There may be a thousand definitions of a health coach. To me, a Holistic Health Coach is someone who walks with you toward wellness — through every layer of your being.
Not just the physical symptoms. Not just the lab numbers. Not just what Western medicine is trained to address. To me, holistic health is about working with the whole body — the mind, the spirit, and even the environment around us.
My journey didn't start with wholeness
I had two young children, a thriving nursery design business, and a body on the brink of collapse. I was 27 years old.
It didn't start as a slow decline — more like a free fall. Fatigue that felt like carrying 400 pounds. Neurological symptoms that terrified me: twitches, numbness, severe muscle weakness. I struggled to breathe, to swallow, to walk.
And then there was my brain. It felt shrouded in smog — a thick, unrelenting fog I couldn't think my way out of. I was miserable. And I was desperate.
Doctors, diagnoses, and dead ends
What seemed like endless tests — bloodwork, urine samples, imaging, specialists. Every result came back "normal," so I was sent to a neurologist.
Because my symptoms were intermittent but my gait showed muscle weakness, they finally gave me a label: "We think you have Multiple Sclerosis." I had suspected it — but I assumed there would be some kind of support system.
"You'll need better insurance. The future will come with a lot of medical bills."— What I was told
There was no hope. No clear treatment. Just wait and watch for decline. I walked out of that building in despair. My children needed me, and I had my whole life ahead of me. So I began to cling to my own inner strength — and from that would emerge a purpose I hadn't yet touched.
I remember what I told myself that day: "This will not be my life."
The inner fight that became my mission
I had to give up the beliefs and patterns holding me in survival. I learned to stop fighting — though it felt like my body was failing me, I started to trust that it was working desperately to heal. There was only surrender to the long, messy, sacred process of healing, self-discovery, and redesigning my whole life.
The first pivot: Foot Zone Therapy
My turning point came through something I never expected — Foot Zone Therapy (also known as Reflexology). What did I have to lose?
The hands of a skilled practitioner moved through sequences that made no logical sense to me — but my body understood them. I felt things shift, as if a switch to my body's innate wisdom had been flipped, giving it permission to heal. I'll never forget that after my first foot zone, I went home and could actually sleep. After being tired-and-wired for so long, that was beyond incredible.
This wasn't just another therapy. This was the beginning of real healing. I now see Foot Zone Therapy as a form of bio-intuitive communication — a way to read the body's deficiencies, stress patterns, and needs. It's a powerful technology that seems to reprogram the body when used intentionally.
I've experienced this firsthand, and I've seen it help countless others. That's why I still practice it, teach it, and continue to learn from it.
Becoming the practitioner I couldn't find
In those early years, I practiced on friends and family who came to me with everything from digestive issues and migraines to fertility challenges and autoimmune flares. That's when I realized:
I was meant to help people find their own healing.
Not just hand them a supplement protocol — but help them tap into their body's intelligence and reconnect with their innate ability to heal. That's why I became a Certified Holistic Health Coach, and began adding more tools to my practice.
What I offer today
Over time, I've added modalities that help me support each client from the ground up:
- Functional Nutrition Coaching — understanding how food and lifestyle shape your biology and healing
- Genomic Analysis — using your genes as a roadmap to tailor nutrition, detox pathways, and stress responses
- Craniosacral Therapy, Myofascial Release & Lymphatic Work — easing physical tension and supporting detox at the structural level
- Cognomovement — rewiring the nervous system patterns that keep the body stuck in chronic stress or trauma
- AO Scan Biofeedback — non-invasive frequency technology that reads patterns of imbalance and brings the body back to harmony
- Custom Coaching Programs — tailored to your goals, from hormone balance and digestive healing to emotional regulation and fertility
I offer this work in fully individualized coaching packages that meet you where you are — so you're never overwhelmed, always supported. Many of these tools become daily support my clients use for their own healing, creating a lasting system that adapts as their needs change.
My coaching is not typical: I don't start with diet. I start by restoring breath and nervous system flexibility — the deeper patterns that influence energy, stress, and healing at the root. Before we ever talk about food, we address what's underneath.
I became the practitioner I couldn't find
And I keep studying, learning, and growing so I can be a better guide for the people who trust me with their sacred journey of healing.
If you've ever felt your symptoms were brushed aside — if you've ever been told "everything looks normal" when nothing feels normal — I see you.
You're not broken. You're not imagining it. You just need a whole-body approach that respects that you are innately able to heal yourself.
Written by Helen Parde, LMT — Integrative Health Facilitator and Certified Holistic Health Coach at Whole Body and Sole, Herriman & South Jordan, Utah.