Why We Do This Work
Sara Vatore
Lead Faculty Director and Somatic Educator
My work is guided by extensive study and training, but it’s also deeply rooted in my personal journey of awakening and first-hand experience uncovering my truth and desires, clearing out intergenerational trauma, rewiring my own stuck patterns, dissolving my freeze states, and bringing health and coherence into my nervous system and overall wellbeing.
I spent the first 30 years of my life trying to do it all the “right-way”. Looking to those around me and in authority (my parents, community, society, peers, boy friends) to tell me what to feel and how to live my life. I was a perfectionist, obsessed with being a “good girl” and terrified of making any mistakes. I so desperately wanted people to like me growing up, but I struggled to make friends and didn’t understand why.
This generated a lot of anxiety, unrest and confusion within myself. I couldn’t identify what my own thoughts and feelings were, because I had gotten so good at masking and shapeshifting to be palatable to those around me.
It wasn’t until I turned 30 and was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune disorders that started to study somatic work. I learned about my nervous system and trauma and discovered that my body was very shut down. I was stuck in a high functioning autopilot, where I just kept going and doing, always struggling to slow down and rest.
Starting to listen into my body helped me begin to see what I actually needed in my life to care for, and finally hear myself. I quit my full time job as a guidance counselor to start my own business and take care of my health.
In working as a guidance counselor and Peak Performance coach, I have seen hundreds of teenagers struggling with perfectionism, negative thinking and doubts, dealing with anxiety and stress, comparing themselves to others, confusion, and feeling like there is something wrong with them.
There is BASIC foundational information that is missing from our educational system about how our body and brains work and how both those pieces influence how we feel. It is essential that we get this information to our future leaders, so that they can cultivate and fortify their resilience now.
I am passionate about giving youth the frameworks and tools they need to understand how to find themselves through the noise.
I am also dedicated to helping adults create a safe and supportive environment for their youth to excel in their lives, all while fostering the development of the teen’s confidence, self esteem and a strong connection to themselves. We have an epidemic in our culture of adults inadvertently teaching kids how to distrust and ignore their own body’s emotions and pain signals and push through. This is resulting in more injuries and damage to kids’ bodies and minds, along with confusing our children and adolescents.
Lead Yourself Youth is bringing in this essential education to support our future leaders and the adults in their lives. I am honored to be a part of this mission.
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We help youth learn how to navigate real life situations & challenges, both internal and external.
We offer workshops and tools that build proactive stress and anxiety reduction skills for adolecents and those who empower them. The curriculum integrates social, emotional, and somatic learning techniques in a supportive and caring environment. These tools help participants develop healthy self-care, self-awareness, empathy and coping mechanisms.
