Lyndsay Boysen

I didn’t always want to be a teacher, for a short time in high school I thought I wanted to be a trial lawyer.  I suppose it stemmed from my love of mystery novels or watching Murder She Wrote and Columbo with my grandmother as a child but in the end music was my passion. It took one fantastic music teacher that simply said “You would be a great teacher” and the rest was history.  

 

Although my story doesn’t include a long lineage of teachers or a childhood dream of being a teacher, I suppose I always “taught” and just didn’t acknowledge or realize it was something that I was good at. I hold an undergraduate degree in music education and a masters in wind conducting and spent 15 years teaching high school music.  I was incredibly passionate about those jobs, maybe even to a fault.  Throughout my high school teaching career, teaching was my whole identity. The success of my students and the pressure to maintain a stellar music program took precedence above everything else.  I only really ever stopped to breathe when I had my children.

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Looking back on my last decade of secondary school teaching, I can recall a lot of special, proud, musical moments.  I think of the students that I impacted, helped and guided and it makes my heart happy and full.  On the flip side, I recall how my body and mind felt during this time and the warning signs that I ignored. 

 

In August of 2018, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I was just about to start a full time job in higher education, something that I had been working towards for a long time.  I will never forget that day, as stubborn me had told my husband that I could go to my imaging appointment alone, because there was nothing to worry about.  I mean, I was only 38.  The word cancer changes everything. It doesn't take long to go down the rabbit hole of “Why me?”and “What did I do wrong?”to the scarier “Will I get better?” and the dreaded “What if?”

 

I don’t want to bore you with the details, but clearly I kicked cancer's butt! Not just once, but twice (not the best luck!).  For 2.5 years,  I was in some sort of treatment or surgery and I have been cancer free since November 2020.  I truly believe cancer, or any form of hardship, comes with silver linings.  Cancer resulted in immersing myself in nutrition and holistic wellness, wanting to not only care for my body but my family's wellness.  

 

I credit my husband for his support and encouragement to enroll at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  His little (let’s be honest big) nudge toward IIN and his belief in my mission to help others live their lives with health and vitality doesn’t go unnoticed. I gained an incredible amount of knowledge and experience through the health coaching program at IIN.   My hope for LB Integrative is that I can inspire a community of others to prioritize their health. I am excited for teachers to join my classroom for a lesson plan on wellness. 

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