Emotion and Passion - A 10-Year Journey to Creating AIMwell
Nameste, Boni here from AIMwell. February is a month of passion and emotion. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share a note about the passion (and emotion) that sparked the creation of AIMwell.
To understand how AIMwell came to be, we must take a look back to 2014 (the emotional birth of AIMwell). A decade in the making; you couldn't have paid my college rent to make me believe it back then.
Health Disparities in the US jolted me awake and into the uncomfortable arms of public health. People living in our country, in our city, are likely blocks away from you without basic services, access, and care. The emotional reaction I had when learning about racial disparities and zip code redlining, even in my city of Kansas City, made my blood boil. I pondered how anyone could believe in equality in our nation and that everyone had the same access to live a healthy and well life.
I was confused and wanted to change some things.
Empowered and inspired by one of our favorite fiction superwomen, Olivia Pope, I did what any rational college student does and set off across the country to Washington, D.C. to change some things!
With my white coat draped around my shoulders and my game face on, I was set to be the best intern that the Russell Senate Building ever did see. And bet your ass I was, but I was still confused.
I went to budget hearings and appropriations meetings. I shook hands with the late John McCain. I began to understand how the system worked but felt far away from making an impact in everyday life. I was distressed to learn that my concerns with the healthcare system and other systemic and public health issues hindering the wellbeing of individuals were not the top concerns of the federal or state government... truth be told, these governing bodies rely upon private corporations, lobbyists, think tanks, and other private or NGOs (non-government organizations) that hold influence, more funds,and less oversight to influence community wellbeing
Time was spent in healthcare IT, the Health Department, and finally, project management, launching me forward with the opportunity to gain insight into how organizations run and help contribute to their mission.
In the back of my mind, I knew I wanted something more impactful, but I yearned for more experience and exposure to different sectors.
Began my time working for Alice Walton at The Whole Health Institute (the passionate birth of AIMwell).
It's 2020, and we are, globally, confused. I was working in a quasi-think tank, being asked big questions. What is the motivation for change? How do we implement community-wide change? How do you change the way society looks at health? I was inspired. I aspired to help contribute to this mission. I was so damn motivated to implement community change.
AIMwell - Aspire. Inspire. Motivate. Wellness was birthed to contribute to the solution for the break in our healthcare system; with the community at the forefront.
“We practice yoga to clear the clouds of illusion and confusion, to find clarity as we step forward through our lives. ”
Mixed into this time of inspiration was also a time of personal darkness and mental despair. My time working for The Whole Health Institute was incredibly inspiring, but incredibly sad - as most stories of passion and emotion are. Those two years brought mass confusion, sadness, disappointment, uncertainty, and immense vulnerability with boundaries crossed by upper leadership, nepotism, and discrimination. Additionally, I was recovering from the trauma of my dad's heart failure as a result of being a "long-hauler" of COVID and becoming a short-term care taker to heal him back to 100%.
Dealing with the stress of moving to a new state and city, with a job that progressively became more toxic, I felt, for the first time, lost in my decision-making. I followed passion but was met with disappointment and an engulfing feeling of failure. I was in denial and frustrated to my core. I felt surrounded by people I could not trust and struggled to look at myself. The tune in my head sounded a bit like, "You made the decisions that put you here, how can you trust yourself moving forward?"
Yoga lifted the veil of denial and distrust and provided me with the clarity to know myself and accept myself during this time. Yoga provided me with a space to decompress and ask myself tough questions, each time digging deeper toward understanding. There wasn't this expectation to share my learnings. There wasn't someone across the room challenging my learnings about myself. There was only clarity and acceptance. Understanding and growth, after a moment of unraveling. The clarity that I discovered planted a seed of empowerment and authority allowing confidence to form. The ability to take hold of my life with more steadiness and awareness blossomed.
A vision formed. I took my learnings from yoga training and my knowledge of community, health, and wellness. I rooted my journey to becoming a positive influence for community wellness in the physical, mental, and spiritual practice of yoga. Yoga felt like an appropriate modality to invite people in and to challenge their perspective on health and wellness. What if woven into this physical space, anchored in yoga, was access to services that could practically enhance lives and move individuals closer to elements they know would make them healthier and more well.
AIMwell Yoga was formed to be an intentional safe space for community members to feel accepted, more connected to themselves, increasingly more understanding of the things that make them happy, and ultimately empowered and supported to reach goals towards a life of wellness.
From here, I thought about when habits are formed. Where do we start learning about how we fit into the world? Where are some of our foundational thought patterns rooted?
School. I asked myself, what if skills such as self-reflection and awareness were taught in schools just as math and history are?
AIMwell KIDS Yoga, the non-profit, came to life (turns out I had twins, ha!).
Public health is about identifying the root of an issue and implementing holistic and connected services to prevent that issue from occurring. Public Health happens before we notice anything wrong.
The question I am after with AIMwell is what if we can change how we view health as a concept earlier in life and continue that questioning, with our happiness at the center, throughout life? Challenging the traditional definition of just being free of illness, but it includes wellness - a state of having accessible and beneficial health habits so that life is most enjoyable. I believe this shift could lead society to demand more from their community to benefit their health and wellness. Leading community, government, and corporate leaders to ask how organizations can better partner and show up for their community and contribute to a more "well" place to live.
Eventually, I hope AIMwell sees the day where we have walls of our own to be more than just a yoga studio, but a place of community and wellness. A center in the heart of Kansas City that offers Physical, Mental, Nutritional, and Youth Wellness Services.
It is a true honor to be able to celebrate YEAR ONE of this mission and journey. For those who have had one-year-olds, you know how much discovery, adventure, falling, and getting back up it takes.
Thank you for following along. Thank you for any and all kinds of support offered this first year! Cheers to more learning, and growing, and community building!
May you lean into your emotions and passions and let them carry you through this life.
Be Well,
Boni
