We are thrilled to introduce our newest addition to the Empowered TEAM! Cara Tsombakos has been working with us at Empowered during her own recovery Journey. She has done the healing work, and has been a MAJOR pillar in the community. So MUCH so, that we wanted to have her on our team! We are blessed to have her skill-set in empathy, holistic health, counseling psychology, and the best teacher of all... experience. Cara is a light to the people in her orbit and we KNOW how much she will help girls and women in their own recovery journey!
Please give her a warm welcome if you see her! She will be leading our parents night coming up next Monday, November 15th. FREE & Open to the public.
Here is Cara's Story...
I stood in front of my full-length mirror and sobbed hateful tears. Where did this body come from? I googled how to lose ten pounds overnight and exercises to slim my thighs, tone my abs; surely, if I took up less space, the hatred that I felt for myself would dissipate.
I wondered if having an eating disorder would help me shed the pounds that I so desperately wanted to lose.
I was 15.
I grew up in a health-conscious household. This food was good, that was bad. Less of this, more of that. Society values thinness, women who are small and quiet and conform to what others are looking for. I was determined to fit the mold.
My eating disorder took a firm hold on my life. Along with it came anxiety, depression, and the undying sense that I wasn't good enough. Weight was lost and so was my vibrance. I was in and out of therapy and various treatment programs, but I didn't really want to change.
I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth and moved away to college, sure that a change of environment would be enough to cure me. It wasn't. My eating disorder packed its bags and moved right along with me, my awful best friend that wouldn't leave me alone; that I wouldn't dare to leave.
I graduated college with a degree in Equine Business Management and a minor in Counseling Psychology. My eating disorder and I moved back home, and I resumed the revolving door of treatment. My dreams of becoming a professional horseback rider faded as my body and mind were slowly giving out. I was surviving, but not living.
Things changed when I discovered the world of therapeutic horsemanship. I have been a horse-lover ever since I can remember; it was my horse that had kept me afloat all those years. My daily visits to the barn were my refuge. When I learned that I could make a career out of utilizing the powers of horses to help heal others, I was ecstatic. The one missing piece was my own health.
I decided to commit to recovery. I got the help that my body and mind so desperately needed, throwing myself into the process with my eyes set on the future that I so greatly desired. It was shortly after that I was introduced to Leah and Empowered RX.
Leah's philosophy was unlike anything I had ever seen before; I loved the idea of a holistic approach to recovery that included weightlifting for strength and empowerment. I had never lifted a weight in my life! Now, with Leah's guidance and expertise, I am accomplishing things I never thought possible, all while continuing to strengthen my relationship with my body and my soul.
I am pursuing my dreams with my eating disorder a mere whisper in my ear. I am in graduate school for Counseling Psychology and work as a therapeutic horseback riding instructor; my goal is to combine the two worlds and practice Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy.
'Thrilled' and 'honored' don't even begin to describe how I feel about joining the Empowered RX team as a Coach! Recovery, particularly being part of the Empowered community, has given me so much joy after years of being stuck in a place I once thought was inescapable. I cannot wait to help other girls see that they too are strong, capable, and worthy of a beautiful life.
TO hear MORE from Coach Cara visit spotify or APPLE for Episode 32 of our Empowered Podcast!
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