Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Castilone.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
If someone would have told me five years ago that I’d be a Holistic Health Coach, Yoga Instructor, and Personal Trainer running my own business and working for myself, I would NEVER have believed it! I’ve always been passionate about helping others and leading a healthy, holistic life. I never dreamed that it would lead me to where I am today.
My journey into the health and wellness space began the way I think many other people’s do – through my own personal struggles. I’ve thankfully never had a serious health condition, but I always felt like I struggled with my weight.
I didn’t know it at the time, but for the majority my high school and college years I had trouble with my digestion. I was irritable, had frequent migraines and I never felt like I had the kind of energy I knew I could have. I always brushed it off as something that was “normal.”
It wasn’t until things started getting a little more serious and really until I started paying a lot more attention to how my body felt, that I realized this was not normal at all. We are not supposed to feel tired, bloated and sluggish after eating food. Food shouldn’t be sitting in our stomach hours after we eat it and it shouldn’t be causing us headaches, stomach aches or joint pain. I got really passionate about this and so I decided to become a Health Coach in 2016.
Fast forward to me actually working with women one-on-one and doing my own work on my body and my internal world, did I realize that deep down, it’s not REALLY about the food at all! I’d helped my clients learn how to eat in a balanced and healthy way that works for their bodies and they’d see success in the beginning, but something kept getting in the way. They’d have a really great days and then end up at the bottom of a pint of ice cream at night. Or they’d stay on track all week only to have it get “ruined” over the weekend.
What I quickly realized from my clients’ and my own journey is that the “diet” culture doesn’t take one HUGE aspect into consideration (which is why diets don’t work): our emotional and mental health.
Emotional eating is one of the biggest challenges most of us face. As a result of my experience with my clients, I transitioned my coaching practice to focus on healing emotional eating. Teaching women how to eat in a way that actually works is still a huge part of my practice – because that’s the foundation – but once that’s dialed in, we get to the really juicy stuff! Learning how to effectively deal with and allow emotions to pass through us is where the REAL healing takes place.
The biggest thing I’ve learned so far is that our bodies want to be balanced and they will do that on their own if we give them the chance to. By properly nourishing our bodies and minds, we create the right environment for healing and growth. Because of this, I focus on helping my clients create balance in every major area of their lives – because it’s all connected.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I left my corporate job of over five years in March 2019 and haven’t looked back! The road has been rocky, for sure, but it has been so worth it – I’ve never been happier.
I think one thing that most entrepreneurs will agree on is that the road to success is NEVER smooth! My greatest challenges have been internal, battling old beliefs that were telling me “I’m not good enough” and coming face to face with my own emotional wounds that I left unattended for most of my life.
I had been using food, social media and alcohol as ways to escape, numb and “feel better.” I thought that the heaviness inside me was too much to bear and that if I actually paid attention to it that I wouldn’t be able to handle it. So, I didn’t.
I let those old beliefs run the show and that led to me not being able to find clients to work with in the beginning. I’m a big believer in energy: what you put out, you attract. Through my thoughts and beliefs about myself I was basically saying, “I can’t help you, please stay away,” yet I would say that I wanted to work with clients so badly!
I realized what was going on, but I couldn’t get myself out of that negative place. So, a couple of years ago, I invested in myself and hired a business and mindset coach that really opened the door to me realizing that there was another way. Since then, I’ve worked with several other coaches, started working with an amazing therapist and devoted myself to doing MY own personal self-healing work. I realized that until I was really, fully, 100% on the path of my own healing that I wasn’t going to be ready to help others.
The amazing thing about my work now is that through helping other women, I’m continuously healing myself. I’ve learned over the years that my clients are my mirrors and that those who find me are meant to – I learn as much from them as they do from me. They keep me on my path, doing my own work so that I can learn more tools and share it all back with them. It’s a beautiful thing!
Now, I feel fully aligned with my passions and strengths and I’m grateful every day that I get to help women find the light at the end go the emotional eating tunnel – because I know what it feels like to be in that dark place. Honestly, I’m still there sometimes… we are ALWAYS a work in progress!
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My business has multiple facets that all revolve around women’s health and wellness. First and foremost, I am a Holistic Health Coach specializing in helping women heal from emotional eating and find food freedom. I work with clients from all over the country because my work is done virtually via phone or video calls (yay technology!). I have Pregnancy Health Coach and Postpartum Doula training, so I work with both expectant and postpartum mothers as well. I have a deep passion for all that the female body is capable of and find so much joy in helping other women tap into their power!
I’m a certified Yoga Instructor and I teach public classes throughout the week in the South Bay of LA. In addition, I also offer private lessons for those who don’t have time to make it to a weekly class, want individualized attention, are recovering from injury or want to focus on something specific. Teaching yoga is so important to me. Allowing space for students to get out of the head and into the body to actually FEEL is so incredibly powerful.
I’m also a Personal Trainer for women in the South Bay. I incorporate yoga, strength training, HIIT training and mobility into my sessions and love creating custom programs based on my clients’ needs and goals. Fitness was my first passion and I absolutely love that I’m able to share my knowledge and love for movement with others.
I feel grateful that I’m able to incorporate all of my passions into my business. Being able to work with women on ALL aspects of their health – food and nutrition, mindset, physical fitness, stress, etc. – is so rewarding for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amandacastilone.com
- Phone: 424-265-0817
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandacastilone/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandacastilone
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