In episode two of the Returning Guest series, host Celeste Rains-Turk sits down for a second time with Crisis Counselor, Master student of gerontology, Registered Yoga Teacher and Certified Personal Trainer, Kate Abate to dig deeper into Kate’s life outside of competing. Although she is not actively competing, Kate shares how she has continued to make her body a priority. As discussed on her previous episode, Kate has struggled with her gut health and talks about her continued journey to improve her digestion. She shares about the Autoimmune diet she has been following and it’s impact on her overall gut health and colitis. Beyond that, Kate discusses her own hypermobility and the levels it can work at outside of simply “being flexible”. She shares how the hypermobility works its way down to her internal organs and joints and the correlation that exists between her hypermobility and her physical and mental health. Kate studies gerontology which is the study of the aging process. Kate talks about the aging process as growth and development. She talks about how even though the body no longer grows taller, it grows and develops in many other fascinating ways. She specifically talks about mental health in the older population by asking the question, “Have you ever seen an 80 year old freaking out and stressed about something?” Because she is receiving this new degree, Kate talks about how she wants to expand her business once she receives her diploma. Just like getting this degree is allowing her to “pivot” in her own life, Kate wants to be able to reach those who  have also reached a pivot point in their life, whether it be in fitness, lifestyle, wellbeing or even a financial pivot. Even through all of this future planning, Kate shares how she is able to bring herself back to the present moment and enjoy every day. As the episode progresses, Kate talks about how she began her career in crisis counseling, stemming from trauma she experienced in her own childhood and in her 20s. She talks about how she was able to heal from this trauma and how she used a difficult time in her life to launch her into the world that is crisis counseling. Kate shares some of the best things that have come to her personally from crisis counseling and how to speak out when feeling the shame that is accompanied by the violence of a sexual assault. In this powerful episode, Kate’s words inspire hope and optimism for the aging process, healing through trauma and sexual assault. EPISODE TIME STAMPS: [2:10] Kate’s focus while not actively competing [4:04] New implementations to help with gut health [9:15] Hypermobility [12:15] Mental and physical needs evolving with age [14:02] Aging as growth and development [15:35] Correlation between mental health and hypermobility [20:58] Pursuing higher education in gerontology [24:50] Business vision [28:45] How the interest in gerontology was sparked [32:06] Bringing yourself back to the present while planning for the future [36:02] Pivoting [38:36] Experience as a crisis counselor [41:12] The best things that came out of crisis counseling for her personally [47:52] Having an open conversation regarding sexual assault [52:04] Working through her own trauma [57:47] Best advice for someone going through trauma National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline (RAINN) HOTLINE SUPPORT: https://www.rainn.org/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline CONNECT WITH KATE: www.instagram.com/misskateabate/ CONNECT WITH CELESTE: www.instagram.com/celestial_fit/