Anna Levesque is a well-known paddler in Western NC and her work with women in the area inspires us. We were so happy when she agreed to be highlighted on Coffee Talk with Darby to share her holistic approach to adventuring and how she is helping women take a more courageous approach to what is important to them.
Photo Credit: Rob Giersch
As an Asheville citizen, you know we gotta ask, what’s your astrology sign?
Aries.
According to Allure.com, an Aries is “a passionate, motivated, and confident leader who builds community with their cheerful disposition and relentless determination.” We think this describes you to a tee!
Adventure is one of the spokes in my mind, body, and adventure wheel of health framework. As the Dalai Lama once said: “Do something every day that scares you.”
We love how you say on your site that you ‘chose to re-align my priorities and become a full-time pursuer of adventure and joy (spark)!’ So many people get stuck in jobs they don’t love, saying ‘one day I’ll open that business’ or ‘one day I’ll do something I’m passionate about.’ What advice would you share with that person who feels stuck or fearful to leave behind what ‘works’ for what makes them happy?
Adventure can be defined as any project or circumstance in life where you’re unsure of the outcome, and you have to step outside of your comfort zone.
Notice that it feels fearful because you’re viewing it as fearful. What if you viewed it as a great adventure instead? There’s no right or wrong, just choices and outcomes. The bottom line is that if you decide you don’t like the outcome of your choice, you can choose again. Regardless, I’m confident that each different choice will get you closer to living a life you love.
Adventure is one of the spokes in my mind, body, and adventure wheel of health framework. As the Dalai Lama once said: “Do something every day that scares you.”
Photo Credit: Rob Giersch
You made the decision a few years ago to rebrand your business as Mind Body Paddle. Why is it important to you to teach from a more holistic approach?
And, I’ve also been working to rebrand as Mind Body Adventure. It’s important to me because, in reality, that’s how we function in this world. Science has clearly affirmed that there is no separation between mind and body. As I mentioned previously, how you look at something determines whether you’re scared or stoked, or maybe a bit of both. What if you looked at your life and even the challenges that you face – even the really shitty ones – as an adventure?
I’m most passionate about helping women take courageous action toward what’s important to them. Women come to me because paddling and health are important to them. You can’t paddle well if you feel crappy in mind and body. If you’re feeling afraid of an adventure like paddling, but something about it sparks joy deep down, then it’s time to look at how you’re approaching the activity in mind and body.
To be successful at anything it’s important to feel healthy in mind, body, and adventure.
You’ve worked with women for years, teaching them confidence on the water and how to whitewater kayak and stand up paddleboard. Is there one success story that has stayed with you all these years?
Yes, many! I’d like to share two with you. The first would be Kayla. While eating lunch by the river on a day of private whitewater kayak instruction, Kayla told me the story of how she was struggling with her health, both physically and emotionally. She described her life as drab, her body as unfit, and her work schedule as overwhelming, leaving her with no time to do the things she loves. The more she shared with me, the more I knew that I could help her take courageous action toward what’s important to her, both on and off the water.
After that conversation, she decided to do a year of one-on-one coaching with me, and she completely transformed her life. I knew I was on the right path with my mind, body, and adventure framework when Kayla said this: “After working with Anna for a year, I am very happy to share that my life is colorful, sharp, and inspires me every day to take ownership of my life’s story and show up as my best self.”
It’s amazing how taking time to be on the river can lead to greater present moment awareness and self-awareness.
Dee would be my other favorite story. She came to me at the age of 62 as a beginner whitewater kayaker. She worked with me and went on different trips for 6 years until she reached her goal of participating in my women’s Creek Week at age 68! Creek Week is the only Class III/IV whitewater creeking skills course for women that I know of, and it’s not easy. Dee loved and excelled at Creek Week so much that she participated twice! I love working with women over time because that’s when they experience the most benefit, and I get to bear witness to the amazing results they achieve for themselves. Dee reminds all of us that age is just a number.
How do you make getting on the water feel more approachable to women, and those who identify as women, who may be nervous about it?
I show up for them, ready to listen to what they want and provide a supportive environment for them to show up just as they are. My work is about what’s important to my clients and helping them achieve that. I’m proud that one of the consistent pieces of feedback I receive from my clients is that they feel like they can show up just as they are without any judgment.
You recently returned from a Costa Rica Week of Rivers, Yoga, and Confidence – it sounds amazing! What is one of your favorite parts of this trip?
It’s all my favorite! I would say that staying in Jungle Camp on the Pacuare River is one of my favorite parts of the trip. You stay in beautiful screened cabins overlooking the river and surrounded by lush jungle. We have dinner by candlelight, and if we’re lucky we get to watch the moon rise over the ridge and see nocturnal tree frogs. In the morning, I teach yoga as the sun rises over the valley and it’s breathtaking.
Photo Credit: Arnaldo Cespedez
My other favorite part is the post-kayaking Latin dance class. And, yeah, kayaking on amazingly beautiful rivers is OK, too. ☺️
We understand you have competed as an athlete in whitewater kayaking on an international stage and have been a contender at Freestyle Kayak World Championship. What lessons from that experience influence who you are today?
The lesson that sticks with me the most is to not equate my competition results with my self-worth. I suffered for years on the up and down rollercoaster of emotions and it sucked. When I did well I was stoked and when I did ‘poorly’ I was devastated. I’m so grateful for the accomplished female athletes today like Simone Biles and Mikaela Shiffrin. They are courageously taking very public stands on the most prominent stages against equating an athlete’s worth to their completion results. I didn’t have a strong support system or role models at the time who were giving me that message. It’s really important that young athletes, especially female athletes, have these women as role models.
Photo Credit: Rob Giersch
Another important lesson that has stayed with me and influenced me a great deal is yoga. I turned to yoga to help me stay calm and focused during competition. Since then I’ve become a yoga teacher, written a book titled Yoga for Paddling, and become an Ayurvedic Health Coach.
What song/artist is on replay for you right now?
The truth is, right now I’m in a phase where I’m listening to whatever is on at the time. I love to shuffle different playlists because I like a variety of music.
Favorite river you’ve paddled?
The most memorable run I’ve ever had was a full-moon, midnight run down the Kaituna River on the north island of New Zealand. The deep canyon falls were filled with glow worms and I had the best line ever off the 25 ft waterfall. I joked that I should start running every river in the dark. That was the run of a lifetime for sure.
Are you into podcasts? If so, what podcast should we check out that you’ve been into recently? If not podcasts, what book are you reading right now?
I love Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead podcast. Right now I’m reading Jim Kwik’s book Limitless. I love learning about neuroplasticity and how to help myself and others ditch our self-limiting stories.
Let’s pretend you could have an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere, where would you go?
India. I would go paddle in northern India, go to an Ayurvedic spa, study yoga and eat really good Indian food.
What’s something people would be surprised to learn about you?
Most people are surprised to learn that I’m trilingual. I’m fluent in French, Spanish, and English. I grew up in Canada in a bilingual community and went to French school until 9th grade, then bilingual high school. In college, I studied abroad in Chile in South America, and because French and Spanish are so similar, I picked up the latter really quickly. Being able to communicate with folks in their own language brings me a lot of joy. That’s also one of the reasons I love combining kayaking and travel.
Find Anna at:
Website: Mindbodypaddle.com
Facebook: @anna.levesque2 and @mindbodypaddle1
Instagram: @annaclevesque
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