Holistic Life Coach – Complete Guide & How To Become One (2024)

You’ve been thinking about becoming a life coach. After much research, you’ve finally settled on holistic health coaching.

Now, it’s time to learn what it takes to become a holistic life coach.

This complete guide has you covered. In this post, you’ll learn all you need to know about holistic life coaching.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Let’s get right into it.

Who is a Holistic Life Coach?

A holistic coach is a life coach who practices coaching that considers the whole person, not just any one aspect of them.

When you work with a holistic life coach, they help you improve your physical fitness, mental well-being, and spiritual well-being. In other words, you could refer to a holistic life coach as a mind, body, and soul coach.

Other than working to help you build an overall healthy life, other roles of a holistic life coach include:

  • Educating and empowering clients on how to achieve and sustain excellent health
  • Helping clients evaluate their lifestyle choices and make changes to them
  • Helping clients to create healthy environments that support them to achieve their wellness objectives

A holistic life coach could also perform the role of a counselor, talk therapist, or use energy healing techniques to help clients improve their overall health.

Holistic Life Coach

How Does Holistic Coaching Work?

Unlike other coaching models, holistic coaching takes a more integrated approach. A holistic health coach starts by first looking through all areas of your life.

They’ll check your health, finances, relationships, physical environment, spiritual, and personal development.

This analysis is done to identify areas that may need attention.

From here, the holistic health coach drafts a path to bringing improvement to areas identified as lacking.

Some of the techniques used by a holistic health coach to heal different areas of life include:

  • Nutritional counseling and guidance
  • Holistic health assessments
  • Exercise prescription
  • Relaxation and stress management techniques
  • Life purpose discovery

Related: Ways To Live A Holistic Lifestyle Without Regrets

What’s the Difference Between a Holistic Life Coach and a Therapist?

The main difference between a holistic life coach and a therapist is that a therapist helps you navigate life’s traumas and is more focused on your mental well-being.

On the other hand, a holistic health coach doesn’t only focus on your mental health. They focus on your physical, mental, and spiritual health, therefore, helping you create life synergy and synchronicity, which is essential in building a happy and fulfilling life.

Another difference between a holistic coach and a therapist is that a therapist teaches you emotional coping methods to help you cope with life challenges. However, a holistic coach helps you heal your body and soul to prevent any emotional issues in the first place.

Both holistic coaching and therapy are all about helping you become a better version of yourself. Holistic coaches approach this differently by focusing on resolving root cause problems that would otherwise lead to mental health challenges.

Benefits of Holistic Coaching

One of the main benefits of holistic health coaching is that they help you gain clarity and improve on all areas of your life.

This includes helping you improve your physical health by assisting you to make healthier choices in terms of exercise and diet.

Holistic coaching also helps you deal with issues that might cause depression, stress, and anxiety; therefore, promoting better mental health.

It also helps to improve your spiritual well-being, making it easier for you to live a more fulfilling life.

A holistic health coach also helps you develop self-awareness, which is critical in helping you create the life of your dreams. With holistic coaching, it’s easier for you to understand who you are and what you want in life.

If you’re going through loss, grief, or separation, a holistic health coach helps you deal with these issues healthily.

They also help you overcome limiting beliefs that keep you from living the life of your dreams.

Lastly, holistic coaching can help improve your relationships with others. Since your relationship with others plays a significant role in your overall well-being, a holistic coach will help you develop healthier relationships based on trust and mutual respect.

Related: Advantages Of A Holistic Perspective

Who Needs a Holistic Life Coach?

Anyone looking to improve their overall well-being could benefit from an integrated approach to coaching.

If you’re going through relationship issues, emotional issues, financial issues, feeling stuck at a job, or generally feeling unfulfilled in life, holistic life coaching could be the solution to help you get your life back on track.

Holistic life coaching is also an excellent option for anyone who wants to improve their physical health and well-being. These coaches have the knowledge and skills needed to help you develop healthier habits that will improve your overall quality of life.

Anyone looking for guidance on overcoming limiting beliefs or self-sabotaging behavior would also greatly benefit from holistic life coaching.

Why Should You Become a Holistic Life Coach?

Holistic life coaching is a rapidly growing industry that offers a lot of growth potential.

If you’re looking for a career that is both fulfilling and rewarding, holistic life coaching might be the perfect fit for you.

This is because holistic life coaching offers you the opportunity to work with people from all levels of society and help them achieve their goals and dreams.

By being a holistic life coach, you help make a difference in people’s lives, which is highly rewarding.

If you work as a functional medicine practitioner, nutritionist, counselor, mental health professional, or personal trainer, you should also consider taking a course in holistic life coaching.

Holistic Life Coaching
Photo by Nehakumbhare from Pixabay

How Do You Become a Holistic Life Coach?

Step 1: Have a Genuine Interest in Helping Others

Holistic life coaching is all about helping people lead healthy, fulfilling lives. This is why the first step to becoming a holistic health coach is to have a genuine interest in helping people.

With that interest, you also need to be committed to promoting health and wellness. This should be in your life and the life of your clients.

Step 2: Do Your Research

Before starting your holistic life coaching career, do a little research on the profession. Know what you’re getting yourself into.

One way to research is doing a simple google search with terms like, “Things I wish I knew before starting my holistic coaching career.”

Such a search will allow you to know about the various pros and cons of the career from someone who’s experienced it.

You could also talk to someone practicing holistic coaching and seek their perspective on the profession.

Related: Unique Types Of Life Coaches (You Don’t But Need) To Know

Step 3: Get Training

If you still want to be a holistic life coach after the initial research, the next step is to join a holistic coaching certification program.

A Holistic life coaching certification program will equip you with the necessary skills needed to become a great holistic coach.

Most holistic life coach training takes place online. Training entails watching several hours of videos, mentoring, and coaching practice.

But where can I get such training? We cover that later in this article.

Step 4: Start Your Coaching Practice

After completing your holistic life coach training, the next step is to start coaching. You can choose to work with a holistic health coach, trainer, or mentor before going solo.

This will help you gain more experience and confidence needed for success in your career.

And here’s the best part!

As a holistic coach, you can work from anywhere you want, and set your own working hours.

However, there are some crucial things you must do when starting own business. These include:

  • Select a niche, and specialize in it.
  • Learn digital marketing
  • Set up social media channels to market yourself
  • Communicate with potential clients

Best Holistic Life Coaching Certification

There are many places where you can get training to become a certified holistic life coach. Some of the most prominent include:

Holistic Coach Training Institute

One of the best places to become a certified holistic life coach is the Holistic Coach Training Institute.

The holistic coach training institute certification sets you apart because its ICF accredited.

To graduate as a holistic health coach, you’ll have to complete a total of 70 hours of coach-specific training.

This includes 48 learning hours, where you go through 24 modules, 12 practice hours, and 10 hours of mentorship training.

During the 6-month program, you’ll be trained using a 3-step process that entails a video lesson, collaborating with a partner to put your skills to practice, and a 2-hour live training session via ZOOM.

At the end of the training, you’re added to a private LinkedIn group where you can interact, network, share, and get updates on holistic life coaching.

Mind-Body Food Institute

Mind Body Food Institute holistic life coach training is an excellent choice for anyone looking to become a holistic health coach.

The 12-module training is divided into three distinct stages.

During the first stage, you’ll learn about holistic coaching foundations. During this stage, you’ll learn effective communication and questioning skills. You’ll also receive coaching; therefore, experience what holistic coaching is about.

The second stage is where you’ll learn about the mind-body connection. During this stage, you’ll learn more about modern stress and how to manage it. You’ll also learn how to create daily practices that align your mind and body. By the end of the second stage, you’ll have a clear understanding of the science of positive psychology.

The third stage of training entails learning about running your coaching business. This includes how to create a coaching business and how to market yourself as a holistic coach.

And here’s the best part!

Two international organizations accredit this training. These are the Complementary Medical Association (CMA) and the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT).

Holistic Health Coaching
Photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels

Spenser Institute

The Spenser Institute is another excellent holistic coaching training institution for someone looking for fast certification.

They offer a comprehensive 100% two-week online course to provide you with the needed tools to facilitate an integrated coaching approach.

The two-week coaching program entails learning in-depth training videos, comprehensive digital manuals, and a non-proctored online exam to gain certification.

The program takes you through five modules. The first module entails an introduction to the holistic movement. While going through the first module, students will learn how to create balance in their lives.

The second and third modules mainly center around essential coaching skills. Some of the skills taught during these modules include learning what to listen for when working with clients and how to teach and motivate your clients to change.

In the fourth module, you’ll learn how to conduct accurate client assessments. This includes holistic client assessment, which entails assessing the mind, body, and soul.

The fifth model mainly deals with your self-evaluation. This module will teach you how to self-evaluate to ensure continuous growth.

You may be wondering, “For such a short course, is it accredited?”

Yes!

The Spenser institute is accredited by The Certification and Accreditation Board of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP)

Wellness Professionals at Work

If you’re looking for a slow-paced holistic coaching training program, the Wellness Professionals at Work certificate in holistic life coaching is the one for you.

Training is taken over one year through online learning.

The course takes you through 13 modules, namely:

  • Module 1: Coaching skills
  • Module 2: Cognitive-behavioral coaching
  • Module 3: A Holistic life coaching approach
  • Module 4: Mindful coaching
  • Module 5: Healing the body
  • Module 6: Vibrational energy
  • Module 7: Using visualizations and imagery in coaching
  • Module 8: General psychological concepts
  • Module 9: Work and meaning
  • Module 10: Relationship and social well-being
  • Module 11: Environmental well-being
  • Module 12: The psycho-spiritual
  • Module 13: Ways to deliver coaching

Each module takes 10-15 hours to complete and requires you to complete a 1000-word assignment.

Successful completion of the course will earn you a Complementary Medical Association (CMA) accredited certification.

One significant benefit of this accreditation is that you qualify for reduced insurance rates.

The Wellness Professionals at Work holistic coaching certification is also accredited by the Association for Coaching (AC) and National Council of Psychotherapists (NCP)

AFPA Holistic Health Coach Certification Program

If you’re looking for a comprehensive holistic coaching program that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, the AFPA holistic health coach certification program.

The AFPA curriculum integrates holistic nutrition, coaching, and health and wellness coaching content.

While taking this course, you’ll learn all you need to know about human physiology, stress management, exercising, nutritional essentials, making healthy decisions, overcoming obstacles, and client intake and retention.

You’ll also learn how to ask questions effectively, provide feedback, and support clients in making a holistic change in their lives.

The course will also take you through creating and maintaining trusting relationships with clients. After taking this course, you’ll have all it takes to help clients take a holistic approach to improve their lives.

And here’s the best part!

This course is self-paced. You can work on it at any time and take the final exam at the time of your choosing.

As a graduate of the AFPA holistic life coaching certification, you’re eligible to apply to be a board-certified Holistic Health Practitioner through the American Naturopathic Medical Accreditation Board (ANMAB)

AFPA is also AADP accredited and is an approved trainer by the International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine.

Now that you know where to study to become a holistic life coach, let’s get into working as a holistic health coach.

Where Can You Work as a Holistic Life Coach?

One of the places you can work as a holistic life coach is a wellness center or spa. These places allow you the opportunity to teach clients how to achieve integrated changes in their lives.

You could also work with college and university sports teams. Your role as a holistic coach in these teams may entail helping students achieve growth in all areas of their lives. Not just the physical.

You could also work in a weight loss program where you help clients take a holistic approach to their weight loss journey.

Another career path you may consider is working with big corporations to help employees create balance in their lives, therefore increasing productivity.

And you don’t have to limit yourself to these. You could also:

  • Create and monetize a holistic blog, YouTube channel, or podcast
  • Create and sell your online wellness programs and products
  • Start a healthy meal planning and prep service
  • Host wellness retreat lecture on holistic wellness.

How much do holistic life coaches earn with all these potential working opportunities?

Related: Online Life Coach: The Complete Guide

How Much Does a Holistic Health Coach Make?

Your earning potential as a holistic life coach will depend on your experience, location, and the kind of coaching you offer. Holistic nutrition coaches typically charge more than those who work in general health and wellness.

According to Glassdoor, holistic health coaches earn anywhere between $100 and $300 per hour. As a holistic coach, you can expect to earn an average of $87,000 per year.

Holistic health coach
Photo by Elina Fairytale from Pexels

Holistic Life Coach: FAQs

What is the Role of a Spiritual Life Coach?

A spiritual life coach helps people find a new or more profound understanding of the world around them and the energies that flow within it.

Spiritual life coaches help clients find harmony, inner peace, and happiness.

Spiritual coaches are not religious leaders or teachers, but facilitators of a client’s self-discovery, helping them find their own spiritual path.

What is Holistic Business Coaching?

Holistic business coaching refers to helping clients take an integrated approach when creating their business plan.

This type of coaching involves providing clients with guidance for all areas of entrepreneurship, including finance and accounting, marketing, sales, and customer experience management.

Any Further Questions?

There you go.

All you need to know about holistic life coaching and how to become one. We hope this article was helpful and informative.

If you have any questions regarding becoming a holistic life coach, please ask in the comment section below.

I’ll be happy to respond to any question asked.

About The Author

Bijan Kholghi is a certified life coach with the Milton Erickson Institute Heidelberg (Germany). He helps clients and couples reach breakthroughs in their lives by changing subconscious patterns. His solution-oriented approach is based on Systemic- and Hypnotherapy.

Bijan