Why I ReSet: The Personal Journey of One ReSet Founder

Posted by Vicky Childres
Posted on: Jan 8, 2020 11:59:36 AM

My journey to ReSet began back in March of 2007 with a call from my GP. A recent blood panel looked peculiar and additional testing was necessary. Could I please come in tomorrow?

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I had no definitive reason to be scared, but I was. I had been sick a lot the previous year. Frequent bacterial AND viral infections were what prompted my doctor to order the blood workup. And I was SO tired! Like first trimester pregnancy tired! At the time, I was 40 years old and my three kids were ages 6, 8 and 9. So we had dance, ice skating, two basketball teams, three soccer teams, piano lessons and swim team. On top of that, I was running 8 to 10 miles a week and doing a class workout or yoga 2 to 4 times a week. I had an interior décor shop/design business. My husband traveled easily a week a month, and I (and my children) got by (and around) with the help of my generous friends/carpooling mommy team. I had a lot on my plate and a lot of balls in the air.

But my life was about to take a serious turn. That phone call proved to be the beginning of a ten-year health struggle, which resulted in the diagnosis of an extremely rare congenital blood disorder. My bone marrow produces sub-par platelets, red and white blood cells. This anomaly appears on paper as if I have a full blown blood cancer. Because of this, I have endured several years of scans and multiple bone marrow biopsies. Before they determined that my immune cells were no good, I fought pneumonia for 22 months and experienced viral sores on my cornea for 9 months. And now, I will need other people’s immune cells monthly for the rest of my life. 

The fear through it all was unbearable. It managed to invade virtually every moment of happiness. I found my face to face/connected conversations being replaced with a self dialogue that was as scary as it was tragic. The negative and fearful noise in my head was overriding my joy. And my wonderful life was the whole reason I was fighting as hard as I was fighting. I turned to my younger brother, Robert Hoffman, who was deep in his PHD studies of Positive Psychology.

How do you override fear and anxiety in order to remain present in the moment?

That is when I discovered “guided meditation." I was introduced to “silent meditation” thru yoga when I was in college. I had been a runner for years. As a runner, I could plot out my entire day in three miles. Papers were outlined, study guides crafted... I used to say I did my best thinking when I was running.

With yoga, I found that my mind quieted. I rarely thought about what needed to be done when I got on the mat--I was focused on my body in the moment. Shavasana--the corpse pose at the end of a yoga session--was like a meditative smorgasbord for me. My mind would go completely silent and I could focus solely on the energy in my body. I found the brain downtime rejuvenating and centering. I practiced meditation outside of yoga--even trained in Transcendental Meditation. I was a pretty good meditator.

And then I got sick--and scared. In this compromised state of being, I found that my fearful internal noise quickly destroyed every peaceful moment I managed to construct. Guided meditation was different. Someone else’s voice in my head helped balance and eventually override the fear. My brother had tossed me a life line during a massive storm in my life.

As Dr. Bob wrapped up his PhD studies, I continued to pick his brain. His studies of positive psychology based on mindfulness, gratitude, connection, focused relaxation and breathing were quite easy to incorporate into my life and brought me back to the present moment. And the present moment (MOST of the time) wasn’t that scary. The present moment (MOST of the time) was pretty darn fabulous! I had a loving husband, three healthy children, a supportive family and the best friends a girl could ask for. The present moment truly rocked!

Today, I am healthy. I’ve received IVIG for seven years now. The treatments work and I am back to my fabulous life. I continue to pick my baby brother’s brain and with the help of three of those aforementioned “best friends a girl could ask for”, we created ReSet Lounge. Leigh Kruszenski brings her Functional Medicine Health Coach training as well as her insatiable hunger for all things wellness. Beth Rowell brings her deep knowledge of personal training and her endless wit and charm, and Beth Johnson is the smart one who makes it all happen. Together, we have created a space where you can bust a sweat, care for yourself, quiet the mind and hopefully leave feeling cared for and connected. We have researched and installed some of the best wellness products and services available, and we can’t wait for you to check them out!

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Topics: Relax, Wellness, Whole Wellbeing, Stress, Meditation, Self-care