Sharon has long had an interest in nutrition, particularly in the body mind spirit connection and the importance of managing stress. Her interest brought her to the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition where she was able to balance evening classes with her job. She appreciated the diverse classroom where students’ ages spanned decades and shared their varied experiences. She loved the beautiful insights that came from her class and how it created opportunities to connect and learn from one another. The more she learned in class, the more she wanted to find ways to harmonize life (finding that elusive work life balance) and finding practical ways to improve health.
After graduation, Sharon worked at Canadian Cancer Society and used her knowledge to help encourage wellness with those at work, not just with those in leadership roles, but with team members. She was then invited to be part of Wellness Committee. She continued learning and expanding her nutrition and wellness knowledge.
Her knowledge was really put to the test when she had an accident and fell off her husband’s motorcycle. She learned to transition and adapt, navigating injury with practitioners and nutrition. She started developing recipes, turning regular recipes into nutrient-dense ones to help her recovery. This turned into sharing more and more recipes while using alternative approaches to deal with pain (meditation, breath work, topical creams, supplements). With these disruptions to her life and health, Sharon learned how to learn again, but also shared those lessons with others, creating community connections.
She started being more active on LinkedIn and that opened the door to speaking at virtual events. That grew to starting a website, starting a newsletter and blog, teaching and educating opportunities, speaking on podcasts, and even more events. Another challenge came when she slipped and fell, needing a hip replacement. She used her holistic nutrition knowledge and Pilates to help her recovery journey. This experience increased lessons she could teach, like rehab and thriving post injury, using ger lived experience and education to help others.
Life is constantly changing, and there are disruptions and opportunities that come and go. But something that has never changed for Sharon was the importance of community, building connection, and nourishing wellbeing and health and ensuring burnout doesn’t happen.
