Welcome to my brand new Wellness HQ Bulletin, the official periodical of my Nutritional Therapy & Wellness Coaching practice. Wellness HQ recently celebrated its one year anniversary. Woohoo!!!
I am beyond excited to connect with you and share what I have learned. Thank you SO much for your support along the way!
Many of you may know me as international burlesque dancer Minnie Tonka and some of you know me as Alyssa! Performing has been a huge part of my life and you can still catch me twirling my tassels on a stage near you but I am now also enthusiastically focusing on helping people improve their lives as a Nutritional Therapist & Wellness Coach. Below I’ll share my personal journey with you.
In future Wellness HQ Bulletins, I will offer you valuable health and wellness tips, fascinating resources, and delicious recipes. Please stay tuned for useful and inspiring nuggets to help YOU harness powerful health and happiness!
If you or someone you know would benefit from Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Coaching, please send them my way! I’m currently taking applications to work one on one with clients locally in NYC and around the globe.
With love and gratitude,
Alyssa “Minnie Tonka” Abrahamson
My Wellness Journey: Overcoming Health Obstacles
2019 marked my fifteenth year as a burlesque performer. For several years I toured the world full-time, all over North America, Europe and Australia, at venues ranging from tiny dive bars to grand 19th century concert halls. It was an exhilarating, exhausting, and incredibly fun time! I was riding high…but my life was about to come crashing down.
In late 2000, I was diagnosed with Seronegative Rheumatoid Arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes chronic pain, stiffness, and inflammation at the joints.
Doctors prescribed upwards of a dozen pharmaceutical medications at a time. I took them every day for thirteen years and only felt the painful impact of the autoimmune disease occasionally.
Then the drugs stopped working.
In 2010, seemingly out of nowhere, the arthritis came out of remission with a vengeance. It first attacked my hands and wrists, then my knees, shoulders, and elbows.
At the time, I was living the rock n’ roll lifestyle. I stayed up late, enjoyed cocktails at my burlesque gigs, ate pizza at 4 am after my gigs, and barely slept. The unhealthy habits were a way of self-medicating and I lived off pure adrenaline and denial. I felt shame and confusion, keeping my condition a secret from audiences and even my closest friends.
In 2013, after touring Europe and a week of shows in Key West, Florida, I hit rock bottom. One night I was in such excruciating physical agony I basically had to crawl back to my hotel room. I called my best friend, sobbing.
After a long pause, she simply said, “you know what you have to do.”
It was at that moment that I made the decision to stop and listen to my body. I made a commitment to put myself, and my healing, first.
And I was terrified.
I began working with a classical homeopath, stopped taking the pharmaceuticals, and began doing intensive emotional, spiritual, and mindset work. These practices helped me find the courage to eliminate dairy and gluten from my diet, as those are inflammatory foods for many people. I continued performing and touring. The pain remained almost unbearable, but I began saying affirmations all day, every day.
I worked on my thoughts and my beliefs. I was determined to keep a positive attitude while investigating the emotional root cause of my dis-ease. Slowly but surely, I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
This was the first time in my life that I truly began to listen to my body’s messages. I taught myself not to judge what I was going through. It was intense, challenging, and also beautifully liberating.
Now it is my mission to share what I have learned with you.
My Commitment to Health and Healing
It’s been over five years since I made the pledge to put myself, my health and my healing first. I am inspired, motivated, feel amazing, and I am truly HAPPY!
A few years ago, I took my commitment further, went back to school, and became a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner. I have since implemented more beneficial shifts and changes to my lifestyle, nutrition, and diet, all of which have vastly improved my overall health and well-being.
Thanks to you, my supporters, my clients, and my friends, I have an incredible career as a Nutritional Therapist and Wellness Coach helping people just like you transform their lives.
I believe that by listening to your body's messages, honoring yourself and your needs, eating nutritious, healing, whole foods, and cultivating a positive, healthy mindset, you too can feel amazing and live with clarity, a sense of purpose, energy, and incredible vitality.
I invite you to embark on a powerful journey to improved health and a better quality of life.
June 25, 2019