Today we’d like to introduce you to Christiana Serle.
Christiana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was four years old, I ran a one-mile race with my Dad. I still remember the energy of that event and I intuitively knew that health and wellness would forever be a part of my life. I went on to be a three-sport state championship athlete in high school and played Division I lacrosse in college, where I competed in the NCAA Final Four.
A few years after college, I found myself unhappily successful in a sales career. I had won many awards, but the career path just didn’t feel right for me. I went back to school for a Masters’s degree and was in the process of transitioning my career into corporate health and wellness when I decided to attend a ten-day silent meditation retreat. Through that experience, I learned the power of the mind and body connection and began applying mindfulness principles and techniques to areas in my life like eating, parenting, and friendships.
From this experience, I began to help organizations and individuals create wellness programs and practices that center around mindfulness. Through awareness, people are able to reconnect with themselves, better manage stress and anxiety, improve focus and increase productivity at work and at home. Parents are able to have better relationships with their kids and people learn to engage with their colleagues and partners in a different way. I call it a mindful approach to wellbeing.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I believe that a smooth road is not possible, regardless of what path is taken. Challenges are an opportunity to learn, even though the lesson may be painful. I have had many external struggles, both personally and professionally, but my continuous challenges have primarily been my own internal landscape. For example, I used to fall victim to self-doubt and imposter syndrome, which would hold me back from pursuing many ideas and dreams. It has taken a lot of inner work for me to overcome the thoughts and beliefs that I have carried with me for many years, but it can be done.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My intention is to open people’s eyes to another way of living. We don’t always have to run around stressed and overwhelmed. When we slow down and enjoy the process, we will live a more productive and meaningful life. At the corporate level, this means implementing wellness programs that will create an organizational culture of awareness and presence. On the individual level, this means personalized coaching to take these concepts even deeper into individual experiences.
I have worked with over 200 organizations and thousands of individuals at law firms, professional sports teams, universities, cruise lines, healthcare organizations, schools and homes. Having been an employee in both large Fortune 500 companies and small organizations, I understand the challenges and opportunities that companies face in wanting their employees to be healthy and productive. I am a parent of two kids, so I directly relate to the challenge of meeting the needs of others while also balancing my own.
I am proud that the companies I have worked with have won many local and national wellness awards for their employee wellness programs and that I personally have been recognized as one of the Top 10 Health Promotion Professionals by the Wellness Council of America. What I am most proud of are the changes that I have seen in my clients. People share that they have learned to better manage their stress, reduce their anxiety, and interact with the people around them in a different way. This doesn’t happen overnight, of course. Lasting change takes effort and work, and the reward is totally worth it.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would trust my intuition more. No one knows me better than I know myself and being confident in that would have saved me a lot of heartaches. But that being said, I am grateful for my journey – both the ups and the downs. Many times something that originally presented itself as a difficult or challenging situation turned into a powerful agent for change that redirected the course of my life in a positive way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christianaserle.com
- Email: hi@christianaserle.com
- Instagram: @christianaserle
- Other: www.linkedin.com/christianaserle
Image Credit:
Jacqueline Bermudez, Rafael Balcazar
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