My Health Coaching Philosophies and Approach
Individualized, client-centered approach.
You are unique. And so is your body type, life force, purpose, talent and soul. Embrace your individuality and OWN it! YOU decide what your goals are and what works best for you. I am your partner to navigate and guide you to them.
Wellness for the Whole Self - Body, Mind and Spirit.
Our physical body, mind and spirit are all interconnected and perform best through harmonized balance.
Gut Health and Integrity.
With about 100 trillion bacteria, and the highest concentration of immune cells (70-80%) residing in our gut, this system’s function is critical to our body’s ability to digest foods, absorb nutrients and support a healthy immune response system. Poor gut health is at the forefront of many health issues and concerns, both physical and mental. It is said that ‘most disease begins and ends in the gut’.
Empowerment.
Coaching your strengths and skill set will help boost your self-efficacy and confidence in your ability to exert self-discipline, and achieve and maintain your health goals.
Enjoy what you do.
Discovering new ways to enjoy the life you’re living and finding satisfaction in your daily routines will make achieving and maintaining your health goals easier and an integral part of everyday living. Discover what moves your soul!
If you don’t take care of your body, where else are you going to live!?!
Your body is the home for your soul! Recognizing and prioritizing your range of health needs will allow your soul to live the long vibrant life it desires. Self-love and personal value must be cultivated in the pursuit and maintenance of living a healthy lifestyle.
Nutrient Dense Foods.
Choosing foods that have a high nutrient and low-calorie ratio will give your body what it needs to thrive, without adding to your waistline. They will nourish the cells throughout your body and mind, adding not just years to life, but life to years.
Reducing Toxic Load.
Learning about and avoiding toxins contained in foods, personal care and cleaning products, and the environment can proactively reduce the prevalence of allergies, brain fog, problem skin, inflammation and digestive issues, while promoting disease prevention and healthy aging.
Science-based.
Science-based dietary approach to integrate science-based interventions while honoring the mind-body-spirit connection to wellness.
A Body in Motion, Stays in Motion.
Finding ways to incorporate fun year-round physical activity into your lifestyle will help keep your body fit and mobile throughout the seasons and support long-term vitality. Exercise is for all shapes and sizes, and it is a way to show your body love and respect.
Having FUN!
While FUN is an important component of my health coaching style, laughter is the lubricant of life’s machinery. Both are required to keep your wellness journey engaging.
Balance the 4 health pillars.
Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, and Stress all require mindful attention, and management. Together, these pillars balance important health biomarkers that form a foundational frame-work for resilient well-being.
Photo by Kalen Emsley on Unsplash
My Personal Journey
There’s no such thing as a perfect life. Just like everyone, I’ve faced struggles and challenges, of all magnitudes. Through these personal experiences, I have embraced the opportunities to learn and grow immensely, and build resilient strength from my core. They enabled me to cultivate the knowledge and skills to help others with their health struggles, with a passion for restoring love for themselves, and love for their life.
THE IMPERFECT ATHLETE…
My journey into fitness and sports began at an early age.
As a child I was an awkward tomboy, always playing hard-hitting sports with the boys at recess, and participating on a variety of community sports teams.
I played competitive soccer from my youth through to the College level, ultimately earning a full-ride scholarship. While I was taught how to physically train to become a successful student athlete, I was not coached on how lifestyle choices affected my overall health, performance and ability to recover from athletic injuries.
Although I was happy with my athletic performance and academic success, I had never been completely happy with my body shape, or my overall health as a teenager and young adult. With the high level of physical activity and training I endured, I couldn’t comprehend why I wasn’t leaner, why my exercise recovery seemed to lag, why injuries were repetitive, or why I got sick as often as I did. At the time, I had little knowledge of what ingredients were missing in my regime. Embracing this question sparked my interest in health and wellness.
Photo by Sandro Schuh on Unsplash
MY TREK INTO KINESIOLOGY…
I suffered a serious knee injury after my scholarship term that landed me a reconstructive knee surgery at the age of 20. Dealing with this painful experience prompted me to explore the field of Kinesiology (the study of ‘Human Movement’). The human body’s extraordinary capacity to rehabilitate and heal itself fascinated me.
While pursuing my degree, I gained ‘field experience’ working as a trainer for a men’s recreational league lacrosse team. I loved helping the players by applying various injury prevention techniques, sport conditioning, acute injury management, as well as rehabilitation techniques. This practical experience bolstered my academic studies throughout College and University until degree completion in 2013.
As my years of experience, awards and networking in the lacrosse community grew, I was honored to be offered the sports trainer position for Team Sweden at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in 2019.
Pairing these years of experience with my work in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation clinic since graduation, I was able to apply knowledge and skills in the sport, fitness and rehab sectors across various populations. Although I have achieved some marvelous results and rehab success stories alongside many athletes and clients, I began to realize that exercise alone could not complete my clients’ recovery and wellness goals.
Many clients I work with suffer from physical, financial, relationship and emotional losses, chronic pain, low self-esteem, weight gain, sleep disturbances, chronic stress, and many consequential symptoms that take toll on their health and wellbeing. While it was sometimes difficult to witness the pain and suffering that so many of these clients were going through at times, I became even more committed to helping them in ways that exercise alone couldn’t, and so I began to expand my knowledge in order to provide holistic forms of support.
Photo by Arthur Lambillotte on Unsplash
MY HEALTH STRUGGLES…
My interest in functional holistic medicine was fueled not only by my passion to provide complete health and wellness support to all my clients and my athletes, but also to address and conquer looming health concerns of my own.
As a child, I experienced health problems that are prevalent among many kids and adults, including asthma and eczema. My parent’s divorce had also impacted my mental health in high-school and exacerbated existing physical health concerns.
When I was 19, I battled a strep throat infection 10 times in a single year (YIKES)! Repetitive antibiotic prescriptions did nothing to resolve my recurring illnesses. Eventually my tonsils were surgically removed.
A motor vehicle accident in 2010 landed me with whiplash injury and chronic headaches for years. I was advised common prescription and over-the-counter medications to help with my pain. They masked the maddening symptoms, but they came with an eventual unexpected cost.
Unknowingly, these interventions scorched my gut microbiome, which later resulted in chronic, troublesome health concerns including digestion issues, hunger and sugar cravings, yeast infections, dermatitis, food intolerances, fatigue and candida overgrowth. Dealing with these unrelenting conditions was frustrating, and demeaning.
Unfortunately, with my attempts to seek out viable information online to ‘cure’ my disheartening ailments, I found myself only bombarded with solutions that treated the symptoms, and not the root causes. The traditional medical system, that I sought for help, had failed me. Feeling defeated by the unsuccessful help I had been offered and exposed to, I began my own quest for resolution, recognizing that I wasn’t alone searching for such answers.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
MY DEEP DIVE INTO WELLNESS:
In year 2016, I was introduced to ALOVEA, a social business with advanced naturally-sourced nutrition products and a mission to reduce hunger and famine across the globe. My knowledge and passion for nutrition, wellness, and helping others, began to soar. I learned how naturally-sourced supplements and a whole-food diet helped address my sugar and hunger cravings, improved my performance and recovery, as well as reduced inflammation and consequent pain in my joints. I progressed my performance, physical recovery, and was finally able to achieve the body composition that I had dreamed of. Hope for health rejuvenation was emerging.
Feeling more confident with a drive to further resolve my remaining health dilemmas, I set my intentions on becoming a holistic nutrition and health coach. Growing public health needs due to the prevalent spread of chronic disease in Western societies, and lack of preventative and holistic care in our public health care systems, resonated with me. I wanted to resolve not only my own health challenges, but be able to provide comprehensive and holistic support to all of my athletes and clients alike, and help them heal from their own personal health struggles. But above all, I wanted to be able teach and model good health for my 2 boys as they grew up, and support my friends and family.
I recognized the need to integrate 4 pillars of health into my wellness coaching philosophy in order to help clients achieve not only personal goals, but personal greatness. Hence, the inception of my business, Naomi4wellness in early 2021.
I then underwent a business coaching program to arm myself with influential mindset training and strategies for implementing impactful coaching and behavior change for my clients. Then, with my business launched, and passion in my core, I envisioned nothing but forward success.
….. Until I was faced with the biggest challenge life could possibly catapult at me. October of 2021, we were hit with an unimaginable tragedy. I lost my husband to a motorcycle accident. I learned the true influence of tremendous grief and stress on the body. The physiological impacts it had on my gut, digestion, my energy, my senses, my immune system, and my mental health was a rude awakening. I hit my lowest version of ‘rock bottom’.
But it was an opportunity for me to apply all of the knowledge and skills I had learned to rebuild myself, and support my boys. It presented me a doorway to spirituality. I learned a more profound meaning of life, how we perceive it, and explore it. My spiritual health took a massive leap forward, and I had become a stronger and more resilient version of myself on my healing journey. Because I wanted to, and because I had to.
My journey has taught me to recognize that our body, mind and spirit, is one exquisite integrated relationship, rather than a collection of independent systems and parts. We need restoration, balance, and healthy communication between all three aspects of our nature. Together, they combine to determine our health, provide us identity, and they make us who we are.
Our health journey is undoubtedly influenced by ALL of the inputs in our lives, from our food and our relationships, to our meaning and our purpose.
Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash
Adjusting to life as a single mom with two boys, while balancing work demands and our health needs, has and will continue to be a tremendous challenge.
I am truly grateful, through my education, experience, and mindset, I have learned successful strategies to manage and grow in this ever-evolving stage of life.
Looking back, I wish I had a professional to better help guide and support me through my health struggles earlier in my life. Appreciating how my new knowledge has supported me through my healing journey further fuels my passion for supporting and empowering others.
When provided the right input and support, the human body has a fascinating ability to heal and thrive, and do what it is designed to do.
I believe that living your best life begins with self-respect, self-love, gratitude, and honoring your individuality. Whatever your health goals may be, let’s work together in your journey so you can not only achieve your goals, but cultivate the person you’ve always wanted to become.
Yours in Health,
Naomi
My Education, Training, and Career Experience
Diploma in Holistic Nutrition and Health Coaching from Nutraphoria, school of holistic nutrition.
Member and Certified Health and Nutrition Counsellor with the Health Coach Alliance (HCN).
Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology (active health and rehabilitation) from Simon Fraser University.
Member and Certified practicing Kinesiologist with BC association of Kinesiologists (BCAK).
Faculty member of H.E.A.T. Academy (Human Empowerment and Transformation) in BC, Canada.
H.E.A.T. certified health and wellness practitioner.
Certification in Weight Training from BC recreation and parks association (BCRPA).
Team Sports Trainer for men’s lacrosse in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association.
CPR and First Aid certified, Sports Taping certified, Concussion management training.
-Trainer for Team Sweden at the 2019 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship.
Photo by Janko Ferlic on Unsplash
Life Outside of Work
My Family
I live in Burnaby, British Columbia. Spending time with my two young boys and family is among my ultimate joys. We love to travel, go boating, bike riding, skiing, soccer, and pursue off-road activities with our ‘bush buggies’ and dirtbikes. Bicycle rides around the Stanley park Seawall is a perennial favorite.
In 2020, I decided to finally take the plunge into the motorcycle life, inspired by my late husband and circle of motorcycle enthusiasts on the road as another means to enjoy city travel, unwind and soak in more fresh air.
My Exercise Routine
I live a very active lifestyle and enjoy playing various sports and pursuing other year-round healthy activities. Beyond semi-competitive recreational soccer all year-round, I lift weights or pursue high intensity training most days of the week, sometimes alongside my own clients. I relish the outdoors and love hiking, beach volleyball, running, wellness retreats, skiing, bicycling, boating and travel.
My Anti-Stress Routine
Maintaining a healthy and active social life with family and friends is a priority for me. I find it incredibly valuable for my stress management and boosting my spiritual health. Family dinner parties, date nights, dancing, concerts, travel and adventure, and girls’ nights out or trips to the spa all play a pivotal role in balancing a healthy social life for me.
I also incorporate other lifestyle modalities to help me relax and recharge from my busy life, like meditation, yin yoga, massage, and hyperthermic conditioning (sauna use) as staples in my wellness routine. Let’s not forget the classic bubble baths! A healthy and consistent sleep routine of 7-8.5 hours per night is also a priority to help balance my stress hormones and provide the energy and focus to help me keep up with and enjoy my demanding life as a single mom.
My Nutrition Routine
My typical nutrition routine involves a natural-based, whole foods diet that is nutrient dense, unprocessed, high in fiber and protein, clean and varied across all food groups. I restrict foods that are inflammatory for my body, such as gluten and dairy. I include regular supplementation that varies with my needs and with the seasons. I developed a love for gardening, and grow many favorite seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs right in the backyard. I will circulate in some other eating protocols to help me cleanse my body, promote gut health, healthy aging and weight management, such as intermittent fasting, and monthly 24-hour fasting routines.
The foods I find most scrumptious are salad power bowls and layered yogurt parfaits.
My Life-Long Health Goal
In my pursuit of wellness, I aim to balance all the key health pillars in my life. My goal is to create a happy marriage of both performance and longevity, while also enjoying life to the fullest. I strive to love the person I am, while reaching my health goals. I want my ‘health span’ to equal my lifespan, and I want to inspire and empower others do the same.
My Guilty Pleasures… (what, you didn’t think I had any?)
Chocolate. Salted Caramel coconut ice cream. Geeky podcasts on health and wellness topics. Wineries. Adrenaline hits from river rafting or sky diving. Cocktails with herbs in it. A dance floor (or table) on girls’ night. Laughter (like, lots!). Games, of any kind (I’m competitive). Fireball Whiskey on the top of the ski mountain. Getting dirty in the bush on my dual-sport bike.
TESTIMONIAL
"I had been Naomi’s client for over a year, and my experience with her has been nothing short of extraordinary. I suffered fractured femurs in both of my legs in a serious car accident, as well as sustained other injuries such as a concussion. I was having a really tough time to get back on my feet again, physically, emotionally and mentally.
Naomi has helped me not only with the physical aspect of rehab, but has also given me nutritional advice, along with wellness tips to improve my sleep hygiene, as well as stress management to address my severe anxiety when it kicks in. Naomi is cognizant of my mental health, and always finds a way to provide me light and support, which all helps towards my recovery.
She has provided me guidance with all aspects of my health, adding in a supplement program and a nutrition plan to help bolster my healing and recovery, as well as support my overall health.
I’ve noticed that I sleep better now as a result of her suggestions, using herbal teas and essential oils. My diet change has given me more energy and makes me feel healthier overall, contributing to a more efficient recovery."
Book a COMPLIMENTARY
Clarity Call
This is a terrific opportunity to understand your health concerns and your goals, and to see if my services are a good fit for you.
Contact me with any questions or concerns. I’m always here for you!
