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Womentum March Onward 2024

Womentum March Onward 2024!

The evening before International Women’s Day and during Women’s History Month, join Womentum as four local healthcare professionals share their stories that highlight the need for a paradigm shift in our approach to women’s wellbeing: separating wellness and our worth from weight, food, and our bodies.

The pursuit of health and wellness for women in our society too often leads to diminished personal power in the form of negative body image and a preoccupation with food, exercise, and weight.

This event will arm attendees with the knowledge to make educated choices for how we spend our time, attention, and money on our physical appearance and health. We envision a shift towards celebrating what our bodies can do in the world and also developing our potential beyond our physical self!

You can watch the event recording here!

About Dr. Kelly Baxter, Family Medicine Physician

Dr. Kelly Baxter is deeply passionate about improving healthcare for those who are at greatest risk of experiencing medical and societal bias based on age, body type, sexual preference, gender identity, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and other forms of discrimination that contribute to worse health outcomes.

Kelly has a special interest in women’s health at all ages. She follows the evolving science of hormone replacement therapy and strives to support women through the menopausal transition. Kelly recognizes the harms of diet culture on mental and physical health. After 15 years in premedical, medical, and residency training, Kelly was shocked to find a complete lack of education around eating disorders and a general lack of understanding and compassion around body image and weight. She has independently pursued training and mentorship in these areas, but she has found the most meaningful education has come from her patients directly. Kelly is humbled and honored to share the sacred space of the patient-provider relationship and feels that all people deserve unbiased and individualized care.

Dr. Kelly Baxter is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. She is certified in Integrative Medicine through the University of Arizona. She earned her bachelor’s degree from University of Wyoming and her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington. She completed her family medicine residency at Saint Anthony North Hospital in Denver, Colorado.

About Mary Ryan, Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Mary Ryan’s practice, Beyond Broccoli LLC, welcomes adults and adolescents struggling with a wide range of issues, with a special focus on problems with food, eating, exercise, and body image. She began her professional journey as a dietitian more than two decades ago. Her interest in the many links between nutrition and mental health, and her passion for empowering clients to improve their relationship with food and their bodies, led her to pursue additional education, training, and licensure as a psychotherapist to help clients move beyond the “what” and towards the “why” of eating and other struggles. Integrating nutrition and psychotherapy is particularly important when there are issues such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, or difficult childhood experiences that impact every aspect of how we function later in life.

About Tanya Mark, National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach

With over 20 years of experience in the field of wellness, Tanya Mark, started her career as a massage therapist and shifted to fitness coaching (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist) and then became a Nutrition Therapy Practitioner (NTP). After witnessing client frustration from failed diets and body dissatisfaction Tanya pursued additional education as a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and a Licensed Be Body Positive Facilitator to support her clients in disentangling from diet culture and the false belief that there’s a “right” way to have a body.

Tanya completed her studies as Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, NBC-HWC and Certified Sleep, Stress Management & Recovery Coach (SSR). She coaches clients on whole health, beyond nutrition, including physical activity, sleep, stress resilience skills, and help them gain clarity on their personal values, priorities and what they really want out of life — what matters most. Tanya works with clients virtually, 1-1 or in her group Intuitive Eating and Be Body Positive coaching programs.

About Eden Morris, Registered Dietitian & Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor

Eden Morris is a former collegiate softball player turned mountain biker and skier who loves pocket snacks, tacos, playing outside, hanging with her Australian cattle dog, and camping in new places. Eden internalized so many of diet culture’s messages when she was a young girl. She didn’t understand that dieting would damage her body and hinder her performance in sports until she was diagnosed with Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport at age 22. 3 stress fractures in her left foot, osteopenia, and an absent menstrual cycle for 3+ years were the wakeup calls that showed her that health had to be about more than eating “clean” and weighing as little as possible.

Eden has spent the last 12 years immersing herself in the Intuitive Eating framework, making peace with food, her body, and movement. Healing her relationship with food was the healthiest thing she’s ever done for her physical and mental health. She’s a huge fan of mantras and affirmations–she often states, “A well-fed body is a resilient body.” Eden aims to live a life to show you that a fueled body performs better. No matter what phase of life we’re in, no matter what kind of movement we enjoy, our bodies deserve nourishment from foods that give us energy and bring us joy!

Eden works with active individuals of all ages who are looking to learn how to fuel their bodies without restriction, who are ready to appreciate their body for what it does for them vs how it looks, and who want to find a peaceful, accepting relationship toward themselves in order to live a life of empowerment.

Join us for Womentum March Onward 2024!

Cue a Wider Lens to Determine Wellness

What does it mean to be truly “well?”

Not long ago, confused about what it meant to be “well,” I devoted myself to “wellness.” I drank the detox skinny teas and exercised with the purpose of earning and burning food. Being “well” was synonymous with physical wellness and doing it “right” meant achieving one look.

But wellness isn’t a destination that you arrive at after drinking celery juice, achieving six-pack abs, seeing a certain number on the scale or even just eating your veggies. Yet as the year ends, you’ll be barraged once again with more “wellness” ideas.

Wellness is the ever-changing state of thriving in all areas of your life. It’s multi-faceted with “deep health” dimensions that are interconnected and include (but aren’t limited to) physical, mental, social and existential wellness. If those aspects of deep health seem a bit esoteric to you, let me describe each in more detail and how they impact your overall well-being.

Reclaim physical wellness

Maybe like me, the physical dimension defined how you “do” wellness. And while it’s an important factor, you might also be confused about what it actually means (thanks, diet culture).

Physical wellness involves feeling vibrant, energized and thriving. It’s nourishing your body regularly with balanced meals, physical activity and a good night’s sleep. It’s reducing behaviors that challenge your health such as smoking, drug use and excessive alcohol consumption. And here’s the critical distinction: Physical wellness focuses on the functioning of your body, not how you see yourself in a mirror.

As a “Be Body Positive” facilitator, I’ll remind you of the four universal body truths: your body is supposed to look different, your body will change and your wellness isn’t your weight. And most importantly, you are far more than a body.

Be kind to your mind

Did you know that over half of the people in Teton County Wyoming reported being lonely? This statistic is significantly higher than the national average before the pandemic (24%), according to the 2021 Teton County Behavioral Health Report.

The World Health Organization defines mental health as “the state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stress of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to community.”

So how might you strengthen your mental health?

Try engaging in regular physical activity, prioritizing sleep, learning coping tools for life challenges, taking mindfulness breaks throughout your day or connecting with a trusted friend or family member.

Additionally, The Mental Wellness Collaborative hosts free monthly community discussion groups such as “Thriving Through Midlife,” “Redefining Wellness” and a parent connections group.

Social connection is key

Another factor of what it means to be truly well focuses on the human need of belonging.

Deidre Ashley, LCSW and executive director of Mental Health and Recovery Services shared in her recent column “Sound Mind” that social connections are as vital as physical activity, while feeling isolated is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Ashley shared a quote from Brene Brown that warrants repeating:

Ruth Rathblott, author of “Singlehandedly” and keynote speaker at the 2023 Womentum Leadership Summit shared this message about connection: “Unhiding is the key to connection.”

Born with a limb difference, Rathblott hid her hand for 25 years. “Everyone is hiding something,” she said, “but embracing that secret part of yourself can change everything. When we do this, we create a beautiful safe space where everyone can feel seen and loved for who they are and know that they belong.”

When asked to anonymously write down what they were hiding, attendees of Rathblott’s workshops have shared their mental health issues, financial problems, age, weight, political views, addiction, neurodiversity and more.

So why do we all do it?

“It’s that primal shame for being different and the fear of being rejected for our differences,” Rathblott said. “It’s such a universal experience, yet we all feel like we can’t talk about it and it’s time to change that.”

Sharing your authentic self with just one person can have a powerful impact on your social wellness.

What it means to be truly well Connection

A meaningful life matters

Existential wellness is seeking meaning and purpose as well as identifying your values and priorities.

Consider, what makes life meaningful to you? What do you want?

Bonnie Wan, tackles in her upcoming book, “The Life Brief, A Playbook for No Regrets Living.” Wan shared her pathway to help us dig deep to determine what we want from our lives and how to get there with clarity, creativity and courage.

“When you have the clarity of your essence — who you are, what you stand for, what you believe in and your ambition distilled in a way that sticks, in a way that you remember it, you can call it in and call upon it whenever you need,” she said.

To strengthen your existential wellness, explore coaching or mentoring or simply journal to get clear on what makes life meaningful to you.

So what is wellness?

Wellness is far more than physical health, and it’s certainly not flat abs. Taking a wide lens approach to wellness not only helps you understand the state of your “deep health,” it helps you clarify where you can make the biggest impact toward wellness and flourishing.

Consider mental, social and existential health as key domains of what it truly means to be well this holiday season and into the new year.

(Originally published in the November 22, 2023 edition of the Jackson Hole News and Guide).

P.S. Would you like to have inspiration sent directly to your inbox? Join my free Reclaiming Wellness newsletter!