Check Out Sarah Travers’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Travers

Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always wanted to be a marine biologist, but I grew up in the landlocked state of Colorado. During college at CU, I took as many “ocean” courses as I could, and I worked in a lab hoping to gain skills that would lend to ocean research. After graduating, I moved to Alaska to collect data on fishing vessels. Let me tell you, it was not the kind of ocean research I had been envisioning my whole life. So I took a break, and moved to the Florida Keys to become a diving instructor, thinking it would translate to underwater research. What actually happened, was I realized “oh, I’m an educator.” My passion as it turns out, is not data points, but environmental education, specifically facilitating environmental exploration where people build a connection to the world we live in. I loved taking people diving, finding ways to show excitement underwater, and then discussing all the cool things we saw when back on board. That was over a decade ago, and I’ve been working in outdoor education ever since.

In 2020, my tourism-driven dream job at ConnectOcean (where we combined citizen science data collection with every dive trip, taught tourists about important ecosystems like mangroves by exploring them, and worked with the local community) came to an abrupt halt. I didn’t have a way to support myself but am fortunate to have a loving family to welcome me back to Colorado with open arms and free rent. My dad still says it’s the best part of the pandemic, getting me back from Costa Rica.

While figuring out what to do next, I stumbled upon Wild Bear Nature Center in Nederland, CO hiring for a Nature Education Coordinator. It was a bit eerie how similar Wild Bear and ConnectOcean are; the main difference being the environment we’re exploring. It was really fun dusting the cobwebs off of my rocky mountain ecology knowledge from my degree.

When my mom, who was the director of whole health at the VA in Cheyenne, WY was thinking of retiring, but unsure of what to do next, we started brainstorming. I decided to go part-time at Wild Bear so we could combine our skill sets to offer retreats and workshops. Total Being Reset emerged and now we work together teaching families, groups, and individuals how to reset their nervous systems throughout the day to build resilience to stress. Our first big international retreat is next month, and we’re so excited!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are always challenges on any journey, but every challenge is also an invitation for growth. And boy, have we done a lot of growing! The legal hoops of creating and protecting a business is still a growing process. Our current biggest challenge is spreading the word about our offerings and having people sign up to learn. Neither of us has much of a “business” mindset or background. We’re more interested in building community than making money, which makes for a bumpy road when starting a business. We have our first international retreat July 13-20th and still have a couple of rooms left if anyone is interested and has the flexibility in their financials and schedules to join us!

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We’re working in the Wellness Industry offering retreats and workshops teaching people to integrate little practices in their day that reset the nervous system. The stress hormone cortisol stays in your system for 12 hours after a threat or trigger while the thrive response chemical, oxytocin, only lasts 2 hours. That is why we promote doing something to actively produce oxytocin every couple of hours throughout your day so you can return to a regulated state quickly.

What sets us apart is how we go about layering different practices together for a more effective “Total Being Reset.” We teach the science behind it all and keep everyone engaged through experiential practices, reflections, and discussions. We also have workshops geared specifically to families, so everyone in the family has the same tools to help each other regulate during challenging moments. For these workshops, it is especially fun that I get to work with my mom. I’m from a big family, and all of the humans she has created (read: my siblings) are my very favorite! We get to show families first-hand how integrating these techniques into family dynamics can build family cohesiveness that flows through generations.

Our overall goal is to build a community of people who are all working to integrate these practices into their lives. We want to create opportunities to get out into nature, or gather for a potluck and not only practice together, but support each other, bounce around ideas, and hold space for challenges, and create connections. Take a look on our website for upcoming Awe Walks and other community gatherings!

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
We know the most important piece of any relationship is continued connection. We love building connections with our participants, as well as facilitating those connections between participants and each other, participants and nature, and participants with themselves. We are adaptable and have so much facilitation experience between us, that we’re able to customize experiences to meet the group’s and individual participant’s needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.totalbeingreset.com/
• Instagram: @totalbeingreset
• Youtube: @totalbeingreset

Image Credits
Inés Prelovšek