I’ve never spoken about my health online, but lately I’ve felt called to share my story — in hopes it resonates with someone else navigating their own path.
From a young age, I struggled with my health: extreme fatigue, anxiety, migraines, eczema — the list goes on. I spent years searching for answers, bouncing from doctor to doctor. Many dismissed my concerns or offered quick fixes that never lasted.
By 2020, I was living in New York — burnt out and fed up. I was on an SSRI, thyroid meds, birth control, and using steroid creams regularly. All band-aid solutions prescribed without hesitation. When the world slowed down, I finally turned inward.
I started meditating, lifting, walking, and focusing on nutrition. Within six months, I lost 35 pounds and felt like myself again — more energized and confident than ever.
Fast forward six years and two moves later, and I’ve entered a new stage of my health journey. I was diagnosed with PCOS two and a half years ago, and honestly, it’s been a struggle. There are days I still gaslight myself — questioning if my symptoms are “real enough” — but the truth is, they affect nearly every part of my wellbeing.
I’ve learned that sometimes we have to go backward to move forward — to pause, reflect, and recognize how far we’ve come. I’m stronger than ever, off all medication, and have reversed my hypothyroidism. I’ve built a practice around breathwork, meditation, and Pilates — and have since become certified in all three. Most importantly, I’ve found community in a city that values health and connection.
Health isn’t linear. Progress takes many forms. If you’ve ever felt stuck, misunderstood, or frustrated in your journey, please know you’re not alone.
✨ Join me in person for an upcoming community event:
🧘♀️ Movement & Restore: Changing Your Relationship with Chronic Illness
🗓 November 14th @ Activate House
🎟️ Link in bio
Let’s move, breathe, and reconnect — together
Excited to kick off a new adventure with no other than @activate.house 🚀🚀🚀 join me every Thursday at 5:30 & 6:30 PM at our new Birdrock location 🌴 So proud of you @stephanieb.richardson !
PCOS is now PMOS.
After 14 years of global consensus work, the name finally reflects what it actually is — a whole-body condition.
Here’s why I care as a breathwork facilitator and coach:
When we name something accurately, we treat it accurately. And the tools that actually move the needle — breath, nervous system regulation, strength, nourishment, sleep — live outside the 15-minute appointment.
If you’ve ever felt dismissed, your instincts were right. The science is catching up. 🤍
✨ Come breathe with me at our next Empower & Restore Event
🗓 Saturday, June 7th | 4PM | Activate House Craving deeper support? DM me about 1:1 health coaching.
1. When you first get certified, you will never feel 100% ready. Not for your first class, not for your hundredth. But readiness isn’t the requirement, beginning is. The path doesn’t reveal itself from the sideline. It opens under your feet the moment you decide to move.
2. It won’t “get easier.” You’ll grow more confident. You’ll find your voice, your rhythm, your essence. But there will always be a next level. More refining, more sharpening, a deeper layer of facilitation you didn’t know existed. That’s the gift of this work.
3. New flows, heavier weights, and a perfect playlist will never make up for your presence. We can prepare endlessly for class, but the real preparation comes from learning to be in the room, not ahead of it.
4. There will be hard days. Days where you have to hold space for a full room when life feels heavy or unclear. The invitation isn’t to push that aside. It’s to let it become a bridge. Let the themes in your life shape your language. Let what you’re moving through inform how you guide others. That’s how you go from instructing a class to leading an experience.
Every day we invest our time, our energy, and our money, but the best investment I’ve made thus far is in myself.
Three years ago, I thought growth meant learning more techniques, reading more books, collecting more tools. And those things matter. But what really shifted everything was mentorship. Mentorship gave me something different, it gave me a mirror. Someone who could reflect back what I couldn’t yet see in myself, and hold space for me while I sat with the uncomfortable parts.
The nervous system work changed everything. I stopped intellectualizing emotions and started living in my body. That shift doesn’t just change how you show up for yourself, it changes how you hold space for others.
When I facilitate now, I’m not just guiding from a script or a framework. I’m present. I can feel the room. I can sit in silence without rushing to fill it. I can hold tension without needing to fix it. That kind of presence isn’t something you learn from a course, it’s something you practice in relationship, over time, with someone who sees you.
If you’ve been circling the idea of hiring the mentor or coach, this is your sign.
Invest in yourself. It will ripple into every room you walk into.
I walked into this week as one person and walked out as another. That’s the only way I can describe it. This work is powerful. The breath is powerful. And I feel this deep responsibility to share it.
We came here with our own stories, from very different places, but within the walls of this container, we all came home. Home to sisterhood. Home to our bodies. Home to ourselves. All through the power of breath. Forever grateful for @academyofbreath . Thank you @alexis.rodriguez.smith and @avajohanna for holding such a beautiful space.
Our Empower & Restore event this weekend was a beautiful reminder that you are capable, worthy, and never alone on this journey. So much gratitude for our incredible instructors who led with so much intention — Thank you @alexis.rodriguez.smith , @hannah.hamlin , @alexloeb , and @alling_does_pilates for guiding this experience and holding space for our community. 🤍
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#sandiegowellness #wellnesscommunity #empower #restore #sandiegopilates #pilatessandiego #sandiegopilates #sandiegoevents
A weekend filled with mindful movement, connective conversation and nourishing food. Honored to guide and learn alongside our incredible @activate.house team ✨
Meet Alex Loeb @alexloeb from Activate House — bringing something truly unique to the main event of San Diego Wellness Week on July 19 at 3:45 PM💫
Her Pilates x Meditation series blends mindful movement with deep presence. This isn’t your typical class—it’s an experience. Expect a fusion of strength-building pilates with moments of guided meditation seamlessly woven throughout.
You’ll leave feeling stronger, more grounded, and deeply connected—body and mind aligned. ✨🧘♀️
