About Holistic Health Coaching, My Interest Areas and How I Got Into It
Holistic Health Coaching
The purpose of Holistic Health Coaching is to empower clients to take responsibility of their own health. At the beginning of the 6 months coaching program I’ll talk with clients about their health goals and motivation to reach them. I’ll help them to overcome any fear or resistance towards a change. With each client I will create a personalised, realistic strategy to achieve sustainable results. I do not diagnose or treat severe health issues but I’m happy to collaborate with other health professionals.
At the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) we’re taught the food we have on our plates is our Secondary Food meaning that everything we consider as nutrition is just a secondary source of energy. Wellness is so much more than the foods we eat. Primary Food is what nourishes us off the plate such as a meaningful spiritual practise, an inspiring career, enjoyable physical activity, creativity, finances, honest relationships, and so on. If we have imbalances in our Primary Food area those imbalances will overdrive even the healthiest foods we eat. It doesn’t matter how much kale you munch or fruits you juice, if your social life is non-existent, you feel anxious, can’t sleep at night, don’t thrive at work and all you can think of is food. That said, holistic health coaches don’t only look at the foods clients eat but the whole circle of life. If someone has issues with eating, the root cause for their challenge is typically somewhere off the plate. I remember watching a documentary where one lady was struggling with binge eating after a long day at work. When she was asked more questions, she realised she was missing love, and eventually said filling her stomach with massive amounts of warm foods filled that ”emptiness” temporarily and gave her a feeling of a warm hug. There are so many reasons for why eating habits can go out of balance and therefore, all areas of life needs to be looked at.
That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t pay attention to foods. We will definitely do so but it is only a starting point. We can brainstorm healthy food swaps and simple meals, do a pantry makeover and go to a supermarket together. However, I do not prescribe specific diets. I believe in bio-individuality: we all come with different bodies and stories and have different needs that can change over time. In my coaching there’s no calorie or any micro-/macronutrient counting or measuring. Those won’t bring longterm results and for some can even lead to obsessive behaviour. By the way, calorie counting is a relatively recent phenomenon. Over hundred years ago nobody counted calories nor followed strict food rules - and yet, almost everyone was slim. Ironically these modern miserable, restrictive diet plans have only lead the Western World to become fatter and sicker than ever before. The aim of the health coaching program is to nourish a client with real, whole foods and get them back in tune with their hunger signals. Making lifestyle changes takes time and for that reason the duration of the coaching program is six months.
My Interest in Stress Management, Body Image Issues, and Plant Based Diets
My special interest areas include: stress management, body image issues and plant-based nutrition. Stress management is something I get constantly asked about. Stress definitely has a major impact on our lives. When you are stressed out it becomes impossible to live in the present moment: you either ruminate the past or worry about the future. You are in a never-ending hamster wheel where you can barely breathe. However, you can only be truly happy here and now. Stress can stem from various different sources: job, finances, relationships, food allergies, over-exercise, and so on. Stress often leads to a vicious circle: You sleep too little due to work overload, which makes you feel tired the next day. You overdose with caffeine and sugary snacks and skip healthy meals. You feel bad and hit the gym for a crazy workout or run a half marathon. Now you have a perfect recipe for hormonal chaos. Your skin looks horrible and your body is stiff. No wonder if you start to feel depressed and no longer experience joy in life. I help clients to get out of a habit of creating mental stress and share tools to create more time, balance and space to their lives. Your mind and thoughts have a huge impact on your health and ’success’ in life. We all can change and redirect our thoughts, thereby change our reality. Negative thoughts can literally make us sick and positive thoughts can heal us and bring miracles to our lives. Lissa Rankin, M.D. has written a wonderful book about the power of the mind.
Because of my own body image issues in the past I know how it feels to be a prisoner in your own body and how your inner demons can prevent you from living a meaningful, fulfilling life. Body image issues go often hand in hand with body dysmorphia, eating disorders or disordered eating - but not always. Studies show that 60% of adult women and 40% of adult men have a negative body image. Body image issues don’t discriminate. You are not alone with your thoughts and there is no reason to be ashamed of. We just live in a messed up system. The materialistic world and social media are only making things worse. I’m not saying media is to blame for all of this - certainly not - but it can be a trigger for individuals who are already predisposed because of their genes, psychological, cultural or environmental factors. These issues have existed throughout human history. I personally experienced body shaming and bullying way before social media. I think this topic needs to be taken seriously because it can have very severe implications for some. And if not fatal-severe, negative thoughts can take too much life energy and prevent individuals from reaching their full potential. I have had countless conversations regarding bodies and looks with young intelligent women and men who seem to have it all - but actually don’t. These smart people are deeply dissatisfied with their bodies: they go through all kinds of fad diets time and time again, have injectable fillers, cosmetic surgeries and but never feel complete. Sadly, they are looking for love and approval in all the wrong places. I am not against aesthetic medicine and it has its place. But if you are someone who suffers from poor body image and have low self-esteem, you need to do the mental work because the issues tend to be bigger between your ears.
As a holistic health coach I support clients to accept their unique beauty and feel free from negative self-talk through mindfulness practises and joyful movement. Because of my personal experience and training in both yoga and pilates I offer these practises to my clients. In these practises the focus is on connecting the mind and the body with the breath. I believe these practises, when taught properly in a nonjudgemental environment, will help individuals to make peace with their body. And of course there are amazing additional benefits: consistent physical activity keeps the body young and agile. Since yoga and pilates are low-impact activities they suit for all ages and fitness levels. If you struggle with body dysmorphia or suffer from a full-blown eating disorder, please consult a medical professional. These cases are out of my scope of practise.
When it comes to food, I personally thrive on a plant-based vegan diet and have done so for almost eight years. For me it has been a healer mentally, physically, spiritually. As earlier mentioned, we are all unique with unique needs and therefore, I am not forcing my way of living and values for anyone. I want to respect individual needs, ethical choices and belief systems. Yet, eating more organic greens, vegetables and ripe fruits is beneficial for all of us. These foods are the only foods that leave an alkaline residue in the body after digestion. And it’s that slightly alkaline environment that helps the body to reach the highest level of wellness. If you look at the Blue Zones - areas where people live longest happily and healthy - you will see that the centenarians eat mainly plant-based and very little animal products. Having said that, I am happy to brainstorm and share ideas how to increase the consumption of plant foods.
Why I Started Studying Holistic Health Coaching
I believe everything happens for a reason, and everything is interconnected in life. The darkest phases in our life can be a catalyst for change. Becoming a holistic health coach was never on my agenda. Ten years ago I didn’t even know such thing existed. Because of past trauma (this is a story of its own) I had experienced as a teenager, I became very risk-averse and wanted to get a stable job. I started studying both Law and Business. For me that wasn’t optimal. I wasn’t genuinely interested. I thought I should become a hardcore business professional in order to succeed in life. I was scared to show my vulnerability, face my truth and deepest fears. I didn’t fit in and felt miserable. Clearly, I was lost in the world, felt empty and had zero idea who I was anymore. In my early 20s my health started to deteriorate. My migraines went out of control and my skin got really bad. Medical professionals only offered drugs to treat my symptoms and weren’t interested in doing in the work to figure out the root cause and solve that. I knew deep in my heart that drugs wouldn’t be the solution. Mark Hyman, M.D. explains in his post why treating symptoms with drugs is a recipe for disaster, and instead we should focus on bringing the body and life back to balance. I said “No, thank you” to drugs and decided to heal myself and started reading and experimenting with holistic health. Eventually I managed to heal myself and became passionate about holistic health, yoga and plant-based nutrition. My interest in the corporate world started to fade away but I didn’t have the courage to jump into the new territory.
I wasn’t experiencing joy in life so I decided to find myself again. After my graduation I lived and worked abroad for a few years. In 2018 I started a yoga teacher training as a side-hustle to deepen my own knowledge in yoga. Becoming a teacher wasn’t my goal. I started to teach when students showed up. I became more and more fascinated about human bodies and the mind-body connection. I started a pilates teacher training in London to learn more about anatomy and movement. When the lockdown started in London in March 2020 I almost hit rock bottom. I had no job, couldn’t practise at the studio for my teacher training, and a close relative of mine was diagnosed with a severe disease - all of this during the same week. I was hit hard by this New Uncertain Era but I know it hit and will hit others much, much harder. Many would get deeply traumatised by the experience, lose their health and even lives. This was a big wake-up call for me to start doing something that would help build a brighter future for all of us - something this world desperately needs right now: healers who would positively transform lives. So that’s why I decided to sign up for the Holistic Health Coaching program by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Whatever struggles you go through in life, you can always choose Light over Darkness and come home with yourself.
Recommended Resources:
Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself by Lissa Rankin, M.D.