As you may already know, I have been teaching and practicing yoga for over 20 years. My initial interest came after the birth of my son. I did not feel ready to return to lifting weights and doing cardio right away, so I walked into a power yoga class at my gym. My belief was that if I took small, manageable steps every day, I would work my way back to the fitness level that I desired. If you are, or ever have been, a new mom, you can relate to the fact that it takes a minute to recognize that what used to be a small and manageable step, is now a huge hurdle when a baby is involved! The first class I took was power yoga, which was not a small, manageable step for a sleep deprived new mom! So I reevaluated, and came up with a new approach that worked for my body, my energy, and my schedule. Power yoga was replaced by yoga basics, walking, and meditation until I felt ready to shift the plan again. And, it worked!!
Over the last 20 plus years, my formal education and certifications have centered around all things yoga, but I have casually studied nutrition and fitness as well. Two years ago, I realized that even though I love yoga more than any other movement practice, it was not enough for my aging body. My cardio was lacking and I did not have the muscle tone that I desired. Was I overweight? No. Was I out of shape? Not really. But, was I making the choices that I needed to make to stay strong and healthy? Again, probably not. I realized it was time for another adjustment to my routine(one of many over the years! ) After I made a few small, sustainable changes to my nutrition and exercise routine, I realized that I felt so much better! I slept better, I had more energy and focus, and most importantly for me - I could run around the cross country course and watch my son race without feeling winded and sore after! This was huge! See the unedited pics below for my progress so far!
Since my passion has always been helping others feel better, I wanted to offer something similar to what I did for myself to others. I received my certification in health coaching in 2022. For those of you that don't know what that entails, let me explain what I offer.
First of all, I want to start this new chapter by being fully transparent with you. As a teen/young adult, I had a very unhealthy relationship with my body and food. I was always "dieting" and exercising, and eventually I ended up with an eating disorder. My struggle with both anorexia and bulimia lasted for several years as I tried to find a way to get to my "perfect" weight. This took a toll on all other systems in my body. To this day, I am ever grateful to the person who clued my parents in to what was going on so that I could get the help I needed to switch coarse. I no longer believe in dieting and counting calories. I believe in eating whole foods, learning to recognize and listen to satiety cues, getting some sort of exercise in every day, and asking for support when and where I need it. For me, support comes from experts in the field of nutrition, chiropractic, yoga, and of course, friends and family.
Next, I am not a nutritionist or doctor. I cannot provide you with prescriptions or do any metabolic/nutrition testing(Yet. Being able to do nutrition testing is my next goal :) ). What I am certified to do is coach and support you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle - whatever that means for you! If you want to lose a few pounds and keep it off, great! If you want to find a way to get more exercise in each week, wonderful! If you need help learning how to shop for healthier foods, let's take a field trip to the store and learn how!
If you work with me, we will follow the Five S Formula. We will first come up with small, simple actions that you can be successful with in real life - the busy one with a job, kids, and responsibilities! Then, we will break your goals, say lose 10 lbs., into small, sequential parts. Breaking big goals into smaller segments and then going through those segments in the right order is key to success! You wouldn't want to do a triple back flip off the high dive before you were comfortable blowing bubbles in the water, would you? :) We will be strategic about how we do this, making sure that the plan we are developing for you is something that you are ready, willing and able to do. If it is not, we will tweak it and break it down more until it fits with your lifestyle. Finally, I will be here to support you through coaching, teaching and accountability. So many people find that when they have someone to help them stay focused and on track, they are more successful in reaching their goals. That is what I am here for!
Here's an example:
Goal:
To lose weight. You know that to lose weight you need to eat better consistently. Eating better consistently becomes the real goal( it's smaller and more manageable than the broad, hard to measure "lose weight" goal). However, you still need skills to eat better consistently, so we will then work together to break that goal into skills.
Skills:
Hunger and appetite awareness are the most important initial skill for making progress toward eating better consistently. We can break this skill down into smaller practices like eating slowly and/or eating until satisfied, not stuffed. I will support you through regular check-ins as you master these smaller practices that will help you build the skill needed to accomplish the goal!
Remember, we all start at different points! The above example may be something you already do regularly and proficiently, but someone else may need to develop this skill before they can move forward toward their goals. Part of my services involve helping you decide what you are ready, willing and committed to doing consistently to move forward toward your goals. This will look different for everyone! If this sounds like something you need to achieve your health goals, contact me to get started!
Over the last 20 plus years, my formal education and certifications have centered around all things yoga, but I have casually studied nutrition and fitness as well. Two years ago, I realized that even though I love yoga more than any other movement practice, it was not enough for my aging body. My cardio was lacking and I did not have the muscle tone that I desired. Was I overweight? No. Was I out of shape? Not really. But, was I making the choices that I needed to make to stay strong and healthy? Again, probably not. I realized it was time for another adjustment to my routine(one of many over the years! ) After I made a few small, sustainable changes to my nutrition and exercise routine, I realized that I felt so much better! I slept better, I had more energy and focus, and most importantly for me - I could run around the cross country course and watch my son race without feeling winded and sore after! This was huge! See the unedited pics below for my progress so far!
Since my passion has always been helping others feel better, I wanted to offer something similar to what I did for myself to others. I received my certification in health coaching in 2022. For those of you that don't know what that entails, let me explain what I offer.
First of all, I want to start this new chapter by being fully transparent with you. As a teen/young adult, I had a very unhealthy relationship with my body and food. I was always "dieting" and exercising, and eventually I ended up with an eating disorder. My struggle with both anorexia and bulimia lasted for several years as I tried to find a way to get to my "perfect" weight. This took a toll on all other systems in my body. To this day, I am ever grateful to the person who clued my parents in to what was going on so that I could get the help I needed to switch coarse. I no longer believe in dieting and counting calories. I believe in eating whole foods, learning to recognize and listen to satiety cues, getting some sort of exercise in every day, and asking for support when and where I need it. For me, support comes from experts in the field of nutrition, chiropractic, yoga, and of course, friends and family.
Next, I am not a nutritionist or doctor. I cannot provide you with prescriptions or do any metabolic/nutrition testing(Yet. Being able to do nutrition testing is my next goal :) ). What I am certified to do is coach and support you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle - whatever that means for you! If you want to lose a few pounds and keep it off, great! If you want to find a way to get more exercise in each week, wonderful! If you need help learning how to shop for healthier foods, let's take a field trip to the store and learn how!
If you work with me, we will follow the Five S Formula. We will first come up with small, simple actions that you can be successful with in real life - the busy one with a job, kids, and responsibilities! Then, we will break your goals, say lose 10 lbs., into small, sequential parts. Breaking big goals into smaller segments and then going through those segments in the right order is key to success! You wouldn't want to do a triple back flip off the high dive before you were comfortable blowing bubbles in the water, would you? :) We will be strategic about how we do this, making sure that the plan we are developing for you is something that you are ready, willing and able to do. If it is not, we will tweak it and break it down more until it fits with your lifestyle. Finally, I will be here to support you through coaching, teaching and accountability. So many people find that when they have someone to help them stay focused and on track, they are more successful in reaching their goals. That is what I am here for!
Here's an example:
Goal:
To lose weight. You know that to lose weight you need to eat better consistently. Eating better consistently becomes the real goal( it's smaller and more manageable than the broad, hard to measure "lose weight" goal). However, you still need skills to eat better consistently, so we will then work together to break that goal into skills.
Skills:
Hunger and appetite awareness are the most important initial skill for making progress toward eating better consistently. We can break this skill down into smaller practices like eating slowly and/or eating until satisfied, not stuffed. I will support you through regular check-ins as you master these smaller practices that will help you build the skill needed to accomplish the goal!
Remember, we all start at different points! The above example may be something you already do regularly and proficiently, but someone else may need to develop this skill before they can move forward toward their goals. Part of my services involve helping you decide what you are ready, willing and committed to doing consistently to move forward toward your goals. This will look different for everyone! If this sounds like something you need to achieve your health goals, contact me to get started!
