Greetings! My name is Sheila Viers, and welcome to Live Well 360°. Where to begin…at the beginning, right? Well, kinda the beginning.

Up until recently, I was what you might call the average late 20-something woman, following the road that we are all told we are supposed to follow. I was an A-student all through school, striving for that oh-so-praise-worthy title of graduating Summa Cum Laude from college because for some reason, having those three words written on my diploma made me somehow more important or more noteworthy than others.
I landed a corporate job, even before graduating from school, transitioning right from an internship into a full-time salaried position. Ryan, my husband (more on him later), and I were married in May of 2005, bought a cute little red brick house, and settled in. I was the good girl that followed the rules. I was set, right?

Many people would be content with this path. I have an awesome husband, a house, and my career was basically on auto-pilot. All I had to do was come in everyday, put in that effort, keep rubbing elbows and impressing the right people, and I would be on the fast track up the corporate ladder. So why the hell did I feel so unfulfilled? Why was I asking myself questions like, “This is it? This is what I worked so hard for?”

I knew that somewhere along the way, I had taken a wrong turn. I knew that my passion and my drive lay elsewhere. So in May of 2008, when I had the opportunity to bow out gracefully, I knew this was my chance. That was my defining moment, or should I say, one of many. I could have stayed and taken the “safe” road, but I was filled with an overwhelming feeling inside telling me this was it. Take that leap of faith and know that when you believe, when you follow your true passion, the right things will come into your life to make it happen. So, I leapt.

Since that day in May, we have sold our cutesy starter home, moved in with family for the time-being, and believe it or not, Ryan has also left the corporate world to join me on this journey toward spreading the “passion for life and wellness” bug. Some might call us risky, ballsy, or even crazy. I prefer “inspired”.

What is my passion?

My passion is teaching, talking, writing about health, wellness, and particularly the mind-body connection. I have had quite a journey even with the short time that I have been on this planet, and already I have learned so much that I want to share.

My relationship with my body in particular was an area that you could say needed some special attention. I have run the gamut of metabolism related health problems. I’ve had thyroid problems, hormonal problems, digestion problems - I’ve dealt with them all and realized that 99% of my problems were directly related to things I was doing to or putting into my body.

These days, I would say that I have righted the self-esteem/body-image issues that I once had. I have reached a place where I am happy with all that I am, both inside and out. I had to get over a LOT of stuff before I came to that good feeling place, and to be totally honest, I know that as I continue to grow personally, that mind-body relationship will still get better and better. I by no means consider myself perfect, as I am a student of life, and each day provides new insight and opportunity to expand.

My point is, we all have those areas that we need to work through so that we can live our best life, and that is why I am here, writing to you. I want to help lead you down that path toward health and wellness in all aspects of life. We are on Earth to enjoy, not to feel burdened, depressed, or sad because we are not living to our fullest potential. Life is about experience. It’s about getting out there and doing, going, seeing, connecting…

So who am I now?

First and foremost, I am a much stronger person I was 10 or even 5 years ago. I am free and excited for each new day, and the fantastic opportunities that it brings.

Also, if you haven’t noticed already, I ask a lot of questions. I alway have. For so many years I have questioned why things HAVE to be a certain way. Why does society say, “Do this, then that, then that, and so on,” and then we just do it because that is what everyone else does. WHY??

Why do we work and work and work so that when we are 65 we can retire and do nothing and/or “whatever we want”. I want to experience life NOW, all along the way, not when I am 65!

Why do we ask each other how we are doing, and the acceptable response is “not bad”? Tell me what you ARE, not what you are not.

Why is it weird to ask someone, “What inspires you?”

Why is it weird to go after your dreams and believe that you can do more than status-quo?

Why does the nightly news focus on everything that is bad in our world and barely anything that is good?

Why are we willing to buy premium gas for our car, but not buy premium food for our body?

These are just a handful of questions that I am answering for myself. And really this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Beyond that, I am a self proclaimed foodie on a mission to live a life of health and prosperity. My vision is to experience and inspire. I want you to fall back in love with life itself. I want you to stop comparing and complaining. I want you to see the good that is all around you and begin to see that somewhere along the way, our priorities, as a society, have gotten really messed up. It is time that we take that blind-fold off, and start re-prioritizing our lives.

So that is me in a nutshell. And here is where our journey together begins, if you would like to join me. Rediscovering life and all that it encompasses, in new, healthy ways, and realizing that we need to incorporate wellness, in every aspect of life, if we truly want to live our best life.

More about Sheila

If you would like to read the details of my body-image journey, check out My Story, Part 1 and Part 2.

Many of my articles have also been featured on health and wellness websites, such as Yahoo! Shine, FigureAthlete.com, wikiHow.com, and Capessa.com, to name a few, and…many of my foodie pics have been featured on foodgawker.com as well!