We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Essman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose through experiences in my life. It also took a lot of self-reflection and growth throughout those experiences where I could recognize that this is my gift. When I was in my mid to late 20s and my health felt out of my control, I had no idea that I was in the process of finding my passion. I had no energy, my breakouts were getting worse and worse, my gut health was horrendous, my hormones were out of balance, and I was working a job I hated. In hindsight, I can look back and see that I went through all of those hard things to get where I am today so I can help others.
It was extremely challenging and I had to make a lot of changes but I learned so much and I became immersed in health and wellness that soon I was the friend and family member everyone came to for health advise. I realized I could do this as a career and get paid for it, my dream! So I got certified and I’ve been working with clients for the past 2+ years and I am so happy and fulfilled!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a Holistic Health & Nutrition Coach and I work 1;1 with women who are looking to improve their gut health and balance their hormones naturally. I believe in healing from the inside out, rather than taking medication to cover up symptoms like a band-aid.
My program is completely personalized to each client because I use a holistic approach that embodies the whole person. We work a lot on nutrition & diet but also other factors like physical activity, relationships, spirituality, and career. My client’s see results like eliminated bloating & stomach aches, clear skin, no more PMS, balanced hormones, stable blood sugar and moods, improved sleep and more energy, a strong sense of self & knowing how to nourish their bodies.
There is so much information online with health fads & diets and I know it can be so confusing and overwhelming. I teach simple ways to improve my client’s health and wellbeing that they can use in any phase of life.
Looking back, what do you think were the qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I saw the biggest improvement in my healing when I started practicing self-love. I realized that I my need for healing my body and clearing my skin was stemming from fear. Fear of my acne never going away, the embarrassment I felt, the frustration and overwhelm. Every time I looked in the mirror I was mean and hateful towards my skin and myself. I started doing self-love meditations on YouTube and I remember the first time I said “I love you” in the mirror I cried because I realized how harsh I had been to myself for so long. As I practiced self-love daily, I started being nicer to myself and making decisions based on love and not fear, and my healing drastically changed for the better. I saw less inflammation, less breakouts, and eventually clear skin. It was just a small piece of my puzzle, but it made such an impact in my life.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
My ideal client is a women in her 20s or 30s who feels stuck, frustrated, and overwhelmed with all of the health fads and diets out there. She wants to be healthy and fit in a way that works for her. She has symptoms like acne, bloating, low energy, PMS, moodiness, and cravings. She doesn’t want to be on medication for the rest of her life and she is ready to make diet & lifestyle changes to get to the root cause of her symptoms.
If this is you, I know exactly how it feels and I can help!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aweinspiredholistichealth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aweinspired.holistichealth/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aweinspired.holistichealth/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyessman/
