Celebrating over 20 Years in Business, Since 2002

Fitness and Nutrition Coach

My Specialty

I specialize in helping men and women break free of aches and pains and slow or stop the progression of degenerative diseases.

Specifically, the kinds of things that make you secretly think, “Is this it? Am I falling apart?”

I’ve been there myself and I can show you how to turn your midlife health concerns around using the power of nutrition, movement and habit change.

I love showing my clients – through my yoga and fitness classes in Elk Rapids, Michigan and private nutrition coaching available nationwide from the comfort of your home or office – how to take charge of longevity and reverse the signs of premature aging.

meet judith

How did you get interested in natural health and why did you start offering nutrition coaching to your yoga studio?

As a child I had many health challenges and, lucky for me, I had a mother who discovered natural health interventions that helped me get healthy again. My transformation was so remarkable, that I became dedicated to a life-long practice of healthy living. I studied dance, fitness and yoga and opened my studio to offer services to help others live a healthy life.

Unfortunately, my good health started to wane in my 40’s, and I felt like I was slowly starting to fall apart. I was waking up with a headache, experiencing perplexing headaches all day and going to bed with a headache every day… for months. The headaches came on slowly, insidiously, a few times a week, then every few days, then most days, until it was every day, constantly. In years past, I would push through, but when the ache and pain never goes away, it wears you down and takes away your joy.

Similar to the headaches, I started to also experience constant back pain. When I woke up in the morning, I could hardly walk. Teaching my classes became excruciating. When my classes were over and everyone left, I wanted to cry from the pain.

My body used to be quite flexible, but the stiffness that was overtaking me felt paralyzing. It never stopped and I felt trapped in my own body.

If that wasn’t enough, I started to experience crippling fatigue in the afternoons, many times sleeping for three hours in the afternoon before needing to gather enough energy to get up, make dinner, clean up and put everyone to bed. That was about all I had energy for day after day. Meanwhile, I was still teaching fitness classes!

I kept going until an entire cacophony of mysterious symptoms unleashed -- my gums in my mouth were receding, my joints started to ache, my hairline was diminishing, I had brain fog, difficulty with word recall and a hard time remembering things. It felt like the grey hairs appeared over night.

It’s like I was aging forward at hyper speed!

One day I literally collapsed in tears from the emotional exhaustion of keeping it together and admitted to my class the kind of pain that I was in.

To others, and even my husband, I looked fine on the outside. But on the inside I felt like I was spiraling to an early death.

Once again, I turned back to natural health. I sought help from many different practitioners, researched and studied many different approaches. There was so much at stake - my family, my business, my life - that I had to make a change. Ultimately, I went back to school to learn how to help others with their chronic aches and pain through the power of food, and get their life back.

It turns out, eating better and making some minor daily changes, created a powerful transformation.

Today, I’m happy to report that I’ve regained my health, I’m no longer in pain and I feel so optimistic about my future health.

In addition to my studio and teaching people about the importance of moving their body, I show others how to break free of aches and pain and get their health back with my private nutrition coaching. I like to work with people who despite their best efforts, find themselves in need of a health transformation and have a big important reason to do something about it.

So who are your clients?

My yoga classes are open to everyone. My private fitness training clients are people with specific exercise needs or prefer a private setting.

My private nutrition coaching is designed for people who are looking for support to make the life style changes necessary to tackle their aches and pains from the inside out.

While I’m certain I can help most people feel better through the foods they eat, I work best with people who are ready to take the necessary steps to be healthy and reclaim their vitality.

My private nutrition coaching is for people who are eager to learn and are ready for action, and those open to new ideas and willing to try new things.

So how are you different than other health coaches or nutritionists?

I specialize in people who are dealing with pain and/or seeking inspired longevity. I know what it’s like to be in pain and it doesn’t have to be that way. I bring different various modalities and an integrative approach. I bring all the things that I learned in my training in addition to my personal experience.

I have a growing specialty in helping people over 40 who are loosing their youthful vigor earlier than they expected and aren’t ready to give up their career and family life to bad health.

Occasionally, I work with a young person who is facing a health challenge who needs a turn around. And I often coach those in early retirement with a deep desire to become the best version of themselves, well into their mature years.

In all cases, my private nutrition coaching is about getting back to enjoying the life that matters most to you and no longer accepting the status quo.

Who do you NOT work with?

My programs will not work for people who complain, but make no changes or those who expect a quick fix.

My private coaching is not for people who need to be convinced that nutrition is important.

That’s why I tend to cherry-pick my clients to ensure that we both have a very positive experience with long-lasting results.

How does your nutrition coaching work?

In my private nutrition coaching, we will start right where you are and custom create action steps that fit YOU, your time constraints and your preferences, all while considering your career and your personal life.  

We will review in-depth details that make your journey back to health no longer a mystery. We will also address common roadblocks and make breakthroughs.

I meet virtually for private coaching, so that my clients can meet with me while being on-the-go, on vacation or at the office.

During your sessions, we’ll discuss what’s working, what’s not, discuss your next action steps and I’ll provide coaching to help you transform old habits into new choices that create what you want.

What exactly are the steps and what results can I expect?

In my private nutrition coaching, we’ll cover these areas at your own pace that have a profound impact on aches, pain and premature aging…

Improving the quality of your diet. I’ll show you how to eat healthy and feel satisfied, not hungry or deprived. It will be tasty and soon you will prefer this way of eating. I promise, it won’t be distasteful or feel like you’re eating cardboard. Especially when I teach you lots of secret cooking tips to truly make your new healthy lifestyle even more rewarding and fun. This will improve your body's ability to fight aging and disease.

Finding a way of moving your body for you that will release a cascade of immunity boosting cells in your body, and that could become an enjoyable and integral part of your routine for years to come.

Enhancing your body’s natural ability to heal, detox and rejuvenate. By improving the utilization of stored energy (fat) in your body you can most efficiently heal, repair and self-clean. It may improve your sleep, give you better blood glucose and insulin sensitivity. It also may lower inflammation, oxidative stress and improve the longevity markers in your DNA.

Tweaking daily habits to support your efforts of getting healthier in an enjoyable way. This includes how to set up your kitchen and your pantry to be a source of revitalization. We can talk about supplements and grocery shopping.

Exploring new ways of dealing with stress and exploring practices that you can calm body’s fight or flight response, which accelerates healing, repair and reduces pain.

Coaching you through those roadblocks that usually set you back or cause you to quit on yourself. We will explore possible stressors, new ways of responding to life and make personal breakthroughs.

When you are feeling better, we can go deeper to develop and enhance your health even more. You can become an advocate for positive change and healthier habits for your family, friends and community.

Does this really work?

It made a significant improvement in my own life to change my diet and habits and there is plenty of science to say it will likely do the same for you.

The most important piece is making the decision to turn things around. Good nutrition, exercise and healthy habits always make people feel better.

Based on everything that I have read and heard about you, I am ready to take the next steps, what are my options to start working with you?

The next best step is to schedule a “Free Health Breakthrough Session” with me, by phone or Zoom. I offer a limited number of these per week. You can learn more about what we do in this first session by following this link.

What should I do if I am interested, but I’m not sure?

You are welcome to join my yoga or Pilates classes or cooking group at any time as a way to sample my approach and get to know me.

If you aren’t already, get on my email list and I’ll keep you posted on new events and share some helpful tips, resources and insights to break free of pain and premature aging.

Investing in your health is like investing in the most important thing in your life.

The most important thing you can do for your friends, family and/or business is to make sure your greatest asset – your mind and body – is working well, feeling well and doing well.

My Credentials

I’ve been studying health and wellness since I was a young girl. Here are a few of the trainings that helped inform my work.

Movement Science

B.A. Interdisciplinary Humanities with a Dance Specialization from Michigan State University

Certified Pilates Instructor through the PhysicalMind Institute in New York City

Yoga Instructor – E-RYT 500, YACEP by Shiva Rea

Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies

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