Community Highlights: Meet Lyssandra Guerra of Native Palms Nutrition & Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyssandra Guerra.

Hi Lyssandra, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story begins in 2007, right after graduating from the university in the Bay Area. I was highly stressed and wasn’t taking the best care of myself — over partying, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, putting too many things on my plate, the list goes on. Over many years the effects this had on my digestion, menstrual cycle, and mental health became debilitating. Unable to get much real help from western medicine, I decided to study holistic nutrition from Bauman College to figure it out on my own. Holistic nutrition and health coaching was the start of my career journey. Since then, I have trained in functional medicine and energy healing to get to the root causes of my client’s symptoms and imbalances. Since the pandemic hit, I pivoted my work to be online and this has helped me gain a wider audience and help more people nationwide. It has also helped on a larger scale to work with companies, businesses and collaborate with other practitioners and healers.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I love health and wellness so much, but this road hasn’t been the smoothest. Paving your way as a holistic practitioner takes time, dedication, and patience. I’ve been sharing my knowledge, experience and expertise for nine years now, while it has its fruitful moments, it’s also a challenge when there’s so much information out there and you have to stand out from the rest. Staying consistent and connecting to an audience, finding new clients, and retaining the ones you already have often leads to burnout, especially if you’re an introvert and need a lot of alone and recharge time, which I do.

A long struggle that I’ve dealt, that many creatives deal with is monetizing your passion and work that is so sacred and meaningful to you. There’s a lot of shadow work that I’ve had to move through. While it’s been hard, I think it’s the real juice that makes my work with others so impactful.

As you know, we’re big fans of Native Palms Nutrition & Wellness. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I am the founder of Native Palms Nutrition & Wellness. As a holistic nutritionist, health coach, and educator I coach and empower individuals to use natural forms of healing like food and movement to heal the body and reframing mindset patterns to make long-lasting changes. My mission is to make nutrition and healing-through-food common knowledge and a way of life so that people can advocate for their health and ultimately become their own healers. And as a 1st generation Latina, I feel so proud to be a part of a growing community of bipoc health leaders and experts.

I help people reduce bloat, constipation, identify food sensitivities, and optimize digestive health and I work with women and menstruators to balance mood and hormones, regulate cycles, and tune into the deeper wisdom of the female body.

These days I lead yearly group programs, Awaken your Feminine Body, a 6-week program to help menstruators learn how to use their cycles for improved health and a deeper connection to their body and Remedy, a 3-month total body wellness program where I guide individuals in transforming their mindset and health. While also teaching cooking classes and educational classes around various topics.

I am currently apprenticing in herbal medicine and becoming a certified dietary supplement professional.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Healing my physical body, mental health, and mindset has been transformational to who I am today and what I value for the betterment of the collective and for the planet. I couldn’t have done it alone — My teacher in energy medicine and mentor Saci Macdonald gave me the tools to move stuck energy and reframe mindsets. I’ve had so many friends and supporters from business coaching programs and in my communities that have seen my growth and dedication and believed in my abilities as a leader and a teacher. Of course, my clients who put their trust in my guidance towards their health woes and their health journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nativepalmsnutrition.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyssandra_nativepalms/

Image Credits
Danielle Adams, Rachel Cubra