The Spark Behind the Desert Dose
Why I built a community of confidence, connection and joy
​There are moments in life when everything pauses — and you’re invited to take a deeper look at what matters most.
For me, that moment came after nearly two decades spent helping women and girls build confidence through movement and mentorship — in classrooms, gymnasiums, nonprofit spaces, and on the trail. I loved the work. But I began to feel a quiet tug inside:
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How do I want to spend my days?
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Then the pandemic hit. And soon after, I lost my mom — Peg.
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It was a kind of grief I could feel in my bones. Peg was my biggest fan and fiercest cheerleader. She believed in me without condition. There was no glass ceiling in her eyes — only wide-open sky.
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Around that time, my dear friend Jean shared these five powerful words,
“Build the community you seek.”
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And that lit the spark.
To know my mother was to know joy.
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Bright colors. Bicycles. Costumes. Juggling. Adventure. Peg understood something long before research confirmed it:
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When we feel playful, we feel brave.
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After she passed, I found a quote that has never left me:
“You never really lose your parents — they live on through you.”
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So I chose to honor her the way she lived — with movement, joy, and connection.
On the first Mother’s Day without her, I invited friends into the desert for what we called Peg’s Bike Olympics. We wore costumes. We rode bikes. We juggled. We pogo-sticked. We laughed. We cried.
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And something shifted.
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I didn’t realize it then, but that weekend became the first spark of The Desert Dose.
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What followed were pilot retreats, clinics, coaching sessions, and community gatherings. And everywhere I looked, the same thing was happening:
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Women weren’t just gaining skills —
they were gaining belief in themselves.
As The Desert Dose grew, one truth kept rising to the surface:
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Joy isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline.
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We are biologically wired for confidence, connection, and joy — our DOSE: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. When we move our bodies, challenge ourselves, and belong to something bigger, those systems come alive.
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This work is about adventure, yes —
but it’s also about identity.
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Coming home to ourselves through movement and mindset.
Remembering our strength.
Reclaiming joy.
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When we say YES to ourselves, we rise collectively.
Every clinic. Every workshop. Every moment of “YES I CAN.”
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Peg is there.
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In the tutus that remind us not to take life too seriously.
In the desert landscapes that take our breath away.
In the friendships formed when we show up fully as ourselves.
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The Desert Dose is a community built from love and loss.
From courage and curiosity.
From a mother’s joyful legacy.
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If you’re seeking confidence, connection, and more joy in your days —
you’re in the right place.
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Let’s step into possibility together.