Tell us what your practice is all about.
As a health coach, my intention is to help people see their lives differently. I play the role of supportive guide so they may navigate more clearly through a transformation process they’re in, or aspects of their life they’re working to change for the better. The goal is to improve lifestyle. Daily habits, thought, patterns—they’re all related to good health. I do my best to help people with that.

What led you to start it?
I’ve always been very interested in health, wellness, lifestyle. Even as a kid, I would try to eat healthily at times. I was very aware of what I was eating, what I was doing, and also aware of what others weren’t doing.

Quite a few experiences in my life encouraged more in-depth study. At a very early age, I saw family members make some poor choices with very unhealthy habits, very destructive ways of thinking. For a long time, I had this drive to change them, to make them better. And I always wanted to be healthy and vibrant too. Eventually, I realized you really can’t change anyone but yourself, and developed faith that we can all change if we want to.

I began to learn how we can evolve or improve ourselves, and how to raise awareness of that amongst more people so they can learn these things in an easier way than I did.

I have a passion for learning and for helping others learn how they can see their lives differently, think about things differently, which I believe is the gateway to making changes.

It’s been a gradual evolution.

I feel like in becoming a mother, I was able to integrate a lot of things I learned. Over the last seven years, I’ve been integrating my experiences, getting my health coaching certifications,and learning to be comfortable enough to share this with others. So I’m just getting started in a professional way, but have been learning and sharing with others informally for a long time.

I enjoy listening and supporting, and giving practical information to others. My experience as a help line counselor for five or six years at a non-profit in England gave me a lot of insight and training in being present and engaged with people one-to-one. And I’ve worked with coaches in the past and see what a difference that’s made in my own life.

In 2011, I was sick. I really couldn’t do anything and wasn’t getting the help I needed. I started working with a coach. This gave me a safe space to be in, and helped my nervous system calm down. I became able to realize which things weren’t working for me and which things were. That was a massive help! Once I started working with her, I became more confident I would get better, whereas before I just didn’t know. She was a very grounding presence.

A lot of coaching is that grounding presence, having that listening, supportive guide. I draw from a range of different tools and insights to meet the needs of the client, whether they need to learn how to cook or how to do meditation. I’m learning astrology and how to read natal charts as it can be a really great tool to help people learn about themselves.

What do people appreciate most about working with you?
I get a lot of good feedback about how I compassionately challenge the way people see things, so they can view them in a way they may not have thought about before.

As an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I support and guide people through lifestyle change for better health. It can be through a myriad of different ways, depending on what the person is looking to change or improve in their life. It can be as simple as learning how to cook certain foods if they’re on a specific diet, or organizing their kitchen, as well as being a listening, supportive guide. Perhaps they’re going through a job or career change, or relationship issues. It’s all connected.

I take a very holistic approach, incorporating all those areas of life. It’s not just eating healthily and getting enough exercise. It’s looking at the whole picture.

Future plans for your practice?
I’d like to learn how to do Indian head massage and develop more psycho-spiritual insights into a good life. I love learning new things and bringing more tools and perspectives into my practice so I can help with a wider range of client needs.

Anything else you’d like readers to know?
Health coaching is not going to replace a doctor, or nutritionist, or therapist, or other medical professionals. It offers that supportive guide for someone who’s already motivated to make changes and might need some help or assistance to see things differently. We all need that. I know I’m not always able to see things clearly myself.

I never recommend any particular diet, protocol, or regime. Those are very helpful, which is why those other professionals can be super-helpful. My goal is to help people become more aware of themselves through the choices available to them.

If we get to the root of who we are, we can know what works for us and what doesn’t, which in turn can dictate our choices in life. And that is the steppingstone for ultimate wellbeing.

Excerpted from the Winter’23-’24 issue of Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, copyright 2023, Empowering Lightworks, LLC. All rights reserved.