The Hoffman Podcast S5e11: Monique Petrov – Waking Up With New Eyes
Monique Petrov is a former All-American triathlete. She qualified for five Ironman World Championships and ranked among the top female age-group triathletes worldwide. Just three weeks before what was to be her ninth Ironman, a disastrous accident ended her career.
What brought Monique to the Hoffman Process? As she shares with Drew, the physical trauma she has endured would become emotional trauma, which would sneak into how she related to those she was most intimate with. Through the Process, Monique found the healing she was looking for. She found the playful, curious, loving, kind soul she’d hidden inside long ago. Since the Process, Monique now makes time for this fun-loving part of herself.
Listen in as Monique shares her story of the tragic accident that happened just three weeks before what was to be her 9th Ironman. Monique has been reluctant to share her story, never wanting the accident to define her. But today she shares all that she’s been through, the depth of her healing, and the incredible journey her life has been and continues to be. Be sure to listen all the way to the end. Monique shares her story about how she healed a big ball of shame in the Process.
More about Monique Petrov:
Monique had a serious accident three weeks before the Hawaii Ironman World Championships, which was to be her 9th Ironman. She was struck almost head-on by a van while finishing a long training ride a few miles from home. After six days in a coma, followed by six weeks in a hospital, Monique underwent eighteen hours of surgery to stabilize her vertebrae which burst upon impact. Suffering a traumatic brain injury, shattered knee, leg, arm, scapula, ribs, and blood-filled punctured lungs, she needed more surgery to piece her body (bones) back together. Monique had no idea how surviving this near-death experience would alter her life. The following thirteen months – and thirteen years – took her through a journey of recovery that has taught her more about resilience and strength than her entire career as a world-class athlete. Oddly, she forgave the driver almost immediately. It was herself she could not forgive because of shame. Splitting open more than her physical body, she eventually discovered it was the deep reflexive shame (which controlled her) or (within her) that needed to heal.
Monique Petrov is a former All-American triathlete. She qualified for five Ironman World Championships, ranking amongst the top female age-group triathletes worldwide. Monique had been a triathlon and strength & conditioning coach. She became a NICU (neonatal intensive care) nurse after her life-threatening accident. Monique has a passion for using her life experience and relationships as data. She examines them for clues – even amid anguish, isolation, loneliness, and shame. Looking for hope, inspiration, and the ultimate connection with one’s own self, while developing and emerging with a brand new level of self-trust and security to step forward more boldly in the world. She delves into her ongoing recovery. Monique shares how she was able to survive, heal, rebuild, and continually reinvent herself.
As mentioned in this episode:
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
2-Day Hoffman Essentials program
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk