Have your wellness goals been sitting on the shelf collecting dust? Do you feel stuck when you try to change your habits? How many times have you wished you had someone to hold you accountable and keep you motivated?
A health coach believes in you and helps you discover, clarify, and align with your goals. A health coach helps you get unstuck and motivates you to make sustainable changes in your everyday life that get you to your vision of health.
Health coaches are key members of our clinical Care Teams at Vori Health and one of the top reasons why members love their experience here.
Who are health coaches?
Vori health coaches come from a variety of healthcare backgrounds, including nursing, fitness, clinical massage, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In order to receive a health coaching certification, they complete rigorous training in behavior change and optimization of healthy habits in fitness, nutrition, weight management, stress management, life satisfaction, and more.
There are several educational bodies that certify health coaches across the country. All Vori Health coaches are National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches (NBC-HWC)—the profession's highest standard of training (NBHWC, 2022).
What makes a great health coach?
✓ Vision
Vori health coaches help you see your goals and potential obstacles. They listen and ask questions help that help you reflect deeply such as: What matters to you? How would you describe your wellness vision? What are small steps you can take to get there?
✓ Goal setting
Your health coach helps simplify a big change (like losing weight or quitting smoking) into achievable, bite-size steps. They help you map out key milestones and meet with you weekly to check on your progress. They help you brainstorm solutions to challenges and set realistic goals for the next week.
✓ Accountability
Excellent health coaches also hold you accountable and keep you on task. They create a safe, non-judgmental space for you to express your emotions when you face challenges and experience setbacks.
How health coaches can help you
1. Improve chronic pain
Pain that lasts or comes and goes for more than three months is considered chronic. Chronic pain is complex and multi-dimensional. It can affect you biologically, physically, mentally, and socially. Studies show health coaching can play a powerful role in improving chronic pain (Rethorn, 2020). Trained coaches help you reframe your thoughts around pain and optimize factors in your life that make pain worse like anxiety, depression, stress, insomnia, poor nutrition, and more.
2. Reach a healthy weight
Carrying extra pounds can cause or contribute to muscle and joint pain. This impact can be significant: Every 10 pounds of extra weight places an additional 30 to 60 pounds of pressure on your knees. Extra weight can also increase inflammation in your body, zap your energy, and set you up for serious health problems such as heart disease and cancer. But reaching your ideal weight can be hard on your own. Health coaches help you get off the roller coaster of yo-yo diets and onto a steady, mindfulness-based approach with lasting results.
3. Manage stress
Our bodies can handle stress in small doses, but when stress becomes long-term or chronic, it can make us sick. Health coaches understand the impact stress can have on your health. Through a mindfulness-based approach, your coach will help you gain insight into your patterns and triggers, adjust your daily routines, and use new coping tools that put you back in control.
4. Improve sleep
Adults need seven or more hours of sleep per night—but only 1 in 3 individuals get that amount. Lack of sleep can leave you foggy, worsen pain, and also raise your risk for serious conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression. A health coach helps you reboot your sleep routine so your body can get the rest it needs.
5. Get you moving
About 1 in 2 adults in the United States do not get enough aerobic physical activity (CDC, 2022). Physical activity can improve your bone and joint health, decrease pain, boost your energy and much more. Health coaches keep you accountable and motivate you to move more.
6. Quit smoking
Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the US. It can negatively impact every aspect of your life, including your muscle and joint pain. Using evidence-based behavioral therapy, health coaches can help you make this the last time you quit.
7. Navigate the healthcare system
When you receive multiple recommendations from medical experts, it can be hard know where to start. A health coach helps you process the information you receive and focus on the decisions that are important to make first.
Get ready for a healthier new you
Through listening, being present, and supporting your vision, Vori health coaches help you see that you are the expert in your own life. You have the power to change your life for the better!
If you’re struggling with muscle or joint pain, or want to create healthier patterns, schedule a visit to get started with the support of a health coach and medical experts on your side. We're excited to help you get to where you want to go!
