Check out the image to the left of this page! And Yes, I know my story is long, but please stick with me because you might not know much about me. And that's how it should be because I'm on a mission from God in having a great since of 'JOY' in the work I do together with my clients.
I guess I'm finally figuring it out! But as you can tell by this picture of my much younger self. I've always been a most curious seeker of truth, wellness and science in what often led to me daydreaming of just about everything. I was constantly being reminded by my parents, to pay more attention to what was happening around me. I was just deeply lost in my thoughts into learning more of what I didn't already know.
So let me tell you a bit more about my story and what led me to my ultimate truth. I have been a student of alternative, integrative and natural health for over 30 years. And after spending nearly 20 plus years working in fashion modeling and as a leader in the international luxury retail and textiles industry, I felt a calling on a new career in pursuit of furthering my education. All upon leading to and receiving my initial training and advanced health coaching certifications in 2011 from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
Where I studied and have been exposed to a wide variety of dietary, wellness theories and practical lifestyle coaching methods. With an ongoing passion for learning and self-education I continued in 2018 ongoing advanced clinical studies from The School of Applied Functional Medicine that include 650 + hours of rigorous functional medicine training in advanced functional medicine sciences and clinical case studies combined with effective and integrative functional oncology coaching in helping clients living with Cancer and the trauma with such a diagnosis move beyond their diagnosis emotionally, physically, and mentally towards avoiding the unexpected side-effects for progression of dis-ease. SAFM Student Spotlight
I have been blessed as a facilitator, educator and leader for the School of Applied Functional Medicine in supporting over 40 licensed medical and wellness professionals. As well, traditional studies from Azusa Pacific University with emphasis on computer science and psychology in which I have also learned to celebrate the invaluable experiences of integrating education both mentally and spiritually in having a God first, faith based practice. Having an innate ability to understand and connect to my studies when I am truly aligned with my deepest personality.
I am now an Functional Oncology Health Coach, AADP and Certified Integrative Health Coach and founder of my virtual practice @ HealthAsMeant2B with a love a restless curiosity for Functional Medicine in how it looks at all the many angles that can be taken to support the entire body in feeling better and with the possibility of even reversing itself from the symptoms of the dis-ease. And despite my hiding from it, I have allowed myself the vulnerability with embracing this gift of my deep connection between cancer and the struggles in our life's ability to deal with the daily crises and stressors of the world that surrounds us and the negative messages we send to our bodies, minds, and spirit
When I first started HealthAsMeant2B over a decade ago I just wanted to help friends and family who were struggling to lose a few pounds. But of it all, quickly became much more! And just like the right friends and loved ones can promote health and well-being just by their presence. There are some circumstances of personal life experiences that even an advanced education just can not teach.
So many of us have been told in present and past life experiences to believe that we are broken and imperfect so why should we strive for optimal health emotionally, physically and mentally. The truth is that we are perfectly imperfect right 'now'! My hope and mission is that you don't waste another moment criticizing and or doubting what God has planned for you in this life because you are already the miracle. While I've learned that I don't have to prove my worth by what I've accomplished because I'm already whole and complete. I haven't always been sure of myself or felt like I was 'enough' to have a voice. In having a few athletic coaches and curriculum counselors early on in my childhood who told me that I was NOT good 'enough' to achieve success. I created a false belief system about just being 'enough' didn't matter as long as I appeared to be secure and confident.
This belief and perspective of also having to emotionally and spiritually work through teenage and current life experiences of feeling my most vulnerable in dealing with far too many personal losses from cancer, lung cancer, leukemia, melanoma and other cancer attributed dis-eases. I watched grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and several other of my closest friends all die of cancer related illnesses. But it wasn't until someone who was not only someone who was in my wedding but a friend whom I had shared some of the fondest memories with and who too was succumb to a diagnosis of cancer. This was the one I didn't take so easily in having so many feelings of sadness, loss and helplessness.
In the past few years, I continue to learn how expensive, how confusing, how lonely and cold cancer can be. Even as a young boy I would spend long nights consumed with thinking about all the things my loved ones could have done differently for remission or in even living a much longer life. Yes, my intuitive thoughts and around cancer and those affected by cancer are often introduced to me. And although I had no medical or nutritional health training this early on in my life, I knew their had to be more options for the quality of life as they underwent debilitating medical treatments.
Even in the moments in which for many, their cancer was beginning to show signs of remission, But I can still remember watching the family and friends that I loved dearly continue to use smoking, alcohol and all the 80's favorite "junk" foods as a means of normalcy to daily nourishment. And this was a time in which still today is just as undeniable that these habitual behaviors are considered as a part of lifestyle medicine. And in avoidance of the "social stigma" that I would face, I was not able to use my most inner voice of empathy and truth that always rejected this sort of lifestyle towards the idea of self-care and optimal function to "not" just survive but thrive in a long joyful yet peaceful life post-cancer treatment. I had so much fear around my intuition for cancer. "Was I the only one who was this weird"?
In trying to understand these personal experiences of loss I began to re-visit my faith and spirituality. I believe there are NO coincidences in life and I began to meet some of the most loving and resilient human beings who actually had been given a terminal diagnosis but despite this mistakable sentence for "end of life". They were now living a healthy, vibrant and loving life in 'radical remission' from their diagnosis of terminal cancer. I became even more curious as to why they and not others who I had known recovered and who too received aggressive chemo treatments.
I have been as lucky and blessed as someone could hope to be with all of my life experiences. I have experienced being an omnivore, experienced both vegan, vegetarian and even what I can jokingly look back in considering myself a healthy 'junk' food vegetarian for over 20 years. I've experienced a life as a fashion model, a practicing yogi, a meditator. I've experienced playing collegiate basketball, working with some of the most highly regarded luxury retailers on the globe. I've experienced food and travels around the world. I've experienced a life of marriage to my soulmate. My favorite song and anthem on life is "My Way" by Frank Sinatra because it reminds me to be unapologetic-ally Michael!
I deeply care for the well-being of others and do this simply for the love of what I do, this work has much more "meaning" and much "bigger" than myself. Consider me a health "Trekkie" and if you 'don't know' then 'now you know'. But that's a reference to the fans of the Sci-Fi series "Star Trek". Always involved, actively hunting down information, analyzing data and trivial details, testing recipes, sharing topic related news and attending workshops. So today I am finally embracing my weirdness!
In borrowing another term (Nerd alert!) from the Star Trekkie community, "The better the programming input, the stronger the output". Yes, with a background in computer science I've always been sort of a geek or nerd at heart who loves puzzle piecing and science related topics. In keeping it "weird" and a little different, I didn't always envision myself in doing this all with just pure joy and excitement to keep expanding my knowledge of wellness and enhancing my coaching skills to strengthen my practice everyday.
Even when I'm wrong, I know that as long as I can continue to grow and learn, I've already succeeded in what I AM called by God to do.
Still wondering why I do this? So many of us don't believe the truth that we are truly beautiful and 'enough' right now, whatever we may look like, or whatever our dis-ease may look like. My mission is to change that message so that those who see more darkness than light in the process of post-recovery from a cancer diagnosis and prognosis don't waste another moment criticizing or doubting themselves to move beyond their appearance and diagnosis.
My growth hasn't always been pretty or easy, but the more genuine it gets the more honest I become with myself to share my voice for healing. The old me that is in the past, the current me that is always under construction and the future me that is unknown.
