Navigating life with an autoimmune condition can feel like a solo journey, but it doesn't have to be. I had the pleasure of bringing in Annie, my health and wellness coach, who's an expert in turning living with autoimmune diseases into thriving despite them. Together, we unpack the art of crafting wellness plans that are as unique as your fingerprint, offering hope and actionable advice for anyone aiming to steer their health in a positive direction. Through our candid conversation, I open up about my own triumphs—no matter how small they may seem—they're milestones worth celebrating.
Community can be your lifeline when dealing with the silent battles of autoimmune conditions. Annie and I shed light on the solace found in support groups and the connections made in the digital space that often act as a beacon of understanding in the face of isolation. We also delve into how a consistent mindfulness practice can not only ease the physical pain associated with autoimmune diseases but also elevate your overall quality of life. I share some personal anecdotes on finding joy in these practices, emphasizing the beauty in selecting activities that resonate with you on a deeper level.
Habit-building can feel like an uphill battle, yet it's the cornerstone of lasting wellness. In this heart-to-heart with Annie, we explore the nuances of setting attainable goals and the transformative potential of regular check-ins for those on their autoimmune journey. From spotlighting success stories to discussing the unique hurdles women face, particularly during perimenopause, this episode is a tapestry of experiences woven together to illustrate the profound impact of consistent, personalized care. Join us as we affirm that, regardless of the ebbs and flows of life with an autoimmune condition, there's strength in the steadfast pursuit of health.
Annie is a yoga teacher, meditation guide, and wellness coach certified by the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN, and Yoga Center of Minneapolis. She holds an M.B.A. and is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).
Annie’s passions extend beyond yoga to encompass a whole body, whole mind approach to wellness. This passion drove her to obtain her M.B.A. and create Annie Hayes Wellness, a holistic approach to making wellness affordable and accessible to all.
As a national board-certified health and wellness coach, Anne will serve as a skilled partner to help you identify the steps you need to take to improve your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and support you along the way. Whether you want to lose weight, change your habits, tackle life’s transitions with confidence, or feel better, her goal is for you to feel better after every session.
Navigating life with an autoimmune condition can feel like a solo journey, but it doesn't have to be. I had the pleasure of bringing in Annie, my health and wellness coach, who's an expert in turning living with autoimmune diseases into thriving despite them. Together, we unpack the art of crafting wellness plans that are as unique as your fingerprint, offering hope and actionable advice for anyone aiming to steer their health in a positive direction. Through our candid conversation, I open up about my own triumphs—no matter how small they may seem—they're milestones worth celebrating.
Community can be your lifeline when dealing with the silent battles of autoimmune conditions. Annie and I shed light on the solace found in support groups and the connections made in the digital space that often act as a beacon of understanding in the face of isolation. We also delve into how a consistent mindfulness practice can not only ease the physical pain associated with autoimmune diseases but also elevate your overall quality of life. I share some personal anecdotes on finding joy in these practices, emphasizing the beauty in selecting activities that resonate with you on a deeper level.
Habit-building can feel like an uphill battle, yet it's the cornerstone of lasting wellness. In this heart-to-heart with Annie, we explore the nuances of setting attainable goals and the transformative potential of regular check-ins for those on their autoimmune journey. From spotlighting success stories to discussing the unique hurdles women face, particularly during perimenopause, this episode is a tapestry of experiences woven together to illustrate the profound impact of consistent, personalized care. Join us as we affirm that, regardless of the ebbs and flows of life with an autoimmune condition, there's strength in the steadfast pursuit of health.
Annie is a yoga teacher, meditation guide, and wellness coach certified by the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, MN, and Yoga Center of Minneapolis. She holds an M.B.A. and is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).
Annie’s passions extend beyond yoga to encompass a whole body, whole mind approach to wellness. This passion drove her to obtain her M.B.A. and create Annie Hayes Wellness, a holistic approach to making wellness affordable and accessible to all.
As a national board-certified health and wellness coach, Anne will serve as a skilled partner to help you identify the steps you need to take to improve your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and support you along the way. Whether you want to lose weight, change your habits, tackle life’s transitions with confidence, or feel better, her goal is for you to feel better after every session.
Hi my Spoonie sisters. It's your host, gracefully, jen, and I am beyond thrilled to welcome my own health and wellness coach to the show today. So, hi, hi, annie, how are you today?
Speaker 2:
I'm doing fantastic. Hello from the Midwest. I'm in Minnesota and, as we were saying a little earlier, before we got started, the weather is starting to spring up a little bit yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I can't wait for those 75 to 80 degree days. I'm not a fan of the hundreds, but 75 to 80, that's my jam.
Speaker 2:
I totally agree with you. The ability just to wear shorts or not think about the weather, to be able to walk at seven o'clock in the morning or seven o'clock at night, it's like ideal temperature.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely, I think. Living in Hawaii, that's my ideal temperature 80 degrees all the time.
Speaker 2:
That sounds really good. I wouldn't even mind the sand and the salt in my floors and my bedsheets at that point.
Speaker 1:
I agree, it would be like heaven.
Speaker 2:
Well, thank you for coming on the show. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, wellness and yoga, specifically around health and wellness for communities and individuals, thinking about accessibility, affordability as well? We do a lot around yoga meditation. We do a lot around autoimmune conditions, as well as conditions like PMS and perimetopause, so we've been around for quite some time. We survived COVID yes, because a lot of people didn't so super grateful for the community that we built. What else about me? I'm a pretty down-to-earth, normal individual and I try to tell my clients that when I meet with them, I'm happy to be open and honest and vulnerable.
Speaker 1:
I think that's really what drives those deep connections between coach and coachee, as well as just relationships and community and you know I love that about you because it's almost like having a chat with a good friend. It makes a person a lot more comfortable about sharing about their lives and their struggles comfortable about sharing about their lives and their struggles.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, because sharing struggles is vulnerable. Right? You're sharing things with somebody that you maybe not have told anybody before, and there can be fear, guilt and shame around a lot of those things, and, as health and wellness coaches, our goal is to eliminate that and meet you exactly where you're at like a friend, a friend with accountability.
Speaker 1:
Yes, absolutely, and I think all of us need someone like that in our lives. So, understanding autoimmune challenges how can individuals with autoimmune conditions navigate the unique challenges they face in daily life, and what strategies do you recommend for managing these challenges?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, you know, that's a really great question and each client that I coach, that I develop a plan with and I say with because it really is about that client, that person is about that client, that person creating a plan that's accessible to them. And that's one thing I always want to stress is I'm not a coach in the sense of a fitness coach, where I'm going to lay everything out for you and I'm going to tell you what to do. Most of us don't like to be told what to do, so that's one of the things that we talk about when we start a coaching program is creating and supporting a plan that helps each individual that we're meeting with.
Speaker 1:
Yes, and one of the things that I love is, every time I would meet with you, the first thing you would ask was how's your week been going, how are the goals going that we've set in place, and that makes a person feel more comfortable to share. I think, phrasing it that way and not making a person feel like, oh my gosh, I'm in trouble, I didn't do anything that you laid out for me. You're just asking how's it going?
Speaker 2:
How did it work? Yeah, I think a lot of people, with all different types of chronic and acute disease. Sometimes it's the last thing they really want to talk about. Sometimes they don't want to talk about rheumatoid arthritis, they don't want to talk about psoriatic lupus fibro. They want to just have a conversation with a person that doesn't hyper-focus on those sorts of things. What we're focusing on is how can we make your quality of life better? What small successes did you achieve this week? What does that look like for you?
Speaker 1:
Absolutely, and I'll tell you, it felt empowering and just wonderful in general to come back and be like oh my gosh, guess what? I slept really well, it worked. Everything that we laid out for me it worked, and I was always just so thrilled to tell you and check in with you and brag about how things went.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and I think, like in particular to Jen, with yourself, like we really worked hard at. I call them bite size or appetizers. In the coaching world, a lot of people call them action steps we found pieces that were small, that you could build on, that you could create success with. And I think that's one of the key things, especially with people who have autoimmune disease, is that things change day to day. Right, you may feel awesome today and you may feel like crap tomorrow, and so what are the small pieces that we can put in place that you can do almost any day of the week, regardless of how you're feeling? It's basically having a backup plan for the backup plan, absolutely.
Speaker 1:
So empowering mindset, that's the next one I want to bring up. How can a positive mindset and an emotional wellbeing contribute to managing these autoimmune conditions? And then, what tools or practices do you suggest for cultivating resilience and empowerment?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I cannot stress enough the importance of a good quality mindset, a good quality mental health piece, and I can't even stress enough the importance of meditation to achieve those things.
Speaker 2:
And that is one of the things that we talk about a lot or I talk about a lot with clients is meditation and breathwork. We can really go down a rabbit hole quick, especially if we are in pain. Things don't feel good, we have to cancel plans because we're having a pain flare and creating tools that people can use to maybe have a small pity party for a hot second. But then let's get out of that a little bit quicker, sooner, faster, and so, using a lot of different meditation techniques and breathworking techniques, I would consider empowerment as well as resilience. You know, resilience is the ability to bounce back, that you have a little setback and you're like, okay, this was crappy and I didn't really like that, and now I'm going to get out of this hole and I'm going to move forward and meditation and breath work can really support each individual with that as well as a good quality community.
Speaker 1:
Yes, yes, I love all of that. So, looking at the holistic approach in your experience, how effective is a holistic approach to health and managing autoimmune conditions, and are there specific lifestyle changes or dietary considerations, or maybe even alternative therapies that you often recommend?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. So I'm a big believer in East meets West. I really do believe that we have fantastic medical technology there are some fantastic doctors out there, but I also think that there are fantastic treatments and options all over the world and combining them. We see a lot more success in the autoimmune realm when we can combine things like meditation, breath work. We talk a lot about acupuncture, massage, hot-cold therapies as well, and those things are important because they also kind of swell around self-care. Those are pieces that we can do for self-care.
Speaker 2:
And when I think about dietary or nutrition things, that is really another foundational piece to keep people healthy. Science tells us that people who do have autoimmune conditions tend to have a little bit more of a sensitivity towards things like gluten, sugar, highly processed foods. We know that those things create inflammation. So we work really hard. I work really hard. I say we and I should be saying I. I work really hard with clients to create a plan. So I don't like to say diet, because I think diet is very triggering and I think it brings up a lot of people, a lot of things for a lot of people. So working with like their current eating lifestyle plan and how do we adjust and change that a little bit, and I think one of the biggest things that I do with my clients is really suggest keeping a food journal. I think when we can start writing things down around what we eat, when we eat, what are the reactions that we have, can really start supporting is like listening to our bodies and what's happening.
Speaker 2:
And that goes for stress and anxiety too. A lot of times stress will manifest as a stomach ache, a headache. Anxiety can manifest as being fatigued and tired, and I guess one of my examples I could give you for myself is that growing up I ate all the normal things that a kid would eat and I always felt the same way Like I wouldn't go to the bathroom for four or five days. I felt bloated and swollen. I just thought that's how you felt and it really wasn't until I got more into the health and wellness realm about 10 to 15 years ago that I started writing things down because I was like okay, maybe this isn't normal, maybe I shouldn't be feeling this way, and I started just kind of writing down my food and the reaction to the things that I was having.
Speaker 2:
In particular, I have a sensitivity not to gluten, but just to wheat, to milk, to walnuts and to alfalfa and, of course, my alfalfa grass was in the protein shakes that I was drinking and I would connect these things and I stopped eating them completely. And then I did the next step and I took a allergy and sensitivity test to find out if it was actually true. And it was. It was actually true, especially the wheat piece, which is unfortunate because I love regular pasta and I love bread. And so it was really about listening and we do encourage I do encourage clients to listen as much as they can and understand that maybe how they feel isn't really how they could be feeling if we made some changes. Long story long on that one.
Speaker 1:
That's okay, and I think you know. Think that bite-sized stuff comes into play again. It's about starting somewhere to find out what is going on with yourself. You have to check in with yourself and listen to what your body is telling you.
Speaker 2:
You do, and I think, when we talk about those other pieces like acupuncture, massage and I mentioned self-care, because I think listening to your body is a lot about self-care and how do we incorporate those pieces in so we can feel good? We want to feel good as people and we have that right as an individual to feel good.
Speaker 1:
Yes, absolutely, and I think so. My next question kind of goes back to you bringing up anxiety. So stress management. Stress is often a trigger for autoimmune symptoms. How do you guide your clients in managing stress and are there particular stress reduction techniques that have proven beneficial for those autoimmune conditions?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. So education and awareness, I think can be really really helpful and really really important. You know, truly understanding some of the signs and symptoms and I think maybe this goes towards people who are maybe newer or newly diagnosed. You know they've had these feelings around stress and anxiety. Their body reacts a certain way and they don't really know or understand. So I think that is really really important Along stress and anxiety.
Speaker 2:
I also feel like again having that backup plan for the backup plan flexible planning, one of the doctors that I used to work with.
Speaker 2:
She said no is a complete sentence and I have used that ever since with my clients because no is a complete sentence and especially with people who struggle with autoimmune conditions. They have to say no sometimes and there shouldn't have to be any sort of stress or anxiety judgment shame around that, and there tends to be. So that's something that we work a lot with is how do we manage those feelings of stress, shame and guilt when you do have to say no and then the anxiety kind of bubbles up like how can we help manage that? Again, breath work is one thing, meditation is another thing. I encourage my clients to write things down, even for myself. I have a list on the fridge. When I get into a certain mood or I feel anxious or stressed, I have a list of 10 things that I know work for me, and I'll start at the top and I'll work my way all the way through to the bottom until I can finally feel that relief that I need.
Speaker 1:
Oh gosh, I love that. I love that so much and, honestly, our conversation is just bringing me back to our sessions and all the things that we did that I just love so much. So building a support system. The autoimmune journey can be isolating. How important is it for individuals to build a strong support system, and what strategies do you recommend for fostering connections and understanding within one's personal and social circles?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it's. One of the lifestyle pillars is connection and community, and most health and wellness coaches use this wellness wheel to kind of chart where their members are. Their patients are at the beginning, the middle and the end of a program, and community is one of the things that I have learned a lot about. I work in a lot of communities. In particular, I find a lot of value in communities. One of the things I have learned from coaching people who have autoimmune conditions is that we look normal from the outside. A lot of us look normal. We go to work, we take care of families, we do all the things that we need to do, and so when people look at us, they think everything is fine.
Speaker 2:
Trying to explain to friends and family members that I can't do two weddings in a row, I can't do a reception and a wedding. I can do one or the other. A lot of times they don't understand, and so I think fostering a community of people that do understand where you're coming from is essential outside of your family and friends, and there are a lot of local support and chapters around, like rheumatoid arthritis support groups, lupus, psoriatic arthritis. I would definitely encourage people to find those local chapters and join them. They do outings that are specific to people who have different autoimmune conditions which can help with the isolation piece. I think a lot, a lot of times they'll have virtual meetups which also can help with the isolation piece. I think a lot, a lot of times they'll have virtual meetups which also can help with isolation when you're in a flare and you can't move or go or you're just feeling too depressed to get out of bed. But you're going to try.
Speaker 1:
You know, those virtual meetups can be super supportive and encouraging for a lot of folks Most definitely, and it doesn't hurt to get on the internet and just start Googling, because you're going to find them somewhere.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, facebook. I've seen several private groups with people who have autoimmune conditions and I think that's another great way, if people are okay with being on social media, to be in those sorts of support groups, because they're kind of like an online chat where you have the ability to talk to people in your time.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely Okay. So the mind-body connection how does the mind-body connection play a role in autoimmune health, and are there specific practices, such as things you've already mentioned meditation or mindfulness, that you find particularly effective for promoting overall well-being?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. So I want to start with, consistency is key here around the mindfulness sort of piece or movement or the mind-body connection. A lot of times we kind of start something and it feels really good and we're like, oh, we don't need to do this anymore. It feels, I feel fine. We stop that practice and then we notice a gradual decrease in those feelings of joy and enjoyment. And again, the mindfulness piece, I think, is really important.
Speaker 2:
And mindfulness and meditation are a little bit different. And when I talk about mindfulness, I talk about being present to what's happening or going on. That could be in a conversation with a person that could be eating a meal, that could be reading a book. When I think about meditation, I think more about not necessarily quieting the mind but giving yourself time and space to be quiet, and I think both of those are really important and can be essential for the mind-body connection as well as with pain reduction.
Speaker 2:
So we've seen a lot of studies when we're talking about breath work, mindfulness and meditation, that pain reduction is happening with folks that have autoimmune conditions and to me that's amazing. And it's amazing in a lot of different ways, but the number one being that it's free, that you don't have to pay to have mindfulness, meditation or breath work. An autoimmune condition can be expensive and it can be expensive or you're paying out of pocket for those other pieces like insurance and massage, and so some of these pieces and tools that we use as coaches and that I use in my own practice are free tools, again, because I find value in sharing. But also affordability, I think, is really important piece here.
Speaker 1:
So where exactly would you send someone to use these tools?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. So, as we said before, the internet is a fantastic place to start when I'm working with clients, developing a plan with them, talking to them about what do these tools look like, how could they incorporate them into their day, and again, a lot of times for people, I hear a lot. I've tried meditation. I'm not good at it, I can't quiet my mind, I can't turn it off, and kind of re-educating members and clients that meditation isn't about turning things off or keeping things quiet and finding ways they can use the tools that work and fit for them. And so I always encourage going online YouTube, insight, timer, calm all have free programs and a ton of free things to use and start just kind of going through things. Voice might be a really important thing to somebody. Somebody might not like this high, squeaky voice, somebody might not like this low, deep voice, and so if you're doing a guided meditation, voice can be really important in how you perceive or take in that meditation.
Speaker 1:
I think that's a really good point. And you know, for me personally, you know I go straight to my phone and I look for podcasts, or I look at iTunes and see what I can find and there's a lot of great ones out there. I can find, and and there's a lot of great ones out there. I I find that listening to sound baths is really relaxing for me. Uh, you know, I even listen to piano music. But it's about finding what works for you. What do your ears want?
Speaker 2:
to hear. It totally is true, and I think it's the same thing when we talk about food plans, when we talk about exercise. It's like, what do I want to do and what's going to make me feel good right now and where's my list? Let me look at the list of things for this particular day or time or feeling, and let me pull something from that list. Feeling and let me pull something from that list, because we don't want to do things that we don't like. You know, and I know you and I have talked a lot about want goals versus need, like I need to versus I want to, and I think that I want to have less stress. Is, you know, a perfect example of then taking the time and energy to look for something that works for you? That's part of those small action steps.
Speaker 1:
And you know I was really excited when you brought that up to me to make that, those lists. But at the same time I still remember looking at you like deer in the headlights going I don't know what I want. I don't know what I need, give me some time.
Speaker 1:
And so I spent a week working on those lists and then I was bouncing off the walls with excitement to come back to you and show you my lists and I know it's somewhere I should have dug it out to bring up. But the want goals, those are. I look at them as more of the fun things. Right, and the needs are things that we need in our lives, or maybe our bodies need and I don't know. I can't thank you enough for having me do that. Do you remember one of your want goals? I can't think of one off the top of my head. Do you remember?
Speaker 2:
I don't remember one of your want goals no, I don't, I didn't pull your notes out. No-transcript. Way better than I need to lift weights or I need to lose weight. I can think about I want to be strong mentally and physically, and then I can start kind of writing things underneath that that are like what do I want to do in order to get there? What will bring me joy and excitement?
Speaker 2:
You know, to be strong mentally and physically, well, I want to walk outside every day. You know I love being outside, I love nature. I know that that's going to support me. And being stronger, I want to lay down and do a five-minute guided meditation. That sounds luxurious to me, the ability to take five minutes to do that, and I know that those are also. I need to meditate, versus I want to lay down for five minutes and listen to a guided meditation. The feelings are very different. What we're achieving, I think, is similar or the same, but one brings a lot more joy, excitement and pleasure and one is just like oh really, I have to work out, I can't have that piece of cake sort of feelings.
Speaker 1:
You know and I think that is kind of where I went with my list I think one of the things on there was talking about wanting to be strong. Excuse me and and I remember discussing with you okay, I need to stop rolling out of bed and going straight to my phone to go to work and to reply back to people. And so I do remember telling you okay, I'm going to get up, I'm going to make myself a quick and easy breakfast and I'm going to go out in my living room and I'm going to do either my stretches, my yoga, uh, anything that I find fun but gives me strength, and that is something that that I did really well for a while, and then I kind of fell off the wagon. But that's kind of how it goes right. It's like a roller coaster and it's always trying to find that balance and get back to it again.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it totally is. And another one of yours was around sleep too, and like the ability to turn screens off at a certain time so you sleep more restfully. I want to have a better night's sleep, so I'm going to turn the screens off and I'm going to read for an hour before bed, and it is. It's kind of like I mean, I've heard this saying from my grandmother, who is a nurse and she worked in psych wards and schizophrenics would take their medicine, they would feel amazing and then they would stop taking it and then you regress back and I look at a lot of these things as the same way. We take this medicine and we take it for a while, we feel amazing and we're like we don't need to do this anymore. But again, consistency is key. Five minutes every day is better than one 30-minute session a week or even two 30 minute sessions a week.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely, and I think I'm really glad that you brought up the sleep, because that was a huge goal of mine, because I've been known to be a night owl, but then I want to still get up early. Well, that's not going to work very well and I had to find that balance. Very well, and I had to find that balance and together we figured out what tools I needed and how I was going to find that balance. And I've done a really good job and I'm still making sure that I try to go to bed around 11, because that was my goal, because 2am is not a good one and I feel such a difference, you know, and it's not going to be perfect every day, but I definitely feel so much better now that I'm getting a consistent night's sleep.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, it does make all the difference. And again, it's like meeting you where you're at and what tools are going to work for Jen, not what tools work for the general public or what tools worked for the past 10 clients before you. It's like what can you do? What do you feel ready to do? And sometimes people don't feel ready to do anything, but they're thinking about it. They know the change is coming, but, yeah, it's meeting you. I always say meeting you where you're at, on your mat, just because you know a lot of my background is yoga and just getting people there is really the hardest part, as you know.
Speaker 1:
Yes, and and that's a good thing that I want to bring up to you is how do you help someone that thinks they want to do better, but they're just not ready and not willing to do the work?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that's. That's a good question and it's a lot of people and it can be a lot of people who are in free programs through their insurance companies. It can be even people who are paying $100 a session, so it does range across the board. They think they're ready but really what we're finding is they're not and I think it's diving in a little bit like what wall is stopping them from being ready? And I think there's a lot of different things emotionally and mentally that can be blockers. It can be family and friends, it can be time, it could be emotional things from even early childhood that can be these stoppers for people.
Speaker 2:
And I think it's starting to identify those things and just bringing it to the surface and starting to ask sometimes hard questions. As a health and wellness coach, we have to ask hard questions but we can do it in a way that's kind, that's nice, that people don't feel bad or shameful about. But I think sometimes we do need to ask it really doesn't sound like you're ready for change? Does that sound accurate? What do you think might be stopping you? So sometimes having to ask those hard questions also helps get us to you know really the point of why change isn't happening.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and you know, my guess is that it took years to build these walls, so it's not going to be torn down, you know, overnight. So it goes back to meeting them where they're at.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, and maybe they come and they're like I want to change my food, my exercise, my sleep. I feel really okay in my community and you find that they're not ready to change their food, their exercise and sleep and we can find ways to build their community stronger that they're excited about. And what I've learned is that sometimes those other changes follow. When we can build little self-confidence maybe in one area, the changes in those other areas that seem to have a block tend to follow naturally.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely, and maybe focus on one thing instead of all of them at the same time. Absolutely, and maybe focus on one thing instead of all of them at the same time, because that's a lot to try to change all at once, I know, but we get so excited.
Speaker 2:
You think, about the beginning of the year and people are writing their resolutions, and only about eight people who make resolutions actually achieve them throughout the year. So that's one thing that we can think about, and a lot of times it's 17 things. That's one thing that we can think about, and a lot of times it's 17 things. You know it's not one thing, wow, but it's a lot of things.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so we've talked a lot about personalizing your coaching and we've talked about the holistic and the nutritional and the life and the body and the exercise. What about advocacy and support? So, living with an autoimmune condition can sometimes feel isolating. How do you support your clients in finding community and advocating for their needs with their health care system?
Speaker 2:
yeah. So, as we talked about finding support groups that maybe are local to their community that support their specific autoimmune condition, also, talking to their doctors and their hospital systems, a lot of times those areas also have support groups and things that may not be known locally, you know to find other ways of support, and I think that can be really important, especially if you're seeing a specialist right. So if you're seeing a rheumatologist, a lot of times they have a wealth of information they can share with you around support and community Advocacy is hard. So, as a health and wellness coach, so we're board certified. We go through a rigorous exam for hours and hours and hours and we have to also practice within our scope. Just like a surgeon isn't going to be a psychologist and a psychologist isn't going to be a surgeon, so for a lot of things we don't get to give plans for or we aren't mental health care providers. What we can do with our clients is build.
Speaker 2:
Again. I'm a big fan of lists, apparently, because I'm thinking lists and plans questions they can ask their healthcare providers when they're preparing and getting ready to go into a doctor's visit. I think is really valuable. We talk a lot about that actually in coaching sessions, like I'm getting ready to go see the rheumatologist, I'm getting ready to go see the gastroenterologist which I didn't say that right, but it's in there. You know what I'm talking about and I have all these questions and I need to advocate for myself and a lot of people have a hard time. You have 15 minutes, 30 minutes in a session. How do you organize that so you feel heard and you get all your questions answered? And creating that list is one piece For coaches.
Speaker 2:
Most of us don't work within a healthcare system. It's really unfortunate, but coaching is not covered by healthcare insurance. We're seeing a lot more nurses getting their coaching certifications and so we don't get that connection that you would normally get in a healthcare system where your RA doc talks to your primary care doc. You're in a big system, a file system online where you can see notes and such. So we really have to trust our clients and our members that they're giving us all of the information so we can support and help to the best of our abilities.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely, and you have to rely on them giving you that information, because you can only work with what is given to you.
Speaker 2:
You can, and sometimes that's hard, and sometimes that comes back to building rapport and being vulnerable. Right Like the first couple of sessions, you don't always get the whole story, you don't always get all of the information. Things start to trickle out as people start to feel more and more comfortable.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, absolutely, because I think you know there's also a fear within many of us where we don't want to word vomit, we don't want to tell you our entire life story and there's not enough time, so it's going to take time to figure out and find out where we're at and how we got there.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, absolutely, and I think again, giving people ample time and as coaches, we want to talk less. We want our clients to talk more and as coaches, we talk less. If we're talking too much, we're not doing our job, that's a fair point.
Speaker 1:
That's a fair point. So measuring progress how do you track progress and success in your coaching sessions with clients who have any kind of condition? Are there specific markers or milestones that you specifically look for?
Speaker 2:
Yeah. So we talked a little bit about that wellness wheel, which is like these lifestyle pillars around physical activity, sleep, nutrition, community. It can be a whole host of things. There's a general one, and I find health and wellness coaches can also tailor that wheel to specific clients for specific purposes. So a lot of times we'll ask those clients you know, on a scale of one to 10, where are you with nutrition, where are you with physical activity? And we do that rating system at the beginning, the middle and the end, and that can really help us see where things have improved, stayed the same or even gone a little bit lower.
Speaker 2:
I also love just assessing with my client and talking with them about how they're feeling. I am not afraid to ask my clients how do you feel like the coaching sessions are going? Are you getting what you need out of them? Am I doing the job that you're expecting? Because sometimes I also wonder are they not achieving their goals? Because I'm coaching in a way that is not receptive to them and so I do a lot of check-ins. Are we coaching the way that you want? Does this feel good to you?
Speaker 2:
Because I want people to be successful, I want to work myself out of a job, basically, which I know is not conducive to normal everyday people who work. But that is the goal. I don't want to see my client for five years. I want them to feel successful and ready to leave the nest, so to say, at some point. And it's also looking at those bite-sized pieces. I don't always look at achieving that large goal so I want to lose 35 pounds as a goal. I look at those bite-sized pieces of how are we going to achieve that. I want to walk for five minutes a day. I want to start choosing fruit over a cookie. I really like to look at those habits that are forming and building. I like to talk to them about what habits are sticking and I think those are beautiful, beautiful ways to see that success is being achieved and made with clients.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, absolutely and honestly. Like you said, you don't want to see a client for five years. You want to see them succeed and within that success, you're probably going to get more clients, because what are they going to do? They're going to do the word of mouth, they're going to go out into the world and they're going to tell everyone oh my gosh, you need to meet Annie and look where I'm at because of what she's done with me. And that's going to get you more business.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely, and I want to add one more thing to your question is pain we talked about. How do we know that we're being successful and we're making progress? I think lowering those pain flares, especially with autoimmune conditions, or even like assessing fatigue seeing those things increase, are also great kind of pillars of are we doing what we need to do? Are you finding success? And yeah, word of mouth is the best way, in my opinion. People share and I, as a coach, would rather have people coming to me via word of mouth because I think they also have more readiness for change. I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so my last big question for you is around success stories. Can you share a success story of a client who has made significant progress in managing their symptoms and what were some key factors that contributed to their success?
Speaker 2:
That's a great question. So I work with autoimmune conditions. I also work a lot with women, like I said, around PMS, perimetopause and menopause. Believe it or not, 80% of autoimmune conditions are connected to women. It's really interesting when we start looking at data and statistics around that 80% mark of autoimmune conditions and women. It's like the high that they account for 80 percent of all autoimmune disease, and so it's also very interesting to work with women in those childbearing years that have autoimmune conditions because sometimes they can flare if they're pregnant, sometimes they don't. They get better if they are or the hormonal fluctuations around autoimmune conditions and like perimetopause and menopause and I bring that up because I'm thinking about a client in particular that was, you know, in her late forties. So perimetopause, but also with autoimmune conditions, multiple. The other thing a lot of times is women have multiple autoimmune conditions. It sometimes is not just rheumatoid arthritis, sometimes there's another layer tucked in there that we don't find out until later on and I'm sure that you can probably speak to that just with your community and hearing some of those stories.
Speaker 2:
But success going into a semi-remission where the pain flares and the emotional stability started to even out, and a lot of that was a lot of that. All of that was hard work done by the client herself, really slowing down and taking a look at things, starting to really listen to her body as we talked about earlier around food journaling was a really big piece for her and self-care. I know that. You know, as women in general, we tend to wear 17 masks. To wear 17 masks, maybe we're a mom to human babies, maybe we're moms to pet babies, maybe we're also a partner, maybe we also work full time. Maybe we're also taking care of aging parents or grandparents, we're helping with homework, we're running people around.
Speaker 2:
We're doing a lot of things and for this particular client, she had to really stop and reassess her self-care and where that was coming from and if it was even happening. So her coming to me completely drained and fatigued, not able to get out of bed until 11 o'clock, to the ability to get out of bed at seven or eight to start sitting down with a cup of tea and reading a book, and the ability then to start her day a little bit earlier and to be almost completely pain-free because of the lifestyle changes that she had made, as well as when she wasn't pain-free she could look back and she could see why what was happening one to three days ago to make her feel this way. It could have been dessert, it could have been a really hard day walking around an arboretum. So she was really able to pinpoint that and then she could adjust and change it for the next time.
Speaker 1:
That sounds wonderful.
Speaker 2:
Sometimes I'm like I wish I could sleep too. That would be, that would.
Speaker 1:
Absolutely Well. I feel like we've covered so much an incredible amount. Is there anything that you think we've left out that you want to bring up?
Speaker 2:
No, I don't think so. I think we have covered a lot, you know. Again, I'll just stress consistency, and I know it's hard and I know it's really hard when everybody's having this amazing time and drinking wine and eating all this amazing food and you know, if you eat it it's going to make you feel terrible. But how do you find balance and consistency? Because I think that's part of the joy of life. You know, the contentment and joy is all about consistency and balance.
Speaker 1:
Yes, absolutely Well. Thank you so much for giving us your time and sharing about what you do.
Speaker 2:
Thanks, jen, I appreciate you having me here.
Speaker 1:
It's incredible to see you. I'm thrilled to have you on here, all right? Well, I will make sure I share all the important links in our show notes so people can come and find you, and all right. Well my spoonie sisters. Until next time, don't forget your spoon.