May 5th, 2022 | 2 min. read
I want to take a minute to tell you why I became a health coach. What makes me a health coach? Watch the video below or read on to find out.
I started off doing fitness, working in gyms as a personal trainer, and trying to get people out of physical therapy back into the gym again. I was doing a lot of rehabilitative-type work.
I really gravitated towards people who were having aches and pains or medical problems. I just felt that was more interesting to me.
I did that for over 10 years. And then did a little bit of work in research, some fitness management. I really couldn't find my niche though. I enjoyed all that work, but it was hard to find something that united all of my different interests.
As I went along, I got more into nutrition and stress management and massage and all these other areas. Just seeing how the body unites everything and is an integrated unit.
How every system affects every other system was fascinating to me. I wanted a job where I could integrate the philosophies of the body into one place.
It wasn't until I think 2011 that I discovered health coaching as a career and began to work on corporate sites and industrial sites working with employees there. That's really when I discovered health coaching.
What I love so much about it is that I get to learn stuff every day in an area that I'm passionate about. I get to hear about learning new theories. I get to work with smart doctors and coaches who keep me on my toes and patients who teach me something every day. So I get to learn every day.
And then lastly, I feel like I'm doing something good for the world. I think it's an important part of a job. I really think health coaching is a missing link in the healthcare world.
We don't have a lack of information today. We have, I think, a lack of filters. Maybe a lack of organizers. Maybe a lack of supporters. But we don't have a lack of information. So as a coach, you get to be that filter.
I get to figure out how you take all this information that's out there and whittle it down to something that's relevant to you.
How do we then organize that into your day and week? And then lastly, where's your support? Who's there to check with you and say, "well, how did it go? Did you get to the gym? Is that diet plan working for your symptoms or your life?"
And so we get to provide all that for you. As a coach, you just get to be there for people for extended periods of time and be a happy observer and cheerleader for a lot of people, too, as they make the change themselves. And you help them to initiate those changes too.
Anyway, it's just a very rewarding place to work and a very rewarding job. That's why I'm a coach and I hope you'll get a chance to work with you as well.
David Younkins combines exercise, nutrition coaching, and behavior change to help patients accomplish their goals.
With nearly 20 years of experience in health and wellness, David’s passion is seeing how the relationships between the body’s different systems and parts affect how a person is feeling. He also has a special interest in pain science and how chronic pain and chronic disease tend to be connected.
"I enjoy seeing how patients improve their lives in many dimensions, beginning with just small changes in their behavior," he says. Read more about David here and meet our other health coaches here.
David Younkins, Certified Health Coach
As a certified health coach at PartnerMD in Richmond, VA, David Younkins's passion is understanding how the relationship between your body’s systems and processes affects your feelings. He enjoys seeing how you improve your life in many dimensions, beginning with small changes in your behavior by creating a professional friendship.
