Ciara Munnelly takes control of Crohn’s with mindset and fitness (E36)

In today’s episode, Ciara Munnelly shares her journey with Crohn’s Disease and how she’s learned to change her mindset and find better health through fitness and lifestyle.

Though she was always active growing up, as she got older, life got in the way of fitness. Then, when she was diagnosed with Crohn’s, she allowed the disease to take control of her life. She gave in to the fatigue and the bad days and, although medication helped control the severity of her Crohn’s, she was still sick and not living life to the fullest.

One year ago, after taking a good hard look at what she wanted out of life, Ciara started working on changing her mindset, focusing on the positive things in life, and joined a CrossFit gym. She focused on ways she could reduce stress in her life, including changing jobs, and was consistent with her fitness. On the days she felt fatigued, she learned to listen to her body and not her mind; pushing herself to get up and move when she knew her body could handle it. Her sleep improved and gradually, the aches and pains that were constantly there started to fade and her energy levels began to improve. She now feels stronger and more resilient than ever.

Finally learning to live her life and not willing to let Crohn’s control what lies ahead, she’s now preparing to move from her hometown in Ireland to Thailand. There, she’ll be spending the next couple of months training at Unit 27 and putting her life on the course that she wants–pursuing fitness as a new career and following her passions. She talks about how she’s preparing to make the move, while managing Crohn’s, and is ready for whatever comes next.

Keep up with Ciara and join her on her journey on Instagram by following @ciaracrohnsfitness