Well hello there 👋

I'm Christina and I'm a recovering perfectionist.

I was the kind of kid who could go to an outdoor summer birthday party in a white dress and come back in pristine condition.

You know the brainy girl in high school who helped you edit your homework so you could amp up your grades? That was me.

My bedroom was a shrine to all of my achievements; tap dance trophies, gymnastics ribbons, field hockey medals, volleyball and soccer team MVP, and the highly coveted Laura Brett handwriting award (got a shiny silver dollar for that honour).

If you were to look in the dictionary under Goody-Two-Shoes, you would see a picture of me in all my freckle-cheeked, pig-tailed, straight-white-teeth-with-no-braces glory.

But all that perfectionism was exhausting. Keeping up the over-achieving superwoman image as a high school teacher, then as a mom, then as one of the top 10 in Sales in North America award-winners in my home based business lead to health issues (daily digestive distress and debilitating hip pain), emotional issues (boatloads of suppressed anger) and relationship issues (inadvertently giving my beloved husband the silent treatment for 3 days at a time while I tried to figure out how to speak up for myself without hurting his feelings). At some point, it had to stop.

Fifteen years ago, I learned about embodiment and everything changed.

I entered the world of entrepreneurship and learned how to speak, write, coach, heal, podcast, and facilitate transformative experiences.

Today, I’m the Founder of Courageous Self-Care. I’m proud to help overwhelmed, over-efforting, high-achieving women do the unthinkable… make their well-being their number one priority without drowning in a sea of guilt.

I use strategic, spiritually rebellious ninja self-care skills to help you learn to be productive and peaceful at the same time. 

It's not about the amount of time and effort you put in, it's about doing the most effective and efficient practices that yield noticeable results. Welcome to Courageous Self-Care.

A curious list of mildly relevant facts about me that will possibly make you smile, laugh, or judge me (go ahead, I'm totally ok with that).  

1. I talk about my kids. A Lot. (See points 2, 4, 5 and 9.)

2. My daughter is a lead in a Netflix Series!!! About Zombies.

3. Point 2 makes me a total hypocrite because I'm all about peace, beauty, harmony and love. (this would be where you could start judging me.)

4. But really, when Netflix comes knocking at your door and offers you a lead role, do you say "My mom won't let me." No, you do not. Well, at least I don't. 

5. Ok, now for my son. He was once in a McDonald's commercial, even though he's never eaten at McDonalds. (See point 3 about hypocrisy, then refer to point 4 and swap McDonalds for Netflix.)

6. I share about my kids because harmonious happy families make my heart sing. (the song sounds like Amy Adam's singing in Enchanted when she calls upon her animal friends to help clean the apartment.)

7. I've been married to my soulmate for 26 years. We are two puzzle pieces that fit perfectly.

8. I've walked on fire, eaten fire and been hypnotized to believe that a candle flame wouldn't burn me (it didn't) but I struggle to light a match.

9. My daughter was born on Mother's Day and my son was born 3 years later on Father's Day. My husband thinks we should be in the Guinness Book of World Records.

10. I've coached gymnastics, field hockey, volleyball, and basketball teams. My favourite moment was when we got a team of high school boys to chase deflating balloons around the gym as a warm up.

11. My first job was an infield security guard for the rodeo and chuckwagon races at the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth (aka the Calgary Stampede - yahoo!) You'll probably agree that I'm not very intimidating so security guarding didn't end up being a lifelong career choice.

12. I once got mistaken for a boy as I performed on stage at a tap dance competition because I "had so much energy" according to the adjudicator. That's the kind of enthusiasm I devote to my family (not always joyfully received) and to my clients (always joyfully received).

13. I speak fluent French. (Voulez-vous du beurre?)

14. I wrote a book called "How Ugly Awkward Dancing Changes Everything" (because it really does). 

15. After self-publishing said book, my website got hacked and blacklisted by Google. I guess someone really didn't like ugly awkward dancing...

16. That incident led to me changing from Dance Ugly Dance Awkward to Courageous Self-Care. 

17. I remember seeing a speaker once who spoke about her two degrees. I was very impressed. Then I realized that I also have two degrees. 

18. In case you're curious, degree #1 was Kinesiology (the study of human movement). Degree #2 was in Education. Put those together and you get a Phys Ed teacher! Who also taught the dance option at a Calgary High School for 3 years. 

19. Before I got that job, I was a substitute teacher for exactly 3 days. I cried every day. 

20. As you can tell from this list, I generally don't do things in order. You should see me shovel sidewalks!

21. I trained as an Embodiment Coach on the beaches of Mexico, the lavender fields of California, and in the rain forests of British Columbia. It was much nicer than getting my University degrees!

22. Then I trained online to get certifications as an Energy Codes Facilitator, Energy Codes Coach, BodyAwake® Yoga teacher, BEST practitioner (Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique), Spiritual BEST practitioner, Remote Healer, Remote BEST practitioner, Happy For No Reason Trainer, and 9D Breathwork Facilitator. 

23. I love Hawaii. I've won 3 trips there! 

24. I love France. My husband and I cycled there for 5 weeks before we had kids.

25. Food and nutrition fascinate me. I've gone vegan, vegetarian, paleo, raw (not in that order). I'm currently plant-based with the occasional grilled cheese sammie. 

26. I'm wary of Western Medicine. I would much rather do weird chanting meditations and breathwork to stay healthy.

27. I love metaphysics and all things related to energy.

28. I have a podcast/web TV show called the Courageous Self-Care Experience. 

29. Transformation is my superpower.

30. I also love teaching about abundance, gratitude, spirituality and other various woo-woo delights.

31. I wrote some other books as well: Not Your Mama's Self-Care Guide, and then two children's books: What Makes a Dancer? and Helping You Fly. 

32. For weekly tips, strategies, and funny stories about spirituality and self-care, check out the Courageous Self-Care Substack!