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Join date: Oct 22, 2023

About

Theresa is a functional medicine physician assistant, certified mindfulness meditation teacher, Army veteran, and former elite and collegiate gymnast. She completed her conventional medicine training at the University of Utah, and after experiencing her own health crisis, branched into functional medicine, completing Chris Kresser's ADAPT Practitioner Program in Functional Medicine. Due to the intense mental, physical, and emotional suffering that accompanied chronic illness, she relied heavily on the tools of mindfulness and meditation to cope day to day. She eventually completed a 2-year mindfulness training with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach (the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program). Her hope is to help others who are suffering by offering them these life-changing tools of mindfulness, self-compassion, and loving awareness.


Prior to this, she was a gymnast for 21 years where she was both a Junior Elite and Senior Elite National Team Member, part of the 1995 Bronze medal-winning World Championship Team, and then the First Alternate on the 1996 Olympic Team. She earned a full-ride scholarship to compete for the University of Utah where she won the NCAA All-Around and Balance Beam titles her Freshman year and the Balance Beam title her Junior year. She completed her gymnastics career as a 14-time All-American, 4.0 GPA, and one of the Top Eight student-athletes in the country alongside fellow awardee, Eli Manning.


Her experiences as a gymnast, medical provider, and patient struggling with chronic illness herself have all motivated her to create this course. She wishes she had developed her brain with the foundation of mindfulness much earlier in her life. She believes this would have allowed her to enjoy gymnastics more, possibly avoid prolonged injuries, and ultimately leave the sport healthier and happier, in body, mind and spirit. Her desire is to educate athletes, coaches and parents in the area of mindfulness and kind self-awareness. Mindfulness will then provide an incredible foundational tool that will allow athletes to more deeply enjoy their experiences in sport and, ultimately, transition out of athletics to then live an authentic, happy and healthy life after sport.

Theresa Kulikowski-Gillespie

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