Simsbury-based author, speaker and coach Kristin Pomeroy is devoted to giving her readers simple tools and strategies to improve their health, wealth and relationships. She holds a master’s degree in education, is a Certified Success Principles Trainer with the Canfield Training Group and is certified in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell. She strongly believes that wellness and success go hand in hand and regularly offers seminars and workshops on those themes. In this month’s spirit of community, Natural Awakenings talked to Pomeroy about her new book, The Vibrant Living Project, and how she’s helping others confront their challenges to living a more vibrant, healthy life.
What led you to create your new book?
About five years ago I had a health crisis. The doctors told me I would be living with the resulting chronic pain and arthritis for the rest of my life. I wasn’t okay with that, so I took a deep dive into all the ways the body can heal itself naturally. Through my research I found that many people have succeeded at healing themselves from a multitude of “incurable” diseases using much more than a purified diet. Diet and exercise are part, but supportive community, stress reduction, mental attitude, feelings of worth and having a purpose are all important pieces of the wellness puzzle and I wanted to share that. I decided to put together a “toolkit” that people could use to take on whatever obstacles they are currently experiencing (not just health issues), and confront them head-on using the same tools I used in my healing journey.
What was your process?
I realized that there is actually a way to create overall well-being, yet most experts are only discussing one piece of the puzzle at a time, such as reducing stress, eating well, removing obstacles, finding purpose, etc. Through discussion with participants at my talks and workshops, I realized that people want to understand how the puzzle pieces fit together. I listed all of the steps I took to heal my body and my life from chronic pain and debilitating stress, and made each into a chapter heading. Then over the next six months I filled each in with stories and the specific techniques I used in my journey back to health.
Health, community and purpose are the three pillars of your approach. Please tell us about the importance of each of these in terms of creating a vibrant life.
When the body is uncomfortable, it limits not only physical activities but also the full experience of life. Our bodies are the vehicles our spirits use to get around the world. They should be as comfortable and well-tuned as possible so we can enjoy all life has to offer without fatigue, brain-fog and pain slowing us down. This is why health is one of the main pillars of my approach.
Through my healing process, I read numerous case studies and interviewed people who had already done what I hoped to accomplish. I came to realize that those who are able to heal themselves completely do far more than purify their diets, although that goes a long way. There are external toxins that need to be removed such as mental and physical clutter, resentment and emotional vampires (negative, draining friends and family). The people we spend our time with have a huge impact on our well-being.
In addition, having a sense of purpose is vital to our emotional and physical well-being. Most people never take the time to figure out what they actually want out of life—they just live by default. Health, community and purpose are vital.
Since it’s safe to say that most people want to live more vibrantly, can you identify any specific areas where we tend to go awry?
We get in our own way when we give away our power by blaming events in life for the outcomes we experience rather than looking at our responses to those events. Our response to any life event is where all of our power lies.
We also get in our own way when we fail to remove seemingly small irritants from daily life. I call them “pebbles in your shoe”. They won’t stop you completely, but just like a pebble in your shoe on a hike, they will slow you down and make the journey much less enjoyable. I have an entire chapter dedicated to recognizing and removing these “pebbles” in order to regain time, energy and confidence.
What do you most want Natural Awakenings’ readers to take away from your work and the book?
I want readers to know that they don’t need to keep spinning their wheels and pasting a smiley face sticker over their “low fuel” warning light. Absolutely everyone goes through difficult times and they are not alone. We all have the power within us to enjoy life at a higher level. This book is a toolkit for creating that life.