RIVER FALLS – At one point in her life, River Falls business owner Valerie Lundgren felt helpless and afraid, anxious and overwhelmed. A known force around town, she had a Main Street gift shop called Karma, was an active volunteer for numerous organizations and a busy mother of two. But it all came to a crashing halt.

Lundgren developed anxiety after the birth of her son in 2004. A few years later, that anxiety worsened when she heard three unthinkable words: “You have cancer.” Diagnosed with melanoma, the life she and husband Mark had crafted together took a twist they’d never expected. After all, she was healthy and young. This couldn’t be happening.

While Lundgren’s body recovered from her cancer, her mind and mental health did not. Looming medical bills resulted in the closure of Karma. Her anxiety and depression became crippling. She developed agoraphobia and couldn’t leave her house. Family outings were a thing of the past, as was driving, or even going to a grocery store. It was a dark time.

Fast forward more than a decade and Lundgren is again a proud business owner, active in the community and able to leave her house. But how did she get from then to now?

“Going through cancer and having anxiety, it wasn’t just a nutritional thing, a physical thing, or a psychological thing,” Lundgren said. “It was all of those things.”

Cancer was her wakeup call, she said.

“I developed it while I had the store. I had to close the store because I was in so much debt from it,” she said. “My anxiety got worse. I have always had anxiety and panic but it became worse and became a panic disorder.”

Lundgren founded Mindful Wellness six years ago, which incorporates a holistic, spiritual approach to whole body care. Through mindfulness, Reiki, meditation, hypnotherapy, counseling and changing her diet, Lundgren was able to heal from her trauma. She wants to help others do the same.

“I did a lot of deep inner work for several years,” Lundgren said. “As I continued healing myself, I realized this was something I could help others do as well. I saw more of a clear path as I continued healing and I could help someone else who was struggling like me. But I could help them come out of it much quicker.”

Lundgren didn’t necessarily have support at first; she didn’t have a coach guiding her. Her family helped but didn’t know or truly understand what she was going through.

“Throughout my healing process I hired a coach who helped me and that gave me that confidence that this is what I should be doing. That’s what led me to this space,” Lundgren said. “I started going into and did my coaching program specifically looking at holistic health coaching. As I continued to learn more through my own healing, is when I discovered more of what I wanted to bring into coaching.”

Lundgren studied meditation and mindfulness for several years, then became certified as a health coach. As she continued growing and incorporating more mindfulness, she was introduced to energy healing and became a reiki practitioner.

“Reiki is an ancient Japanese healing modality,” Lundgren said. “It is where we utilize the body’s energy for healing. It’s a very calming, non-invasive way to start healing the body’s energy. Most people have had massages or acupuncture. Reiki is the same category working with the body’s energy system and helping the body heal in different ways. Acupuncture uses pressure points. Massage the same thing, physically moving that energy through your body. Reiki is touching the body gently or above and we are connecting to the energy source and practitioners are channeling the energy through your body.”

Lundgren said Reiki is great for anything or anyone, helping reduce inflammation in the body and pain.

“It’s also really great for the emotional body, clearing emotional blocks,” Lundgrens said. “Most people are looking for their bodies to be grounded and realigned. Most of the time people are coming to me feeling not clear in their body, overwhelmed and anxious. Reiki helps clear things out and helps you feel more calm, centered and clear.”

This past year, Lundgren also became a board-certified hypnotherapist. After using it in her own healing, she saw many benefits to it.

“Hypnotherapy has been around since ancient times,” Lundgren said. “Most people think of it as ‘I’m getting sleepy’ and a little watch. It isn’t that. What we do is we work through blocks or issues you might be having in life. It can be used for weight loss and stopping smoking; those are kind of the biggest two reasons people use hypnotherapy.”

Hypnotherapy can also be used for treating anxiety and phobias and building confidence, Lundgren added.

“It’s reprogramming the conscious mind,” she said. “When I work with a client, we go through the different goals they have for releasing limiting beliefs and stuck points they are having in their lives. We go through their goal sheet and create a hypnosis they listen to for 30 days.”

Lundgren believes hypnotherapy helped her break subconscious patterns and fears, essentially rewiring her subconscious brain to make her realize she was safe and could do things she loves again, such as fostering animals, going on walks and enjoying nature.

Services

Lundgren offers an array of services, tailored to each individual’s needs. People can choose from three-month or six-month programs, which include weekly Reiki, coaching, hypnotherapy and other modalities that might be helpful, depending on the person’s goals. Reiki is offered in-person or via Zoom.

Lundgren has a hypnotherapy client who came to her for weight loss. After completing the six-week program, she has lost 50 pounds.

“She is feeling really great about herself and has been able to find that confidence again,” Lundgren smiled. “I’ve had many others who have done my coaching program who are just feeling burnt out, lost, stressed out, anxious, not sure of their purpose in life. By the end, they’ve gotten new job offers, a sense of self back in their connection to their soul, a sense of purpose. I’ve had that with almost all of the clients I’ve worked with.”

Lundgren is meticulous about pursuing continuing education in order to keep learning and growing. She realizes people may be apprehensive when first coming to her.

“I would tell them let’s start small. Let’s meet and discuss. I want to make sure people feel comfortable,” she said. “To do a coaching program, you have to be ready for change. Start with a reiki session. You can choose and that’s what’s great about what I offer; there’s flexibility in your healing. There’s no set, standard way in how you do it.”

To learn more about her services, follow her on Facebook at “Valerie Lundgren’s Mindful Wellness” where she offers freebies and tips on anxiety and stress, or visit mindfulwellness.me. Her business is located at 426 E. Division St. in River Falls.