Over the years, the meaning of wellness has undergone a significant transition. From initially being associated with the absence and presence of definitive symptoms followed by treatments geared towards its eradication, to the all-encompassing definition now, India’s health and wellness scenario has come a long way. The primary focus of individuals has shifted from the traditional healthcare setting as the end-all for leading a healthier and quality life, to understanding the importance of sustainable lifestyle habits for achieving holistic wellness.
This evolution in the industry has attracted many healthcare professionals to upskill themselves to keep pace with patient needs and demand shifts beyond prescriptions to a corroborative environment where patients feel motivated, heard and empowered to make sustainable behavioural and lifestyle changes for health recovery and holistic wellness. It has also emerged as a lucrative career option for individuals with a non-clinical background with inclinations towards bringing transformations to self and others with sustainable lifestyle habits to achieve mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, behavioural and occupational wellbeing.
However, despite the buzz and impact that health and wellness coaching has created, there still a veil of obscurity in the minds of many as to what exactly encompasses becoming a health and wellness coach? The following sheds some light on what one can expect in their journey of becoming a health and wellness coach.
The right training and certification
The biggest question that many have in their mind is in regards to the qualifications that one would need to cross over to the health and wellness coaching industry and create a fulfilling career path for themselves. While there is no prerequisite of one having a clinical background to pursue it as a potential career, it is important to note that the right certification and training is paramount to gain the right knowledge, skills, expertise, community support and resources required to establish themselves as a health and wellness coach. Upon confirming the credibility of the institution imparting the training and reviewing the comprehensiveness of the curriculum, one can obtain certifications through the programs offered that can take anywhere between 6 to 12 months and can be completed online.
Imbibing the right skills and knowledge
Health and wellness coaching is not restricted to the realm of training and exercises but actually goes beyond and deep into behavioural science, integrative health principles and coaching psychology that ultimately leads to healthy habits and overall well being. Thus, a health and wellness coach would need to learn interdisciplinary knowledge that touches base with various domains to determine the underlying issue of the client and then devise a functional and adaptive way for them to change their lifestyle for health recovery.
Learning coaching skills
Understanding that what a health and wellness coach does is nothing short of transformational will gear your thinking towards that from the very beginning. It is not just a setting where you are dictating to someone the changes they need to make in their life; you are guiding them and assisting them in an environment that fosters motivation and empathy, empowering them to believe and work towards the desired health outcome.
For example, a chain smoker will most probably know the repercussions associated with it and is in need of someone who can facilitate a change in the habit. In this scenario, the crucial contributions of a health and wellness coach would be the approach taken by him/her to reinforce the client to imbibe healthy sustainable lifestyle habits through techniques like positive psychology and motivational interviewing to assist the client to quit smoking eventually. Thus, the success and effectiveness of the coaching session with your clients in the future would be marked by the grasp of your coaching skills at present, which will continue to grow as you thrive in your career with the right support, resources and practise.
Practising your skills
This is a career where human connection and your ability to empathize and impact weighs higher than just the right knowledge. Thus, once one is done with the theoretical aspect of the process, they would need to translate their learnings into practice sessions that will enable them to hone their skills, build confidence, develop a system and your unique voice for value addition. While some training programs include practising sessions as a compulsory part of the curriculum, others can always reach out to their friends, families, fellow students to ease into the zone of being a health and wellness coach and get a feel of what it is like to work with others in their transformational journey.
Creating a business plan for yourself
A thriving career as a health and wellness coach would require you to create a business plan for yourself along with determining the kind of setting that you would prefer to practice in depending upon your deep seated interests, personal inclinations or even existing career path as a practitioner in the health industry. This step would require one to understand the kind of work environment that is attractive to them, ranging from working in an organization, hospitals or working closely with individuals as a business owner. The demographic of the people you help and empower will be different for separate settings due to them being subjected to varied stressors, hazardous habits, working environment, etc.
How can Weljii help you with becoming a certified health and wellness coach?
Weljii is recognized as India’s premier institute providing various wellness coach certification & training programs to help one become a successful health & wellness coach. The online training programs offered by us are not just comprehensive, imparting the right knowledge and skills but also provides experiential learning and international exposure.
It is important to note that Weljii imparts far more than just the right knowledge and training; it is a community of like-minded people who together support and grow each other. Weljii stays with you in your journey as a health and wellness coach providing you with the right mentorship and resources to market yourselves.
Also Read
How can I become a Health Coach
Career as a Certified Health Coach
