Why I Went Back to School to be a Health Coach
It took me a long time to decide to go to school for health coaching. I knew I wanted to expand my scope of practice beyond massage therapy. I also knew I wasn’t a fan of promoting diet culture or one-sized fits all solutions. With every client I would meet on my massage table, I could sense the disconnect between what they wanted to do with their life, what they were told by doctors to do for a healthy life, and what they were actually doing. Mostly I saw how the disconnect creates feelings of shame for not doing everything right. Lots of “I should stretch” and “I should eat better foods”, is being said, but not a lot of “I know myself, so I’m making the best decision for me right now.”
Every time I looked into health coaching schools, I became disenfranchised with the emphasis of diets and eating. I believe a healthy life contains so much more than what we consume. Yes, we are what we eat, but that includes what we digest with our eyes, ears, and how we interact with the world around us. My frustrations came to a halt when I found the program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I had finally found a program that focused on the whole person and emphasized relationships, personal development, and joy in creating a balanced and healthy life. At IIN, I’m also gaining insight into 100s of dietary theories all in the name of bio-individuality. My coaching program emphasizes there is a different path for everyone and I LOVE it.
Going to health coaching school has been a powerful reminder that every person has a story and we all get to choose what is right for us. For me, that means honoring my own values by creating boundaries so I have time for the things that make me feel like my authentic and true self. The program is full of self-reflection and constantly learning more about myself in order to make decisions that are rooted in self-love. The best part about learning to be a health coach is getting to go through the program I’ll soon be leading other through! (Win-win :)
I also felt a calling toward Health Coaching because of the disconnect in the current health care system. My mom is an RN and as such, I grew up in a traditional western medicine focused home. We were thankfully a healthy lot, but western medicine reminded us to focus on the symptoms when we were sick.Massage school expanded my range of health care to include “alternative” medicine and piqued my curiosity into the efficacy of eastern and functional medicine. My massage clients had the information about what to do to be healthier, but they didn’t have the support from a professional to help them get there.
It is simply a fact today our doctors do not have the time to guide their patients through habit and lifestyle change. It became clear to me Health Coaches can be the missing link for people trying to be healthier. As a health coach, I am able to talk to my clients about more than just their muscle tension and pain. I can dive into the root causes and explore how all areas of their life are connected.
Kevin, O’Reilly, news editor for the American Medical Association, explains in a 2017 article on why health coaching works: “health coaches use action planning to help patients take a granular approach to changing their health behaviors. Research has shown that simply telling patients to stop an unhealthful behavior is unlikely to succeed. Instead, the health coaches work with their patients to cut down on the behavior—reducing sugar-sweetened soda consumption from five cans a day to two, for example.” Health Coaches get to take the time to work and support those looking for a change.
When I’m asked why I’m doing Health Coaching, I immediately have a little inward smile. I’m the daughter of a healer and care-giver, it’s in my bones to help others. We’re each unique and deserve to life our best lives. We may have become disconnected, but I’m here to create a safe space for you to connect back to yourself and create a balanced life for your unique world.