Embracing the Journey
My journey, like many others, began with hardship. Growing up in a small town, childhood adversity only partially prepared me for many years of military service and foreign travels.
At the age of 18, I embarked on my first trip abroad to the Middle East and North Africa. These first experiences of travel were accompanied by daily harassment, intimidation, and fear for my life. Yet still, I began to experience the world from such a polar perspective, I felt an enlivening of my purpose. Although difficult, I survived these experiences with regular health training, a community of loving women, and the empowering act of exploration.
Adventure
Through travel, I have been faced with many moments that challenged the way I was taught to view the world. I was brought to my knees in Amman and found God in Wadi Rum. I feared for my life in the streets of Morocco where I yelled at men for groping and following me. I discovered the happiest people are living in straw huts in Malawi. I got lost in the Sacred Valley of Peru and found by a Portuguese couple that may have saved my life. I had my darkest encounters in Germany and was reacquainted with my guardian angels in Italy, Switzerland and Chad, of all places. I have discovered self-love and conquered addiction across many state and country borders. I have been humbled by this world, over and over.
Holistic Healing
For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with achieving the “perfect” body. As a pre-teen, I was hiding in the school bathroom to avoid eating and then purging when I did. These habits followed me into my twenties, as I found fitness and bodybuilding. I competed in national bodybuilding shows, suffering with self-hatred, even at my lowest weight. I have since become a Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Coach, and Army Combat Fitness Test Instructor, but it wasn’t until I became a Yoga Teacher that my entire wellness journey changed.
Yoga Lifestyle
Yoga was the missing piece that brought together the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the human experience. Yoga is not just the asana, or physical practice, but an entire mindset and lifestyle.
Through yoga, I have found life to be a synergistic journey of both the somatic and ethereal. I have found a balance between self-compassion and self-discipline, of pleasure and pain, and of strength and surrender. I have found great wisdom and peace when I connect with Pachamama through adventure, yoga, and embodied movement.
Global Connection
My spiritual exploration and stories across continents have allowed me to see people and places that a small-town, American girl would have never known existed. My language studies and military service gave me the courage and opportunity to have hard conversations about global issues such as sexism, human rights, politics and climate change. As I continue to see the world through the eyes of those I meet, I realize that our cultural, religious and ethnic differences do not define us as Earthly beings.
It is through my love for Trek Nectar, a symbiotic, holistic approach to exploration, wellness and activism, that I aspire to be a part of the change for the global collective.
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. ✨
much metta,
Jamee Treks