A street dog

I called "mine" during a special time I spent in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Although her physical being was skin and bones, her spirit was fierce. And it sticks with me to this day.

I fed Mala each time I found her in the crowded streets where odds n' ends were sold, and street dogs fought for their fix of scraps. I tried to give her a home, but she would only follow me far enough to eat and never up the steep hill to where I lived.

Her desire, stronger than hunger, was to be free. In her, I saw who I had spent my life becoming: a person who chooses freedom every time. Freedom from conventional ideas of success, freedom from broken food and medical systems, FREEDOM over COMFORT.

It's hard to make choices that aren't popular. It's hard to go against the grain and to say no when everyone else says yes. Mala inspired me to push forward and find my authentic path to healing.

I had recently left behind my career of 10 years. I spent a decade paying "dues". It left me quite literally sick and tired. I moved to a new country to find a softer pace of life; to find new ways to heal. I started learning about food as medicine, yoga, and stillness as wisdom, and looked toward nature instead of screens, for answers. It was there I found the passions that would inspire the next chapter of my life.

Yes. My business is named after a street dog. I found Mala at a time when I needed that next bit of inspiration to dream again, to create, and to believe in something bigger than me. Wild Mala was born in 2017 as a food business and grew into more than I could have imagined.

I now work with people throughout the country to help them incorporate wellness into all areas of life. I have learned that it's never just one thing that breaks us down. We move through this world interacting with our environments, with food, with ourselves, and with each other. If we aren't intentional about each of these components, we can end up off course. Although it takes immense work, making our way back is the fun part. It is an invitation to come home to ourselves.