We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Weiner and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Erica, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
It wasn’t really a thought process as much as the universe knocking on my door repeatedly until I was ready to answer.
Let me explain…
I had been with my corporate job for nearly 8 years, traveling around the country producing events. It was fun & fulfilling work, but exhausting. Most mornings, my first thought was “what city am I in again?” I also have an autoimmune condition and back in 2019, it went from flaring up about once per year to five times in six months. I broke down. I had to take a really hard look at my life and figure out if the stress of the job was worth my health & quality of life. Life was passing me by, and I didn’t like that feeling.
So, I started working with a personal coach to figure things out. I had also started going to therapy the year before and was all in on prioritizing my mental, physical and spiritual health. As I worked with my own coaches and healers, I became obsessed with personal growth & health optimization. It’s all I talked about. It’s all I thought about. I was addicted to healing and I knew I needed to set things in motion to create a life where this is what I could focus on every day.
I got my personal training and health coaching certificate and took on my first clients. Simultaneously, I was diving deeper into figuring out how to manage my autoimmune condition naturally which eventually led me to my current work as a Certified Integrative Health Practitioner. Now the main focus of my business is helping people rebalance their bodies through the use of functional medicine lab testing and natural health protocols. I specifically love working with people who have experienced burnout and exhaustion in any area of their life.
To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot of thought that went into starting my business. My business evolved naturally out of a blueprint that was created by my own healing journey. I think that’s how a lot of coaches get started. We suffer. We break. But then we pick ourselves back up. We turn our mess into our message and then hold our hand out to anyone else who might need help getting up. I feel really fortunate to get to do this work and serve others struggling with their mental, physical or spiritual health.
What should our readers know about your business?
My current focus as an Integrative Health Practitioner is to help people who are recovering from burnout which is emotional, physical and mental exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained and unable to meet the demands of daily life. Basically, your mind and body are no longer keeping up with your lifestyle.
There is a lot of lifestyle and emotional things we can do to heal from burnout, but what makes my process different is that I use functional lab testing alongside mindset and spiritual practices that create a completely integrative approach to healing. The mindset work includes rewriting the limiting beliefs that are keeping them stuck and also getting clear on the future they want to create. In the meantime, functional lab testing gives us data explaining exactly what deficiencies, toxicities and imbalances happened in the body due to stress. Once we have the data, we get a personalized roadmap for my client to heal. It’s a powerful mix. I’ve found that most healing modalities only focus on one or the other (mental or physical), but with my unique background and training, I’m able to incorporate both.
I’m extremely proud and excited to be offering this programming to people recovering from burnout. It’s everything I wish someone had shown me a few years ago when my body was giving up on me.
I’m also extremely proud of the podcast I started last summer with my co-host Lauren Germinario. It’s been such a special way to share our love of curiosity and connect with people all over the world. It’s called There’s a Hack for That and we talk about all the life, business and health hacks you never knew you needed.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When friends visit, we spend a lot of time outdoors. Everyone loves to see Red Rocks, of course. Even if we can’t see a concert, it’s fun to bring people up there to see the view and visit the museum on-site to learn about its history.
A really unique hike that I bring people to if I can is the Devil’s Head Fire Tower Lookout…it is a bit of a drive, but such a cool experience.
Heading up to Boulder for some tea at the Boulder Teahouse is a fun exerpience.
I also personally love our museums! The History Center is a fun one to bring visitors.
Ok, ok it’s not a week-long itinerary but I’m out of practice! You know..global pandemic and all.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve had so many mentors along the way, I’m not sure I could choose just one! My parents have always been so supportive and always just wanted me to be happy. I would never have gotten started with my own healing if it hadn’t been for their support. I also give big credit to the coaches I’ve worked with throughout this journey, Michelle Carothers, Julianne Vaccaro & Chelsea Gross each had a huge impact on my personal and professional growth.
Website: www.ericaalisonwellness.com
Instagram: @ericaalisonwellness
Other: Free Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/burnoutandbrainfogrecovery Email newsletter: https://forms.aweber.com/form/20/680630420.htm
Image Credits
Leetal Elmaleh https://www.leetal-photo.com/ and Sara Addy https://sarahkaddy.com/home