Confessions from a Health Coach

As a Health Coach and Yoga Instructor, I am often in front of people as a “model” of health and wellness.  I lead students through intense poses, stretches, and inversions.  I coach people into eating less processed food and more whole food.   To avoid sugar and to eat more greens.  To cook more and eat out less.  To move more and sit less.  To slow down.  To breathe.  To practice guilt-free self-care.  To practice moderation in all things.  To set good boundaries.  To think positively.  And all that good, healthy stuff!

It may appear as if health coaches and yoga instructors have it all together.  That we always avoid sugar, practice yoga every day, cook every meal from scratch, always shop at the farmer’s market, and are always in a state of zen.  Well, in case you haven’t figured it out already, I’m here to tell you that’s not true!  I speak for myself, but I think many health coaches and yoga instructors would agree that we are in this profession because at some point in our life we needed to make a big change.  And, because we really need to continuously practice the aforementioned positive healthy stuff.  One thing I love about being a health coach and yoga instructor is that if I want to authentically coach and teach my students, I must also be practicing these things.  So, a few confessions from me:

1.  I eat tortilla chips and guacamole.  Sometimes, I eat them in excess.

2.  I don’t practice yoga every day.  I wish I did.

3.  I also get distracted when I try to meditate or sit still.

4.  I’m probably one of the least flexible persons in a yoga studio.  Especially my hips.

5.  I really like dark chocolate.

6.  I also need a Health Coach.

7.  I struggle with setting strong boundaries in my life and practicing guilt-free self-care.

8.  Sometimes I stay up way too late doing unproductive things.

9.  I don’t always think positively about myself.

10.  I have a love-hate relationship with yoga pants.

11.  I experience road rage and have to work very hard to find peace in those moments.

And those are just a few of them!  So, in case you thought we were all perfectly healthy instructors and coaches, now you know the truth.  We are simply fellow sojourners in this process of feeding our body and feeding our soul with that which gives us abundant life!  (And if you still don’t believe me, just ask my fiancee, family, or friends!)