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Conversations with the Inspiring Hope Flansburg

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Hope Flansburg.

Hope, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The implications of stress on our emotional and physical body is something almost every American is struggling with; from digestive and GI issues to auto-immune disease, physical ailments, heart disease, mental health concerns and more. We are addicted to the disease of being busy, and there is more and more research being done that connects our emotional health to our physical health. I started Hope for Health Wellness to educate and empower individuals to advocate for their own health and healing. With compassionate, resourceful and professional practitioners, we encourage individuals to explore self-care and alternative healing modalities that can benefit their overall health and well-being.

It’s rare to find someone who is not affected by stress, good or bad. But the negative seems to linger within us. Sometimes for years. No one is immune to the curve balls of life, and living with the anxiety it causes can be unbearable. It can be hard to recover from challenging circumstances, even more difficult to move forward and scary to seek help. Many continue to struggle in silence worrying about ridicule and judgment.

And I am not the exception.

My story began twenty-three years ago after the traumatic birth of my twin daughters, Taylor and Morgyn. Delivered by C-section at twenty-eight weeks gestation weighing only 2lbs 4oz, and 2 lbs, we faced a two month NICU stay. With the support of family and friends we remained positive and strong while enduring two surgery’s, many hospital stays the first few years, and developmental delays.

Three years later, I went through a divorce. Anyone who goes through a divorce, regardless of the circumstances, does not come out the other side unscathed. The loss of a dream, love, relationship, family and friends is heartbreaking. The grief over lack of security, stability, possible financial hardships, and shared custody while feeling helpless over time lost with your children can be devastating. And under the worse circumstances, the emotional warfare that happens between two people who once loved each other is not easily repaired.

I considered myself a strong and stoic. A survivor. Yet, acknowledging and processing emotions were not in my wheel house of expertise. To avoid and bury them was.

During this time, I was a fitness instructor at the YMCA in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was active to a fault. Fitness was my crutch–my go to coping mechanism. But at the same time, I was incredibly unhealthy. I was the instructor who taught an intense cycling class, hid in my car after to smoke a cigarette, and then went for a two mile run. I was a social drinker. Alcohol was a good numbing agent. I also hated to cook. If it was in a can, a bag, or a box and easy to heat up, that is what went into my body and the body of my children.

While working three jobs to make financial ends meet, I began to experience panic attacks and my body started to revolt. Circumstantial depression happened. Twenty years ago there was not a lot of conversation around trauma, triggers, self-care and mental health. Regardless, I was proactive enough to start counseling a few months prior to my separation, knowing I needed help navigating the circumstances. Unaware of the power behind positive affirmations, my counselor gave me a beautiful and impactful list, suggesting I read them every night before bed. Unbeknownst to me, this was the beginning of my transformation.

I had many wonderful friends, mentors and guides who offered support, encouragement, education and wisdom. A variety of opportunities began to appear before me, and I decided to try yoga, meditation and energy healing. Glorifying from the benefits, I became a certified yoga instructor. Having other tools to cope with my anxiety, I stopped smoking, cut back on drinking and began to adjust my diet. Positive affirmations and spiritual journaling became habits that propelled me forward to the life I envisioned.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not long after, I met my now-husband, Sky. Sky was also reeling financially and emotionally from a painful divorce, and was a single dad to his daughters, Emery 14 and Joslin 10.

We went from a house hold of three to a household of six. Blending the family brought about challenges I hadn’t expected. Sky and I dove into the relationship with unprocessed and painful baggage. While we were all adjusting to the family dynamics, individually all six of us were fighting our own internal battles.

For three years a variety of unique, challenging and unhealthy circumstances occurred. Unfortunately, our home became toxic. We all developed coping skills to function, but we remained broken and hurt. My health tanked and in 2006 I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

While I was desperate for change, I was unable to find a way to escape the shame and embarrassment that darkened my soul. The idea of sharing deep emotional pain with anyone was paralyzing. I became an expert at wearing a mask. What made this even more difficult is that I remember what it was like to feel alive. I knew what living a life embracing passion and hope was like. I knew how it felt to be spiritually connected and powerful. Through it all, my faith and self-care kept me grounded. But while my body showed up and continued to engage in these practices, my heart and spirit felt disconnected. Lost.

Finally in 2007, after a much needed wake-up call that could have torn apart our family, Sky and I dove into healing individually as well as a couple. For me this included finding alternative modalities for my emotional, physical and spiritual health. I made yoga and meditation a lifestyle. I found wonderful mental health therapists and began to cook healthy foods to fuel and heal my body. I shifted my exercise routine, focusing more on what my body needed opposed to what my ego wanted. The positive shifts we made fed into our children and those around us.

When we moved to Colorado in 2012, divine intervention was at hand when I came across an alternative medical practitioner. With her guidance, we learned about gut health, food intolerances and how nutritional deficiencies affect our endocrine system and our mental health. I also worked with a therapist who specialized in EMDR. With her help, I was able to work through the emotional triggers that continues to affect my health while a variety of other alternative wellness modalities continued to cross my path.

I lived many years with a jaded and hardened heart. My insecurities and self-sabotaging beliefs affected my health, interactions with my husband, my kids, my friends and even my job. When I finally realized I was the only one holding the key to my happiness, I took my power back. I made a relationship with myself and a higher power my first priority. In this place of unconditional love, acceptance and worth, I fell in love with life again. And I am proud to say after fourteen years, I have not had to turn to medication for my health, and my life is abundant. I am able to enjoy all of my favorite physical activities and fulfilling relationships. I get to do work I love, and plan on living this way for many years to come.

What should we know about Hope for Health Wellness? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
This process was a challenging yet humbling experience. Personally and professionally, I kept hearing stories that were not much different from my own, and this is when I decided I needed to share all the opportunities that crossed my path with others.

In 2017, I started Hope for Health Wellness. At my home in the mountains of Pine, Colorado I host retreats and workshops to support other women as they tackle and overcome the tough obstacles of life. Through collaboration, we come together in small groups to share strategies and alternative options for self-care and healing. Whether just starting out and wanting to learn, or adding new pieces to an existing practice, our speakers and practitioners are here to teach, guide, and encourage each individual’s unique experience.

Along with workshops and retreats, I write fiction romance novels that focus on the complexities of the modern day family and relationships. I use relatable and authentic characters to share stories of overcoming adversity, trauma, grief and loss. Readers are able to connect with messages of hope, redemption and eternal love while using the book as a tool to provide support around their healing journey.

October 6th was the release of Piece by Piece-Picking up the Shards of a Soul Worth Saving. This is a unique story of heart-wrenching loss, acknowledging deep wounds and trusting in the power of God’s Grace. With an exquisite mix of suspense, darkness, lightness, and personal growth, I send the message that every soul is truly worth saving.

In the first week, Piece by Piece was acknowledged as a #1 New Release on Amazon. I will be releasing future novels, Angel Kisses in the summer of 2020, and Never Look Back: A Trilogy in 2021.

For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
The road to self-care starts one step at a time. But with desire and intention, opportunities will cross our path, supporting us as we evolve on our journey to advocate for our health. Women can inspire others in amazing ways as we do this. Making a difference starts within and when we find the compassion and love for ourselves, we are able to ignite those around us. At Hope for Health Wellness our mission is to empower women, inspire women, strength women and give women hope. We spend time sharing ideas, vision, wisdom and abilities while teaching the world to see our value.

Pricing:

  • Workshops-$150.
  • Retreats-Early Bird Fee thru February 28th, 2020- $375 per person
    After March 1, 2020-$425 per person
  • Additional fees for lodging can be found on the website.

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Taylor Niedermeyer

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