Hi, I'm a Lifestyle Professional (and maybe you are, too)
For a long time I didn’t know what to call myself professionally.
Let me back up a second and set the scene:
I’d spent 8 years in the fitness industry and for much of it I was already a unicorn. Living with a chronic illness I specialized not in “getting people hot” but in helping them live with and around their own chronic health challenges and catastrophic injuries.
By 2019 I had certifications in nutrition, yoga, mindfulness, and sleep in addition to my primary certification in personal training.
In 2020 I launched a positive psychology based podcast (Better Than Fine) and completed a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
I 2021 I starting writing for NASM on their Certified Wellness Coaching program, which I now have also completed.
So what am I? A personal trainer? Not exactly… I do some movement coaching with clients and write programs, but that isn’t all I do. Am I a coach? I don’t only do wellness or life coaching, so not exactly that either.
The more I spun my tires on this the more I spoke with those around my who are struggling with the same question.
I have friends who are
Licensed Massage Therapists but also reiki healers who support processing somatic trauma
Personal Trainers who’re also nutrition coaches with a weight neutral lens
Positive Psychology experts with neuroscience backgrounds that focus on coaching executive function
Yoga instructors with training in Neurolinguistic Programming and Motivational Interviewing who focus on breath training as a tool to teach nervous system regulation
And everything in between.
What do you call yourself when your tools no longer fit into the simple box our society has built and labeled?
I call myself a Lifestyle Professional.
A Lifestyle Professional or Lifestyle Practitioner is anyone who guides and supports others through positive lifestyle changes.
They’re coaches, massage therapists, acupuncturists, nutrition or dieticians, healers, yogis, group fitness instructors, and any other qualified professional who has pushed past the boundaries of the simple labels of our industries.
They’ve got multiple certifications and years of experience invested in helping others.
Because of that big skillset they work at a higher level of practice and support than those with only a single lens on fitness, wellness, well-being, and vitality.
For Lifestyle Professionals the old labels don’t work - because there isn’t really a name for what we do.
That often means that new clients struggle to “get it” at the beginning.
BUT
Once they do they wonder why there aren’t more of us in the world.
It also means with a lack of labeling the Lifestyle Professional can feel frustrated, shut out, misunderstood, or unsure how to price, market, and sell what it is they actually DO.
It’s difficult to share what you’re capable of if others don’t know that kind of transformation is possible.
It can also be emotionally challenging and lead to doubt, frustration, and even guilt and shame.
It leads to imposter syndrome and a fear of stepping out to tell the world who you really are, what you really are, and what you’re capable of.
That fear holds you (and your potential clients) back.
You are not alone.
This growing pool of multi-talented individuals have a common cause in helping others to build sustainable lifestyles of well-being.
You are called to this work to serve a purpose.
As am I.
And if I can figure out along the way how to make a good living, find clients, and support them - so can you.
Since having this series of realizations I’ve started writing a weekly newsletter specifically for Lifestyle Professionals - check it out if you’re interested.