Journey to Wellness

Certified Coach Rochelle Hanson's Path to a Healthy, Natural Lifestyle

What path brought you here – from journalism to music to health? Do you see any common threads among the various fields you have studied/worked in?

After losing two family members to cancer, and watching other family members struggle with hypertension and diabetes, I decided it was time to get smart about my health and take proactive measures of my own. My whole life changed when I learned how to eat for energy and lead a healthy, vibrant, natural lifestyle. I lost 30 lbs. in the first three months of my natural health journey, which began in the spring of 2010, and have kept the weight off. I feel absolutely fabulous, and am now a Certified Health Coach. As a coach I do live workshop presentations and work with clients one-on-one in a 6-month coaching program.  I write a weekly health and wellness column for the online edition of Sway Magazine, which is a division of the Toronto Star.  I’ve also written an ebook entitled Breaking Cravings, which is available to all my blog subscribers for free at simplynaturalideas.com. If you catch me at the right time, I’m a recording artist as well. You can find my music on iTunes.

What are some of the biggest changes you had to make on your journey to wellness? Did you make these changes suddenly or gradually, and could you explain a bit of that process?

The biggest change that I made on my journey to natural health was learning to slow down, listen to my body and be honest with myself. When I learned how to do that, everything seemed to fall into place. I threw away the dogma associated with dieting and took on the gradual process of asking myself questions about my own personal truths. I started by evaluating the balance of my work, play, stress, fun, food and, of course, my spirituality. Learning how to balance my life and check in with myself is by far the change that has had the most impact.

What physical and mental benefits have you reaped from changing your diet? And how would you describe your current diet?

Health is not about dieting. Health is about balance. My diet currently consists largely of fresh fruits, leafy greens, nuts and seeds. I also eat clean meats like chicken or fish when I need to, which is usually once every couple of weeks or so. This year I did a 7-week smoothie fast, which was totally incredible for me. Felt amazing. I plan to do it again next year for sure. I eat a lot more raw living foods than the average meat eater, and I probably eat more vegetables than most vegetarians, but as you can see, I don’t fit into any specific dietary category – which is fine by me. I honestly believe that there is no perfect diet for everyone. We are all individuals, and we need individual diets. For me, eating this way leaves me full of life and vitality. My energy is stable and lasts me the entire day. I feel happy, healthy, energetic and whole.

What are typical problems your health coaching clients face, and how do you approach these problems?

My health coaching clients usually come to me with goals to eat better, sleep better, manage their stress levels, lose weight and/or increase their energy. The approach for every client is different, as everyone has different needs. But the first questions we address together are always about the root of the problems that they face. You can talk to a person about healthy eating till you’re blue in the face and have little to no effect. So I don’t do that. I listen. And when I listen to my clients, I hear what’s really on their heart. And that’s usually the root of the problem. When we get to the root, then we can work on building healthy habits so the person can learn how to support themselves for the rest of their challenging lives.

What are you most passionate about? In work? In life?

That’s a hard one to answer. I have a lot of passion in my heart. If I had to pick one thing to be passionate about, it would be supporting other people. Nothing brings me more joy than hearing back from a person whose life somehow I managed to touch.

What are some of your current projects?

The Simply Natural Ideas blog is a constant never ending project – which I love. It gives me an opportunity to share and connect with new people online. I’m also writing a new ebook entitled Eating for Increased Energy which is scheduled to be released in March. As for music? God’s will be done. I would love to put out an acoustic album by the end of the year. No promises though, we shall see!

Can you leave us with any nutrition or health tips?

Sure. How about I leave you with three? If you want to be healthy, if you need more energy, or you want to lose weight, this is what you need to do. Number one, stop dieting. Number two, stop killing yourself at the gym. And number three learn how to balance your life. If you do these three things, you will be well on your way to a healthy natural lifestyle. If you need help on your journey, send me an email from my blog at simplynaturalideas.com. I’d be happy to offer you a free initial health consultation on the phone. I can show you how to get back to basics, and form the healthy habits you need to stay well for the rest of your life.

Rochelle Hanson is the author of the free ebook, Breaking Cravings. She is a Certified Natural Health Coach and is currently enrolled at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Rochelle offers practical tips on natural health and wellness on her blog Simply Natural Ideas  and in her column at Sway Magazine. Write to rochelle@simplynaturalideas.com for a free health consultation or connect with her on Facebook.

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DISCLAIMER All information on sanamagazine.wordpress.com is for personal reference only and should not replace instruction or advice from a medical professional. Sana’s publishers are not licensed to provide health care services, thus you should always consult the appropriate health care practitioner to diagnose or treat any medical conditions or illnesses. Health and wellness information provided is for educational and informational purposes only.