Health & Life Coach CHC-CLC
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INTERVIEW WITH DONNA
How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a Health and Life Coach?
From the time I was a small girl my parents were always reaching out to others to help and support them. Especially those that had disabilities, challenges in their lives, or those my dad felt the world had cast aside. As a young woman in my late 20s I began working as a Residential Client Counsellor and Job Coach helping and assisting individuals with developmental disabilities in all aspects of their daily living. Through the time I spent with children and young adults I came to appreciate the things in life that most of us take for granted. Walking with and watching these amazing individuals navigate the challenges they faced in life filled my heart with not only love but gratitude, and inspiration. These caring, courageous people showed me what it truly meant to love others from hearts that were pure, and authentic. Their spirits shone brightly, their love they shared freely. They stood together not only when life seemed easy but when challenges and obstacles loomed before them larger than life. Many times when the struggles in my life seemed to weigh me down I could step through the doors of their homes and the smiles I was met with would melt away the heaviness in my own heart. I will never forget the valuable lessons each of these amazing men, women, and children have taught me. Each one has a very special place in my heart and I will never forget them.
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There was a period of time that I stepped away from the workforce of society as my own struggles in life became more and more challenging. Through this time of challenges my children grew up and had families of their own. I loved spending time with my grandchildren watching them grow and eagerly anticipating where God would lead each of them; filled my heart with joy. Soon they too grew and began heading off to school and I found myself with more time on my hands than what I would have liked. It seemed like overnight I was left wondering where do I go from here? Suddenly I realized life was passing me by and I was letting it. So once again I was stepping into a new season of my life. I began wondering what did God have next for me? Where did he want me to focus my time and most of all my love? I love my family, my community and my life but there still seemed to be a part of me yearning for something more. And as God continued to walk me through my healing what was it? How would I find it? What were the steps I needed to take to get me from here to where I wanted to be?
Once again I began pouring my heart out to God asking for him to fill the emptiness within me with his grace, wisdom and most of all his love. Believing he would lead me in the direction I should go I stepped back into the mode of searching on the internet. This time it was to search for my dream job! I searched for several months and then one day the words “Life Coach” appeared on my screen. I was curious. What was the difference between a life coach, therapist, and a counsellor? The more I researched the more I realized this was something I could do, something I believed in, and something I had already been doing in my family, community and work life. In a sense I already was a coach. Excitement welled within me! But was this something I could step into? The more I researched the more I fell in love. This was what I knew without a doubt I was passionate about! I began searching for a school or institution that offered online courses. (This was also when the lockdowns began with covid-19). During the next year off and on I would search but none of the institutions i’d found to date felt right. Then one day when I typed life coach into my browser I came across a link that I thought looked interesting, but the site that came up was not the one I was looking at, I had been redirected. I had been divinely aligned by the hand of God once again! I thought to myself ok I’ll look into it and then go back and check out the other one. To make a long story short I never did go back and check out the other one. I stepped into this training facility and the rest is history. Today I am not only certified as a Life Coach but also as a Health Coach!! God has blessed me so richly and this was the verse that came to my mind as I reflect over my training.
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“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
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Ephesians 3:20 NLT
What kinds of clients do you work with?
I work with women who have come through traumatic experiences or relationships and are feeling stuck in their mind, body, and spirit. As their coach I come alongside them to empower them to align themselves with their dreams, desires, and who God created them to be.
How are you different from other Life Coaches?
I coach from my heart with the things in life that I have experienced and the things that God has shown me along my journey.
First: I believe life experience is equally as important as education. With life experience I am able to relate to my clients and what they are facing.
Second: There are many forms of medical care available to us in this day and age. Conventional medicine and complimentary approaches are now being integrated together to address all areas of our life from physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental influences. Drug therapy and surgeries are being combined with many other approaches such as acupuncture, chiropractic, mindfulness meditation, spiritual practices, massage, diet, and exercise, and the list goes on. Our world is moving at such a fast pace and with each passing year it seems to pick up the pace just little bit more.
I believe that with our medical system being taxed more and more with each passing day (especially with the covid-19 pandemic) these are areas that are slipping between the cracks:
1] Being able to see and address the uniqueness of each person. I know for me at times I felt I was being placed in cookie cutter molds.
As a health and life coach we address together the uniqueness of you in a one on one setting.
2] Time is valuable to both the practitioner and the patient. Let me explain why I feel this way.
As the practitioner they give their patients the best possible care within the time constraints they face.
As the patient we are looking for an approach to healing that is as unique as we are.
This is just my opinion but I believe our medical system is failing both the practitioner and the patient.
As patients we sometimes feel we are given a to-do-list without the proper guidance to follow through with what is being ask of us.
This is where I believe I as your health and life coach I can come alongside you to work towards a lifestyle that promotes health and healing in all areas of your life. With that said If you are working with a physician, psychiatrist, therapist, counsellor, etc it is of utmost importance you follow and continue with the guidance and guidelines they have set out for you.
I am certified as a coach not a specialized practitioner. As a coach I look at your unique gifts and skills when helping you to clarify your life’s goals. Together we look at obstacles that hold you back and I ask specific questions that will help you to come up with your own strategies to overcome them. I provide support and accountability as you create these plans and strategies that with each step you take draws you closer to your desired outcome.
It is not my place to give advice on issues I am not licensed or educated in. At anytime in our sessions I feel I am not the person to be discussing issues beyond the scope of my expertise I will gently and lovingly refer you to those that are.
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3] Something else that makes me different from other health and life coaches is:
I only work with women who have come through traumatic experiences or relationships.
Who:
- are feeling like they have lost themselves in a sea of un-forgiveness, regret, self loathing, and I’m sure you can add to this list
- have disconnected from themselves, from God, feeling abandoned and lost in the world around them.
- are wanting to draw closer to God and looking to ignite within themselves
- self-love
- self-acceptance
- reach for their dreams and desires once more
- or maybe for the first time in their lives.
A big part of our lives is about our inability to cope with the stresses of day-to-day life.
So first and foremost my coaching is about transforming beliefs and mindsets so that my clients can be present with themselves and their lives in a whole new way. I follow that work with step-by- step guidelines around healthy ways to love yourself.
What that means for you is that I am very focused on anything and everything that works for the woman who struggles with connecting to God and themselves in a loving way and finding their place in the world around them.
We will focus in on key areas that are relevant to you.
These may include:
connecting to God, yourself, relationships with others, diet exercise and lifestyle,
Because my focus is very narrow and I have personal experience overcoming these challenges, what you get with me is a deep level of expertise on what works to recover from what I like to call “Do I really Matter to God, to Others, and most of all to Myself”. I’ve become an expert at this topic and am very passionate about it and that’s why my clients get great results that they are thrilled with - and we have a lot of fun along the way!
What type of personality do you work best with and what is expected of me?
My Loving You, Embracing Yourself Transformation program was created for women who are:
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absolutely ready and fully committed to stepping into the best version of themselves. The version they always dreamed and knew in their hearts they were meant to be.
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making nurturing their whole being…mind, body, and spirit a priority in their life now and for their future.
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They are committed to ending the negative cycles, thoughts, self-degrading mentality and behaviours that are holding them from trusting and knowing how much they are loved.
This program was created for you to put systems in place around:
- how you show up for yourself
- how you can connect with God; with others without letting go of what you truly value within yourself
How you love YOU, all of YOU is so very important. I believe we cannot love others from an empty cup. Loving others the way God intended means being first filled within ourselves and then with the overflow of that love we can reach out and embrace others.
Throughout the next 90 days, we will walk together on a journey which will eventually lead you to experiencing more of what I truly believe each of us are searching and longing for; peace of mind, self-worth, confidence, rest and relaxation, giving ourselves permission to love ourselves without the shackles of guilt, …. and so much more. In a world that is struggling to find and define these things it is possible to live from a place of stillness, peace and even JOY!
taking action requires courage letting go of self-doubt, and worrying that you’ll never find something that works for you; this is a myth that we have been believing for far too long. So let’s step into your future you together. I’m so excited for the possibilities that await you! I hope you are too. you’ll open up to a very different way of thinking with my full support while you achieve incredibly exciting goals: ending the war and battles within yourself so you can experience Loving You, Embracing yourself Transformation.
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Donna, based on everything I’ve read and heard about you, I know you’re the one I want to learn from. How do I get started?
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Congratulations on making a decision to take time out of your busy schedule to nurture and care for you! I’m honoured and excited to be the one walking beside you on this journey!
Here’s how we get started:
• During our initial conversation,(a free 90 minute consultation session I call “ Tell Me Your Story” you can officially enroll in the Loving You, Embracing Yourself Transformation
• I’ll walk you through how to make the investment
• We’ll choose a recurring day of the week and time for your sessions.
These sessions can be held by phone or through Zoom online. I would prefer Zoom so I can see your beautiful smiling face as we work together to build trust and rapport and you begin to see transformation in your life. And believe me I know you will! I did when in my training I was the client before I became the coach.
But it is what you are most comfortable with, remember this is about you not me.
• These sessions should be considered a sacred time - they are first priority because YOU
are first priority
• Sessions will occur once per week for 12 weeks the process will unfold over a total of 90 days
• I’ll send you a “Welcome Email” that includes introductions about where and how to complete the Coaching Program Agreement (you’ll sign this agreement before our first session)
Tackling all the above is a lot on our own and often overwhelming to the point that it is easier to stay where we are. Coaching is a process that is facilitated in a specific way so you can be different, without having to think about being different. The first step is raising awareness about what we really desire for ourselves and our lives.