Big dreamer, world-class swimmer.

 

When I turned 21, my world shifted. Big time. Forever. I was a D1, Big Ten Conference champion scholarship student-athlete at one of the top business schools in the country, preparing for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. I was training three workouts a day in the pool. Eat, sleep, swim. And swim some more. I was on the National Team five years prior competing in Barcelona, Spain and raced Olympic gold medalists throughout my career. Recently I had become an NCAA All-American at Indiana University.

 

Olympic Trials in Long Beach, California were a thrill and disappointment all together. As much as I thought I was ready when the big day came to dive off the blocks, my race did not go as I wished. I was simply not satisfied with my result.

 

I returned to college at the start of my junior year as captain of the team with a renewed sense of hope and high goals for winning Big Tens and being a top finalist at NCAA's at the end of the season. 

 

I was with my teammates in the weight room on a September afternoon doing circuit training. Back extensions throwing a weighted medicine ball. My back was quickly throbbing in pain. The next day I could not swim. Or hardly move.

 

"What is wrong with me? What did I do? Why is this happening? What now?" In that moment, I knew I would have to work really hard to figure out how to resolve this pain. Harder than I ever worked as a swimmer.

 

Student-athlete to healthcare patient.

 

I began my own journey in the traditional healthcare system. Doctor after doctor. Drugs and injections. Physical therapists. Chiropractors. Athletic trainers. Heat. Ice. "Keep swimming Lauren. You will be fine." I had fear and trusted no one. I shut down from my support systems.

 

My metabolism changed. Sleep, stress and hormones too. I was taking 16-20 Ibuprofen on a daily basis. The countless medications I was taking were making me sick to my stomach, literally.

 

Months later, my church was praying for me at home. I was in deep chronic pain with no end in sight. I laid on a psychologist’s floor in Bloomington, Indiana, crying out and trying to surrender. "Don't fight the pain, Lauren. Let it flow through you."

 

Let it flow.

 

My Grandpa Jack Lubus fought for 33 months in the jungles without a roof over his head during World War II. The odds of his survival were nothing. I mean zero. And he survived in order to grow his Lubus tribe. Grandpa always said…

 

"Whatever you do, never ever give up. Ever."

 

I journeyed on to find resolution to my pain. I stopped swimming. Forced myself to get out of the pool with the advice of a physical therapist. My injury took me out of my sport and out of my body. Life felt surreal and unrecognizable.

 

Then I met a massage therapist at Penn State University who changed everything. Muscle bone interface, deep tissue myofascial massage work that left me bruised and beat up. Over and over. For two years. To release scar tissue in my spine.

 

And while I got treatments, I began to cry. A lot. Started talking about my emotions of fear and anger, isolation, confusion and sadness. My muscles were storing my emotional trauma. Thoughts of despair were real and slowly, very slowly beginning to lift through our conversations.

 

“Lauren, you are not a victim. You have to let go of ‘Why me?’ if you really want to heal. Find the blessings in this journey. Go within.”

 

My mindset started to shift. I was not a victim, and I had glimpses of hope.

 

I leaned into my psychologist, counselor and massage therapist. I prayed all the time. I discovered yoga and Pilates, meditation and the healing power of journaling. I changed the foods I was eating, which was a game changer. Cut out sugar and processed junk. 

 

And more than anything, I changed the dialogue I was having with myself.

 

From fear to gentle love.

 

I recognize now that my mind and emotions were fueling my back pain for a long time. Literally pouring out cortisol and inflammation into my tender muscles and joints. When I began dealing with my thoughts, I could finally address my physical body on the deepest level. I got the mind/body connection was real and powerful beyond measure.

 

Patient to holistic health coach.

 

Along the way, I discovered health coaching. And functional medicine. I have been fortunate to learn from world leading health and wellness experts on “root cause” individualized medical care. Not just treating symptoms anymore. I have studied and worked with physicians, researchers, massage therapists and experts in nutrition, psychiatry, epigenetics, public health and more to learn evidence and research-based tools and training for sustainable approaches to well-being.

 

There is a direct correlation between how we feel and the quality of our lifestyle. Food, sleep, exercise, stress, mental and emotional triggers, environment, natural supplements, genetics, immunity, exposure to sunlight, quality of relationships, sense of drive and purpose. How we connect with our world. It all impacts our health. And it’s a daily choice.

 

I have worked alongside Olympic coaches and was trained by them too. I’ve been on the pool deck at NCAA’s as a competitive swimmer and as a coach. Travelled the globe and raced with Olympians, national champions and internationally decorated elite athletes. And coached them, in and out of the pool. I’ve learned a lot about what drives us all, whether you are into sports and competition or an individual seeking optimal wellness.

 

My life resume has led me to create Fuel Within, LLC. This is it! Transforming my journey into beautiful vitality for the world. I am committed that people live full out with their health and performance. This is your life. Fluidly expand. Fuel your wellness from within you. And share it with others!

My education credentials:

 

I am a certified integrative nutrition health coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and a certified well-being coach through the Anthropedia Foundation. I have a marketing degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and earned a Master of Health Administration degree from Penn State University.

 

I am a passionate and lifelong athlete, student, patient and coach! Can’t wait to learn all about you.