Hello and welcome to my podcast, The Wellness Project with Des. On today’s podcast episode, I speak with Barb Higgins about how movement, specifically running and CrossFit helped her to heal from numerous traumas and tragedies throughout her life.
I’m Desiree, a Mental Health Therapist and Holistic Wellness Coach, passionate about helping you to improve your mental health and live a healthy and fulfilled life. One way I do this is by interviewing experts in the field of mental health and wellness as well as those that share their first-hand accounts with their mental health journeys. In this episode, we will hear from Barb about CrossFit and how it saved her life.
Barb Higgins experienced many traumas and tragedies throughout her life but a constant source of grounding and community was CrossFit. Barb shares how movement and the CrossFit community helped her to process her grief. Growing up, Barb had experienced abuse and coped with the abuse by drinking alcohol, it was an escape for her. She grew to hate her body which developed into an eating disorder. It wasn’t until she ran track in High School that she was able to develop a healthy relationship with her body. She began to love and appreciate her body for it’s strength and what it could do. As an adult, Barb experienced other traumas that deeply impacted her mental health and well-being. During this time however, she had an anchor and that anchor was CrossFit. A former student introduced Barb to CrossFit and there was a strong connection right away. Barb explains that CrossFit was a way for her to process her grief and be supported by the CrossFit community.
CrossFit is so much more than just a workout routine. Barb explains that it is a supportive community that helped get her through her most challenging days.
In our conversation, Barb explains what CrossFit is and how physical movement and community helped her to heal. She also discusses the mind-body connection and how CrossFit improved her mindset and mental health. She explains how Crossfit was a huge piece of her recentering herself and healing.
Barb has a firm belief that movement can help to process and heal trauma. Barb is a testament to the strength of the mind-body connection and resiliency. Listen to this conversation to learn how movement can help you to heal.