebuild my business following my traumatic brain injury 17 months ago. 

Prior to my injury, I was crazy busy. I had a successful small business, where I worked one-on-one with clients 40 hours a week. I taught two yoga classes at TruFusion weekly. I traveled the country teaching workshops for the National Academy of Sports Medicine. I enjoyed coordinating charitable events for our community causes, and leading development opportunities as a lululemon ambassador. I ran road races. I traveled around the world, often solo. I loved to take on challenges, and thrived on continuing education courses. I had my year (really my life) booked out to the max. I was a newlywed (to an equally driven partner), a dog mom, and a “call me when you need help” friend.

I loved my life. 

So when it changed, due to a car accident and the injuries I sustained, I struggled to adapt to a forced-state of rest. My life changed dramatically: I had a migraine that lasted for 10 months with no relief; I lost my eyesight in my left eye; I had constant nausea, dizziness, disorientation, balance problems, and fell several times. I had significant memory issues. Within a few short weeks, I went from being 100% self-reliant to needing assistance with even simple tasks. My world was out of control, and I felt like I was drowning, despite my efforts to heal.

I didn’t know what to do, once the “perfect plan” prescribed by my doctors, therapists, and myself, wasn’t fixing my body/brain/eyes fast enough.

I felt utterly hopeless, helpless, lost, and alone. 

Four months after my accident, I hit my rock bottom. It was the week of Christmas 2018. My eyesight was still bad (six weeks of vision therapy hadn’t brought me from being legally blind to 20/20 vision), the pain in my head was so bad that I could hardly function, and I wasn’t going to meet my expectation of working full time by January, although I thought this was an extremely generous period of time I had given myself to heal. I was giving away more and more clients. I hadn’t returned to teaching yoga or leading workshops for NASM. I still couldn’t drive. I felt like I had failed on every front and that my body had betrayed me. Yet I still tried to be the Mallory that everyone knew and loved. I was doing life the way I knew to do it: shoving the pain down, putting on a mask of “I’m okay,” and pushing myself harder and harder.

While I was wandering around Scottsdale Quarter, looking for any temporary escape from my pain, I had a thought that I didn’t want to continue living if things didn’t get better. Soon.

This thought scared me. I sat down outside of Press Coffee and called my husband. I told him I wasn’t okay, and I needed help. There was a small voice inside that told me that I was worth fighting for. I had gotten through worse things in my life – and I would get through this. I would just have to change. 

These past 13 months have required me to dig so deep, get so uncomfortable, and wake up every day choosing to transform. It has not been pretty. It has not been easy. It has been so worth it.

It has shown me my life’s purpose. 

I have the privilege of helping other humans who desperately want to change, and don’t know how. My experience has given me empathy, understanding, and a passion to share so others know they aren’t alone. There is hope. 

When I started working more again, I wanted to give up on my company and go work for someone else. I wanted something safe. It would be really hard work to rebuild. I didn’t know if my health would ever allow me to work the way I had before. 

And one day it got very clear. I went through these trials for a reason. I made the choice to rebuild my business. 

While rebranding my business (from Foxy Fitness), I chose Foxy FIT. A small change, but deeply important to me.

Flexible.

Not just in the body (aka what I do for a living stretching and moving people) but in the mind as well.

Intentional.

I’ve always created personalized programming; this is a focus on the energetic intention too. Saying “no” to many things to get clear on the priorities.

Transformational.

My transformation did not occur on my own: transformation requires support. Transformation requires a community.

My intention with this blog is to create a community of humans who want to be FIT (practice flexibility, intentionality, and cultivate transformation). 

So that’s where I am coming from. And I’m so glad you are here with me! Together, we can be FIT.

On to my weekly intention…

 …its to give myself gentle reminders of my daily intention. I wear a bracelet from Feather and Cove (the passion project of my lululemon friend Alyssa) that says “Be Kind.” Every time I look down at my wrist, I have a little reminder to practice kindness to myself and others. I also love my Gorjana bracelets because they have meaning, too. Some of my favorite lululemon pieces say “Breathe Deeply”. Particularly after my brain injury, I need all the reminders I can get! So do most people, with our busy busy lives.

That’s all for today. I am hosting a shopping party at Gorjana Scottsdale Quarter on Wednesday from 6-8pm. You are invited!! There will be food, drinks, and special people in attendance. Also, Gorjana is donating 19% of proceeds to the Love Your Brain Foundation! Love Your Brain has been an incredible support to me in my TBI journey. Please join me in giving back!