Believe you can change your life!
Hollis Taylor

I opened this site a couple years ago but it hasn’t gone very well. Part of the reason was because I was simply busy working hard to move my life across the country. I had been dreaming of moving to the Boulder, CO area for several years. The other and main reason for the neglect of this site was simple, belief. I didn’t believe that it was time for a variety of reasons, I am very good at coming up with reasons as to why I CANNOT be a holistic life coach. But in the turning of the New Year and now having completed my journey from PA to Colorado I am choosing to believe in my ability to make this work. I believe in my ability to not only help others with the pursuit of holistic health but also to write a daily article about Holistic Health. Certainly I am still transforming, change is the only constant. I have transformed from a fast food eating, lazy, depressed person to a healthy from scratch vegetarian cook, fairly fit hiker and yogini with a lifestyle of gratitude, happiness and hope.

I am constantly paying attention to my own transformations, each time I learn something new about myself. I like to pay attention to what motivates me, what keeps me focused, what inspires me, and what rewards me. I have explored all these in the past 10 years of my pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, part of that healthy lifestyle is for me to share it with the world. I know that true happiness comes when we are helping others and that is my hope. So in the spirit of true happiness I awaken this blog and continue my pursuit as a Holistic Life Coach.

I know what inspires me to do this blog but what transformed the self doubt about my abilities to a belief that I can actually do this? Simple, its my perspective. When I recently found my self on the darker side of life I realized how far I have lead myself. I have been depressed, manic, addicted, and found myself at the bottom of many barrells. Today I can look back and see all I have overcome, holistically and totally. Now I just needed to believe that it was possible that I could also share my wisdom with the world in a way that benefits everyone no matter where they come from. I had to believe that I was capable of helping others. Since I have spent my life as a caregiver in one capacity or another most people would imagine that I would feel empowered. But to help a sick or elderly person to bed is way different than helping YOU change your life. I also questioned my ability to ever move my life from eastern US to a more progressive area like Boulder, CO. Well here I sit just outside Boulder with new opportunities in my lap and a passion to make it all happen.

So when you find yourself questioning your ability to make the changes you need you make, remember some important keys. Always remember that the whole job can look very large but each step is actually very small. I often relate this to climbing a hill, mountain, or rock. Sometimes when I first began to exercise I would find myself standing at the bottom of the hill wondering if I could ever get my out of shape body to the top. I struggled with muscle tiredness and weight induced asthma that makes the climbing very uncomfortable. Some days I had to stop in the middle of the hill and many days I simply made it to the top, one step at a time. I focus on each step, rather than the entire hill. I see the hill and then I simply refocus to the tiny steps. Each step you get closer and closer, don’t give up, no matter what. You can climb, you can overcome, you can do this. Its one simple step at a time.

In each step you get a little closer to the top! You know this is true so why do so many of us struggle with reaching our goals. I think there are many reasons, one of them is belief. Believing is certainly half the battle! When you find yourself reaching for a mountain top you can easily get overwhelmed by the large task at hand. Many of us lack personal belief in our ability to acomplish goals and most of us have a list of excuses. I know I had excuses about my childhood screwing me up so badly that I was doomed for failure. I also believed that being fat and lazy made me happy. I used to think that some of us are simply big people, which is true, but certainly big doesn’t need to mean unhealthy. I also believed that the numbers they gave for what is a healthy weight were wrong. I believed that food was food, why does it matter? I thought vegetarians were crazy. The list goes on and on…I had a very long list of why I was so unhealthy. When that doctor looked me in the eyes and said, “If you don’t do something about your weight you will find yourself diabetic.” I heard her and realized that I had some ideas about things that were obviously mistaken. I was wrong and it was time for me to face my fears and overcome my unhealthy habits. That was 10 years ago.

Over those 10 years I started with small steps. I started with my soda habit. It was a small step but many people start there because it seems so obvious. We all know we shouldn’t be drinking soda every day. We all realize that candy, cakes, and fast food are not good for us. I noticed something as I began to make these little changes. I noticed that we couldn’t expect fast changes. I had to stay patient and persistent, never taking my eyes off the goal. I also found that when life got hard I would reach for those comforting foods. Cake was my favorite! A cake left unattended and a stressful day would certainly lead me to binge on cake with tons of icening. There was nothing healthy about this habit. I simply numbed myself with a sugar buzz and a full belly so that I no longer noticed the stress from the day. I had to find new tools. I struggled for years trying to figure out what worked for destressing and what didn’t. I fell back into food habits repeatedly and still do occasionally 10 years later. I had to understand why this was happening. I searched for the reasons why I struggled so hard with this particularly unhealthy habit. I realized that I have been eating that way for over 30 years….I was taught as a child to eat when I was upset. Child falls down, cries, adult hands them a cookie. We all have seen this and many of us still carry these habits into our adulthood. We cannot change what happened as a child but we can change what happens today. So instead of food I go for a walk in the forest, do yoga, play games, or write. I have a variety of activities that can help me destress. I sometimes still find myself reaching for sugar but interestingly when you don’t eat it all the time, it has a reverse effect on a stressful person’s day. Now if I was to binge on a cake I get heart palpitations, an upset belly and it doesn’t taste nearly as good as it used to. Now it tastes more like cardboard. I have successfully taught my body to react to sugar as it should, it has taken many struggles, many mountains and loads of persistence. Today, if I can barely eat 2 pieces of cake. I cannot drink soda and have no desire for fast food.

Today, life is simple. I want food that tastes good, feels goood and leaves my soul thanking me. I love healthy food and healthy habits simply because I like to feel healthy. Healthy feels good and looks good but I would never say it was easy. Although today staying healthy is easier and easier. Now that I live in a progressive area I have better access to organic and vegetarian food. I also have access to the outdoors, where I like to spend most of my physical exercise. Yoga has enriched my life in a variety of ways including as a destressor tool. Yoga is valuable as a tool to heal yourself. Yoga has filled my life with healing and good health. It started with occasional yoga at home with a video to a daily practice of yoga. Today I have aspirations of sharing the healing nature of yoga with the overweight world.

Now that you see the mountain search in yourself for the belief that you can take one small step at a time towards your goal. What is your goal? What are the steps to get there? What will be your first step towards teaching yourself belief? Belief will keep you stepping all the way to the top! I am here to help you! Let me help you make plans for your goals, let me support your journey up the mountain.