Beyond Diet and Exercise: The Holistic Approach of Modern Health Coaches

What is a Holistic Approach Towards Health?

Simply put, a holistic approach to health means providing support that caters to the well-being of the whole person, including their physical, emotional, social, mental, and spiritual development. The approach encourages individuals to identify the whole person and be active participants in their health decisions and healing processes, including wellness-oriented lifestyle choices.

Holistic trajectories of health are extracted from ancient healing systems that help people attain higher levels of wellness and keep diseases at bay. Traditional medical methods sit alongside mind-body and spiritual interventions, kinesthetic and somatic practices, biological and energy-based treatments, and more. Most of these approaches are used in combination with conventional medicine, diet, and exercise to create an integrated approach to health and well-being. The traditional approaches to health center around the use of herbs, food, supplements, teas, homeopathic remedies, essential essentials, dancing, movement, vibration, mindfulness, medication, and more.

Now that we have touched upon the basics of holistic health, let us understand what a health coach near Scottsdale, AZ, does!

Who is a Holistic Coach?

In a layperson’s language, a holistic coach can be defined as a specialist who takes a whole-person approach towards wellbeing, considering not just the physical elements but also the mental and emotional growth. Holistic coaches work to identify intrinsic and underlying issues and assist you in creating a plan to achieve your goals and achieve your goals and find overall balance and fulfillment in life. In today’s day and age, working with a holistic coach is an investment in yourself and your future. Holistic health coaching near Scottsdale, AZ, can help you achieve long-term goals about your physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Who Should Opt for a Holistic Coach?

If you are keen on changing your lifestyle but unsure where to start, then opting for the assistance of a holistic health coach can be beneficial. The assistance of a health coach near Scottsdale, AZ, can be an excellent tool for you to reach your well-being goals and become a better and improved version of yourself. In addition, a holistic health coach can also be a phenomenal resource for those looking for self-care and balance, as they offer insights and guidance while promoting self-discovery. The culmination is that you can make well-informed decisions and choices to enrich your life.

What Does a Holistic Coach Do?

Holistic health and wellness coaches possess the skills, training, and passion to improve health outcomes by devising personalized plans for their clients. It is noteworthy to mention that health and wellness coaching has been proven to be an effective mechanism for individuals struggling with issues like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. Some of the main functions of a holistic coach are –

• Positive Psychology

A holistic health coach focuses on the power of positive psychology. He or she concentrates on the client’s strengths, rather than weaknesses, to facilitate behavioral changes. Thus, a holistic health coach helps you maintain an optimistic and healthy mindset while working towards health goals.

• Promotion of Habit Reversal

A holistic health coach near Scottsdale, AZ, will also encourage you to make healthy choices to reverse bad habits and poor lifestyle choices. Thus, the result is an inoculation of healthy eating habits, improvement in physical fitness, stress management, and sound sleep.

• Supplemental Services

Thirdly, holistic health coaches also take supplemental certification courses to offer other ancillary services, such as nutrition, yoga, gut support, counseling, healing touch, and more.

• Better Motivation

Last but not least, a holistic health coach also encourages its clients to prioritize self-care. They help visualize your goals and provide a detailed and structured plan through which it becomes easy to achieve your unique goals.

Now that we know the various services offered by a holistic health coach, let us check out some invaluable insights offered by them.

Holistic Health Coaching Insights

The insights of holistic health and wellness are sustained by eight pillars – physical, emotional, spiritual, nutritional, social, financial, intellectual, and environmental. Let us delve into them in greater detail.

• Physical

When we talk about ‘physical wellness,’ the first thing that comes to our mind is exercise. Of course, regular movement and physical activities are an integral part of the overall equation, which we cannot ignore. However, exercise is not the sole element of physical well-being deserving of attention.

Physical health also encapsulates appropriate and adequate sleep, hygiene, and a healthy and nutrition-dense diet. In holistic health, physical sanctity includes asking the following questions –

• Are you getting enough sleep?
• What is preventing you from falling asleep at a reasonable hour every night and waking up feeling refreshed?

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults obtain between seven and nine hours of sleep each night. However, it is understandable that such a number can be difficult to achieve for college students, parents, and workaholics. But, according to holistic health, some simple steps can help get uninterrupted sleep –

• Avoid digital screens for 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Incorporate a calming unwinding session each night. It can include dimming the lights in your home, turning on relaxing music, and even engaging in light stretching.
• Block Unnecessary Light and Noise by using blackout curtains and a white-noise machine.

• Nutrition

The insights on holistic health are incomplete without including nutrition. It is essential to remember that nutrition must be personalized based on age, sex, activity level, and body chemistry, and a holistic health coach near Scottsdale, AZ, can offer such customized insights.

A balanced diet mandates you to consume nutritional foods that nurture your mind and body. According to the USDA, adult human beings should fill half of their plates with fruits and veggies, and the other half ought to be educated about grains, a generous portion of protein, and a side of dairy. A diverse and colorful plate with appropriate amounts of food from each means that your everyday macronutrients are met for energy, muscle growth, recovery, and other bodily functions.

• Emotional

Emotional well-being includes the ability to navigate your feelings healthily. To do so, you have to identify, assess, and effectively share your feelings with others. This is important because the ups and downs of life can take us on an emotional rollercoaster. So, the better you understand, process, and manage those feelings, the easier it will be to pull through sad and happy times of life. Some holistic health insights about emotional wellbeing are –

• Create a list of people who support you and the best ways to contact them. When life gets tough, it can be quite difficult to ask for help. Having a quick and prompt reference makes it easier to reach out.
• Seek professional treatment from a counselor or therapist. The advice of an objective third person can be invaluable in times of difficulty.
• Last but not least, another way to keep your emotional well-being intact is by journaling. It is an easy measure to identify and process your feelings, especially if sharing them aloud seems tough.

• Social

Social well-being is also a pivotal part of holistic health. Simply put, social wellness includes connecting with others to build meaningful and positive relationships. If these relationships falter, it is about dealing with conflicts in the right way. A recent Harvard study reveals that spending time with others reported greater levels of joy and happiness. When life gets stressful, the ability to turn to others for support and understanding is very powerful. Some of the things you can do to socially connect with others are –

• Meet new people through social network apps
• Schedule a recurring time every week to reach out to friends who live out of the state
• Connect with someone new each week and make concerted efforts to keep those bonds strong and relevant

• Spiritual

Any kind of holistic health coaching near Scottsdale, AZ, is incomplete without the spiritual pillar. The spiritual aspects of holistic well-being will look different for everyone because it is very personal, and will play a stronger role in one person’s life more than another. By spirituality, we mean a sense of purpose, direction, or meaning of life. Many people condition their spiritual beliefs through meditation, prayers, and other activities to foster a connection to nature or a higher power.

Some of the small steps you can take to improve your spiritual well-being are –

• Dedicate a small amount of time each day to yourself. Besides, make sure that this time is free of distractions and interruptions, and can be used to reflect, relax, meditate, and pray.
• Journaling can also foster your spiritual journey.
• Lastly, filter out the top three values of your life and write them down. Reflect on them often and keep these values in front of your mind while making decisions – both big and small.

• Intellectual

Holistic health also includes intellectual wellness, which is bolstered by continually engaging in the mind. Doing so can help you build new skills and devise knowledge. You can opt for a range of ways to keep your mind sharp and groomed. For instance, brain games, puzzles, and other scholastic endeavors are great to boost your mental clarity and improve your intellectual prowess. Some easy-peasy ways to boost your intellectual well-being are –

• Look for continuing your learning journey
• Join a book club, visit a library, or indulge in leisure reading
• Opt for journaling as a self-reflective activity

• Financial

The penultimate pillar of holistic well-being is financial health. To be financially well, you have to live with your means and appropriately plan for the future. Of course, the journey and milestones can be tough to accomplish, but small baby steps will, undoubtedly, pay off in the long run. Some steps to take control of spending your money and saving it will lighten the burden on your everyday life. The tips you can follow to achieve financial well-being are –

• Make paying off debt a priority
• Create a budget with the help of online tools
• Set aside a fixed amount of money every month for non-essentials, such as entertainment, recreation, dining out, etc.

• Environmental

Last but not least, every holistic health coach in Scottsdale, AZ, will tell you that environmental wellness is also an important part of the picture. Environmental well-being is linked to your immediate personal surroundings and the larger community where you live and work. You might be surprised to know that the effects of strengthening your environmental health can be felt personally, and also by the larger local and global communities. The more you care for and respect your natural and built environment, the better it will support and sustain your daily life.

Some tips to foster environmental well-being as a part of holistic health –

• Keep your workspace clean, clear, and clutter-free to foster creativity and productivity.
• Participate in community cleanups by reducing your waste output, recycling, and picking up trash in your region.
• Opt for public transport, carpooling, and other sustainable methods of traveling.

Now that we have touched upon the eight pillars of holistic health coaching insights, let us wrap up the article by checking out the integrative approach to health.

Integrative Approach to Wellness

An integrative approach to wellness is an individual and personal trajectory to wellness. It includes the ability to reach your personal goals, and ensuring that your body, mind, and soul are cared for holistically. The result is that you can pursue and meet the milestones you have set with less resistance and hassle.