Over the last 30 years, AFPA has licensed over 130,000 well being, vitamin, and health professionals. We often function distinguished graduates who’re utilizing what they’ve realized to encourage others and make a distinction. 

Meet considered one of our featured graduates, Claire Simmons, an AFPA Licensed Holistic Well being Coach.

Inform us about your self.

Hello! My identify is Claire Simmons and I’m an AFPA Licensed Holistic Well being Coach. I stay in North Carolina with my husband of eight years and our three boys, ages 6, 4 and a pair of.

I graduated from the College of Miami in 2004 and from there landed my first job as a tv reporter and producer. After spending a number of years within the trade, I accepted a job at one of many nation’s largest healthcare organizations, the place I labored as a senior communications director. I really loved my time there because it was a beautiful mix of difficult and thrilling work, however finally, I needed to spend extra time with my kids.

In December of 2022 I made the choice to go away my company job and keep dwelling. Household is extraordinarily necessary to me, and I didn’t need to look again and surprise the place the time went. Moreover, my ardour for well being and wellness has all the time been entrance and middle in my life, so I needed to make sure that I used to be creating the perfect life potential for my boys. I needed to be there for them, prepare dinner them wholesome meals, play outdoors with them, and provides them a childhood primarily based in wellness.

How did you initially change into all in favour of well being and wellness?

Ever since I used to be a baby, my dad and mom inspired my brothers and I to be lively and play outside. My mother all the time cooked at dwelling and consuming out was a uncommon event. As soon as I left dwelling and went to varsity, I knew that I needed to keep up a wholesome life-style and never give in to the same old school temptations!

I began going to the health club and fell in love with health. That led me to get licensed to show group health, which I did all through my school years. I bear in mind devoutly studying girls’s well being magazines the place I realized about vitamin and picked up a number of suggestions and tips that basically got here in helpful as a younger grownup, navigating life by myself for the primary time.

From there, health and vitamin simply turned ingrained in my on a regular basis life. Ultimately, I began studying about intuitive and conscious consuming, psychological power, emotional maturity, and the entire different elements of well being that we don’t hear as a lot about as exercises and diets. That’s when it actually clicked for me…having that entire package deal in place is what made me really feel and carry out my finest. I couldn’t cease studying about wellness and I needed everybody round me to really feel nearly as good as I did!

I believe I all the time knew that there was a path for me within the wellness trade, however I used to be all the time busy with life and put my give attention to my profession, having infants, and such. However as soon as I gave myself time to consider what route I needed to go in and the way I needed my life to look, I simply couldn’t ignore the decision that wellness was the place I wanted to be!

Which AFPA certifications have you ever earned, and why did you select these certification applications?

I’ve earned the Holistic Well being Coach Certification, which is comprised of the Well being and Wellness Teaching Course in addition to the Holistic Vitamin Course. I cherished the choice of mixing these two as a result of true wellness is greater than what you eat. True wellness should mix harmoniously with one’s tradition, society, household, work, and household life. The Holistic Well being Coach Certification teaches you the nuts and bolts of vitamin which is so necessary and consists of methods on methods to navigate actual life, even when your food regimen can’t be “excellent.”

How are you utilizing your certification/planning on utilizing your certification?

At the beginning, my main objective is to make use of the data gained by means of my certifications to create the healthiest and happiest dwelling surroundings for my household. My household is my precedence and if we aren’t wholesome, I do know that it’s exhausting to stay life to the fullest! Plus, I need my kids to study vitamin and health now when they’re younger to allow them to lean on these instruments all through their complete life. I believe it could possibly be the perfect current I may give them! My husband is an entrepreneur and has a really anxious and difficult job, so I need him to know that when he’s dwelling he’ll all the time get the perfect from me within the type of scrumptious, wholesome meals, an area to relaxation, a clear and orderly surroundings, and, in fact, plenty of consideration from the youngsters and me. 😊

Outdoors of my household, I’ve so many concepts to assist others! I need to create a wellness committee at my sons’ college and assist construct up programming to educate college students about vitamin, health, and wellness. I’d like to construct a backyard in school and residential to develop recent herbs, fruits, and greens. I need to assist mothers who additionally need the perfect for his or her households however who’re scuffling with how to do this. I need to assist those that are working the company grind and present them that it’s potential to include well being into that busy life-style. I additionally need to create and share extra content material about vitamin and wholesome residing and publish that on social media, a weblog, and for different web sites which have like-minded content material.

How has changing into licensed with AFPA impacted your life?

I’m so grateful I made the choice to get licensed by AFPA! It gave me the arrogance to pursue my ardour and cement my credibility within the wellness area as not simply somebody who loves well being and wellness, however somebody who’s succesful and ready to assist others. AFPA gave me credible and stable info on so many matters and dove deep into the science, analysis and present panorama of the place we’re as a nation with our well being. I additionally really feel as if I’ve a whole group working in the direction of an identical objective and a bunch of people who find themselves all the time obtainable to assist me.

What was one factor you realized in your research that has left an influence on you?

It’s hanging to me simply how a lot our nation NEEDS well being coaches. (Whereas earlier than, I although having a coach was a complete luxurious!) So many people don’t understand that we stay in a system that places revenue over well being. It’s as much as the person to do the analysis and resolve what’s finest for them. It’s a tragic reality but when one actually needs to thrive and stay their finest life, you need to go towards the grain. What’s standard is often not wholesome and what’s simple isn’t wholesome both. I hope that I might be an advocate for individuals who crave well being however don’t have the time or power to seek out their path.

How can we discover you on-line?

My Instagram is @Clairehossimmons.

 I like to publish suggestions and tips there, in addition to my life as a busy boy mother!

Anything we must always know?

I simply need folks to know that in the event that they make the choice to include vitamin, health, and wellness of their life in a approach that works for them, they are going to really feel so good! There’s a exercise on the market that you could love, similar to there’s a approach of consuming that may make you look and feel your finest. Wellness is a superpower, and our world can be such a greater place if all of us determined to go the wholesome route. Well being coaches can mix the hole between healthcare and actual life, so don’t be shy to succeed in out and ask for assist! We’re right here for you.