I’m Anna, owner and founder of Threshold. My introduction to movement started like so many others when my mom enrolled me in ballet classes at the age of four. From that point on, movement was the center of my world, even when I wasn’t fully aware of it. Year after year, I begged my parents to let me add another dance class to my schedule. The spark for movement ignited a flame that spread like wildfire. I started competing at 13 years old and loved every minute of it. I felt strong, creative, and capable. It was as though nothing could stop me… until something did. 

Just before my 15th birthday, I came home from school with a strange headache, decided to take a nap, and woke up 28 hours later in the ICU. I had 4 Grand Mal seizures, which led to my being diagnosed with Epilepsy. Just like that, the body that I had trusted for so long felt like a ticking time bomb. Fatigue, brain fog, memory loss, nerve pain, and more took their toll and made me completely rethink what I was capable of. Suddenly, instead of my world revolving around dance, it revolved around attempting to prevent seizures. Although I hadn’t been given much advice on how to do that, besides being told  “take your medication, get lots of sleep, and don’t get stressed.” So, I continued dancing and tried to ignore my Epilepsy. Which caused me to overlook symptoms that I should’ve been acknowledging. 

After 4 years of supposedly being seizure-free, I finally got curious about some strange symptoms I’d been having over the years. I started researching Epilepsy. Which is when I stumbled upon information about Focal Seizures. I went to my neurologist and asked if these were possibly happening to me. After a few tests, it was confirmed. I was not seizure-free; I had been having Focal Seizures approximately 2-4 times a month since being diagnosed. But even with this new information, all my doctors did was increase my medication dosage, and once again, I was sent on my way. This felt wrong. Receiving a new diagnosis, yet having practically no change in treatment, and no one telling me more about this disease made me feel as though I was lost at sea with no idea which direction led to land. This feeling is something that so many people with and without chronic conditions experience when it comes to navigating their health, so I decided to do something about it.

After years of being told I needed to focus on my seizure threshold to improve and prevent the side effects of epilepsy, without much success. I started to wonder if my seizure threshold wasn’t the only threshold that I should be focusing on. Knowing that physical and mental health play a major role in how we are impacted by chronic illnesses & injuries, I decided to become my own client. Diving deeper into neuroscience & exercise science to develop a method of health coaching that allows you to understand how your nervous system is functioning, build new neuro pathways, and find tools that work for you to create sustainability for your health. Because no matter who you are, your health will always be a topic in your life.

This is why I founded Threshold. After years of working in the fitness industry, I wanted to build a business that focused on health, that was actually accessible to all people. But so many fitness companies claim to be inclusive, so why are Threshold sessions different? Because everything we do is a conversation. Nobody knows your body better than you, and as your coach, I promise you will always have a say in how we approach YOUR health.  This is your story, and I’d love to be a part of it.