A Life-Changing Trip...

When people ask me how things are going with my school, I find it difficult to adequately describe what it feels like to be a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Maybe I'll do a better job writing about it in this blog. Actually, that picture of me on a catamaran in Cuba sort of illustrates it... 

I feel like I got on a boat that is leading me to an amazing, exciting destination, and the ride is absolutely exhilarating! I feel like I can trust the captain (Joshua Rosenthal, Founder of the school + teachers) to bring us closer to our destination (becoming a Health Coach) slowly but surely. 

Sometimes (like this week), I feel like the pace is a little slow, but then I just open my eyes, look around, and find a million things to explore, learn and discover on my own (things that won't be on the exams, so no pressure, just pleasure!) I haven't felt this much passion in a long time! This passion -that is fuelled by the prospect of having a new, meaningful career and that is intensified by interacting with many other enthusiastic students- generates tremendous energy in my life and consequently my creative juices are flowing like never before! (Naughty Food is just one example!) I didn't expect to make amends with my creative side at a nutrition school! 

As a singer-songwriter, I have always believed that creativity and self-expression were essential parts of the human experience. Without them, we cannot completely feel balanced and whole. We are here to express ourselves freely with joy and love, just as the Universe (or Consciousness) expresses itself through us. But I won't go too deep into that. Let's just say my creativity had been blocked for many years and now the flood gates just opened again...

Why is that? Well, in addition to the reasons I mentioned above, the IIN succeeds in making us feel damn good! I suspect all the students will experience IIN withdrawal symptoms after they graduate! The school teaches us about the primary foods (healthy relationships, fulfilling career, regular exercise and a spiritual practice) and they make sure we practice what we are going to preach. So, we are given tools to take better care of ourselves: we listen to our bodies, we breathe, we make time to exercise, we eat healthier foods, we look at the ugly parts of our lives and work towards improving them. This program is like a one year wellness retreat! I now understand why so many graduates from the program say going to this school is a life-changing experience!

So when people ask me how school's going and I say "awesome!!", the above paragraphs are really what I meant to say!;)

Lise (www.lisevilleneuve.com)