I left home at 17. It was too much what was happening and there was again addiction and abuse. I was

extraordinarily lucky that I had relatives that could step in and help me out.

And so they helped me on my path and for anyone out there who has kids that have friends and the parents are a little difficult.

If you bring those kids into your home and into your family even just for dinner,

thank you. Thank you for my younger self. A lot of what I do now is in honor of my mother and how she could not show up.

If I can show up and share some of what she couldn't share, then it's my privilege.

Hello friends, welcome back to the Light Watkins show if this is your first time here I

interview ordinary people just like you and me who've taken extraordinary leaps of faith

often in the direction of their path, their purpose, or their

mission, and in doing so, they've been able to positively impact the lives of many others,

who have either heard about their story or who witnessed them in action or who've directly benefited from their work.

Today I'm in conversation with Desi Bartlett who is an author and fitness professional.

She created the round yoga mat

and she is a big advocate for what she calls milfs,

which stands for moms into living fit.

And overall her message is about empowering women through movement, yoga, meditation, and nutrition.

And what I love about Desi's story is how she used the experiences that life handed her, both the good ones and the not so

great ones, which she talks about, to help improve the lives of women.

And a lot of times we feel like we have to have a bunch of free time or

support a family network in order to find our purpose and to see it through and

Desi's story is actually the opposite. She ended up leaving home at 17

under unfavorable circumstances. She worked multiple jobs to make her ends meet.

...