Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Gordon.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Taylor. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Where I am today, I find that to be such an interesting question seeing as how it is a forever journey. I grew up in Riverside county, throughout adolescence mainly focusing on athletics and music, these two things have been constant in my life since before I can remember. I was always on a stage somewhere, whether it was singing at church or playing a sport. I began as a competitive gymnast, which I truly believe molded so much of my life, and because of these two forms of expression, movement and connecting to my body was all I knew. Throughout highschool, the same remained true, I continued to pursue music and participate in sports; however things felt as though they were slowing down as I started to notice quite a bit of full-body physical pain setting in. Now, I have always been a naturally competitive person and growing up an athlete, one of our biggest lessons is to basically ignore the pain and just push through, this is what I learned to do for years, you did not complain about pain or fatigue or anything that had to do with not being able to “complete the task” . There was no listening to your body in the larger sense, so even though I was attached to my physical form, I began to realize that I had lost actual connection with the very thing that was carrying me through and when I began to feel extreme amounts of pain, I did not know how to remedy the situation.
I began to seek out professional and medical help, none of which truly gave me any answers. At 15, an orthopedic doctor diagnosed me with lupus and sent me on my way. I continued to seek help and continued to get conflicting reports! I felt alone and abandoned by my body and by the doctors who, in my mind, were supposed to truly care for me and my well being with much more responsibility and integrity. I went for years without answers, moving my way through college, all the while still not understanding what was happening in my body. Stressors amplified and so did my pain. After a semester medical leave, countless specialists, doctors appointments, tests, etc. I was able to graduate on time and although symptoms worsened, it was an accomplishment I’ll never forget because no one truly knew or understood the weight in which I was carrying.
Almost immediately after graduation in 2012, my pain had risen to its peak. I desperately sought out a functional medicine doctor who turned my whole life around. Through teaching me about my body, shifting my perspective on food and allowing me to truly get in tune with my instrument, I began to live in my body for the first time in almost ten years! I am forever thankful for her medical attention influence as I was also able to work for her for almost two years; this is where I got my first taste of truly seeing people heal from the inside out. I was privileged to be trained by Dr Wellhausen of Redlands, CA and began facilitating nutritional consultations for her patients. I was still a patient of hers as well, however I was now maintaining the chronic illness that at one time felt like it had won! This experience really kickstarted my journey through exploring more of the body and wanting an even deeper understanding of how food truly affects us, beyond our physicality.
In 2015 I took a trip for a friends wedding and in those five days, I got to help four strangers through their journeys with chronic illness, by sharing my story, giving them ample resources and basically telling them everything I knew at the time about what had been instrumental in my healing! One woman that I got to help on my plane ride back asked me very frankly, are you charging people to consult with them like this… I replied with a shaky “No” she looked me in the eye and said, “well after this, you need to start”. I consider each person I came across on that trip a literal angel because it reflected back to me something I never saw in myself and as a result in the spring of 2016 I began with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This where I learned a variety of different dietary theories, how they work with our bodies, how they affect our mental state. We were rooted in the concept that the food on your plate is not primary, it is vital to our wellbeing, however it is secondary to the other areas of your life.
Through my years of study and my own personal experience I have come to know that the way we eat is simply a reflection of how we are nourishing the other spaces in our lives. Since becoming a certified holistic health coach in the summer of 2017 this has been my mission to spread because having that knowledge saved my life!! I have taken all that I have experienced with chronic invisible illness and poured it into helping others through theirs! It has become my life’s work! I had no idea that my journey would have led me here, but I am forever thankful to be able to use everything that I have undergone to impact others in a positive way! And so we are here!
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?
This road towards entrepreneurship has definitely presented some challenges! From the time I graduated university in 2012, I knew there was something beyond going to a job every day that I was less than fulfilled by. My desire to help people has been unwavering since before I can even remember! After meeting my doctor and working quite a few jobs in between that desire only grew stronger. Although I knew I wanted to help others through their healing process, I was terrified of associating myself with the illness that I felt I had worked so hard to separate myself from. My calling was so enmeshed with my story that it truly scared me away from moving forward with actually coaching people for a while. Although people were continually asking what I did to get to the place that I was at in my health, I still felt like I was not ready (whatever that means – I’ve learned that we’re never ready, there is no such thing . You are called and you are then equipped to carry out said calling by stepping out on faith and leading with trust) . But that’s a conversation for another day!
The decision to work for myself and carry out this mission that was erupting on the inside was terrifying (honestly most days it still is haha). Thankfully I have a family that is eternally supportive, however it does not matter how much others believe in you until you take that on for yourself! Having worthiness conversations, healing old wounds and stories that try to convince us that we do not deserve or who are we to be able to help anyone, this is the type of work I had to do and will continue to do throughout this journey. I have learned that my entrepreneurial growth will remain parallel to my personal growth, the two can not be separated. There were things in my personal life that were truly unsettling and in order to be in integrity and work transparently, vulnerably and authentically with anyone I had a duty to clean up the things that were holding me back personally so that I could show up bigger and be more present. I have had to truly learn how to surrender to the process while remaining consistent within my learning and growing towards my passion. I realized that we are often taught to work extremely hard for others, in the workforce, however translating that same intensity over to our own endeavors is not always easy. It’s HARD to wake up everyday and carry out a mission with no roadmap, no-one telling you which moves to make, and it’s al; coming-out of your pocket! Motivation can fade fast so the commitment to something greater than just you is really what keeps me going! So that has been a huge challenge for me, remembering that my boundaries are vital to my growth, being able to say no to things that don’t serve me or my mission and remembering that everything that I’ve been through with my own health is not only for me, its a testimony to hopefully help someone else along the way!
Although challenges are presented and I’m sure will continue to show up for me, I have made peace with them knowing that it’s all for my growth. I am forever training myself to ask the question, what is this here to teach me, that way I get the most out of each season, whatever that is supposed to look like!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Divinely Wholesome – what should we know?
As a holistic Health Coach, I specialize in aiding women who are battling chronic illness, giving them the tools to move from simply managing an illness to maintaining wellness! I believe that through rebuilding the trust within our bodies, so that we are able to then listen to them and their needs physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually we are given the opportunity for whole life healing. We get to shift the language around chronic illness, knowing that our bodies are not attacking us, they are fighting for us and giving up signs and signals that we get to dive into and heal!
I’m known for helping people make conscious decisions around their food, no matter where they are at in their healing journey. Untangling the web that they have weaved around food, how they relate and attach themselves to it. Diving into those ineffective habits that have formed and redirecting our energy towards the things that fill us on a soul level so that our food choices can be a complete reflection of the life we’re already living!
Aside from the lives that I have been blessed enough to be a part of, I am most proud of the workshops that I have curated and facilitated, the goal has always been to give people a deeper understanding of what is taking place in their body, letting them know that we as individuals are our best and most reliable resources for our healing. Through my “Wellness workshops”, Sugar Blues Workshops, and most recently I created a workshop called “Nutrition vs Nourishment” specifically for those battling chronic illness, walking them through the steps that I took personally to regain strength back in my body, I have gained such a sense of pride in my work.
I believe what sets me apart is the fact that this information that I am giving isn’t just something that I went to school for or read, it has been my life! I walked these roads, and have taken these same exact steps that I share with others! The most beautiful part, is that these are strides that I continue to apply to my life which allows me to really connect with my clients, they know that we are in this together and I am not just throwing out tools, but I am empowering them to take control by knowing they can advocate for themselves the same way that I do for myself every single day!
It is the most rewarding and special place to be in when people choose to trust themselves enough to make a decision to allow me to walk alongside them through a piece of their healing journey! I have seen this magic work in my own life and the lives of so many others and I am continually filled with overwhelming gratitude!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I believe that vulnerability, authenticity, setting healthy boundaries and consistency are the most vital aspects to my success and fulfillment as a whole! I say fulfillment because I realize that everyone has their own definition of “success” and what that will look like for them! For me and the work that I do, and beyond, I truly strive to remain as vulnerable as possible so that people know they are not alone, I believe vulnerability breeds the most beautiful authentic connections and that’s what this work is all about! Connecting! To further that, in order to remain vulnerable and connect authentically, I feel that setting healthy boundaries is a must. Mostly because, as an entrepreneur your work never truly stops, especially when you are your brand, so without healthy boundaries you will find yourself spread so thin, dodging in and out of consistency because you’re exhausted and without consistency (which is not absent of meaningful rest) success is very difficult to achieve!
These are the qualities and tools I feel are most important to my success and will continue to forge me forward with grace and longevity!
Contact Info:
- Website: divinelywholesome.com
- Phone: 951.201.7506
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: divinelywholesome
- Facebook: Divinely Wholesome
Image Credit:
Jeshua Viveiros
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