Holistic Health Coach Terri Clime On How To Reduce Stress
I would say that COVID-19 helped me see how remarkably adaptable, creative, and resilient people can be. It also helped me to truly appreciate that we do not have to be running all the time to find happiness. It is very important to make time for and appreciate simple things like a family board game or a bike ride.
As we are well aware, our daily lives bear little resemblance to what they looked and felt like nearly two years ago, before the global health pandemic.
Being home during COVID-19 restrictions, dealing with the loss of school and work routines and other upheaval has caused a great deal of stress and angst in our lives.
Now, that we are returning to work, back-to-school, and starting anew this Fall Season, many of us are having difficulty dealing with this abundance of stress, as well as the uncertainty in our ever-changing lives.
Holistic Health and Stress Coach Terri Clime of ClimeWellness is eager to help guide us and support us on our health and wellness journey, and she also specializes in helping people around the nation to reduce stress and anxiety.
Clime finds that each of us, especially caretaking women, are juggling more and more work and home pressures and are not making enough time for ourselves. She coaches her clients to embrace “happier and healthier lives by cleaning up their diet, making time for exercise and working toward balance,” in their lives.
If you would like to implement her sage tips (outlined below) but need some help getting started, Clime looks forward to being your “guide on the side” to help support you on your health and wellness journey.
Terri, What do you love about your health coaching?
I have always wanted to help people who feel stuck or stressed out and struggle to make well-being a priority. I love being able to help each of them find balance and live their happiest, healthiest life. I am a great listener and compassionate. I easily relate to my clients because I personally had my own struggles and discovered a better way to live.
How does it feel to have happy clients?
Terri Clime: It is an amazing feeling to see a client reduce stress and live a more healthy, happy, and balanced life. Their positive changes will also impact others around them. I love the ripple effect of this type of work.
How COVID-19 Impacts Our Lives
Talk about some of the after-effects of nearly two years of COVID-19?
Terri Clime: A lot of people faced hardships they didn’t want to face. For some, it is the extra weight they gained, but it is not only about losing weight, finding balance, reducing anxiety, and managing stress are also important. I want to coach people during these challenging back-to-school and back-to-work times which are still taking place amid a global health pandemic.
Tell me about your background?
Terri Clime: I am the founder of ClimeWellness in Glenside, Pennsylvania, (a suburb of Philadelphia). I teach local yoga classes and offer Zoom health and wellness coaching to clients around the country. I worked in the corporate world for many years. I was dedicated, hard-working, and successful but I could not find passion in it. At times it required many hours and was stressful. I was also trying to be perfect at all the other roles in life such as a parent, caregiver, spouse, friend, etc. Self-care was definitely not on the radar.
What did your life look like back then that inspired your current holistic coaching?
Terri Clime: Stress and the never-ending juggling act caught up to me. Health issues developed. I was anxious, had GI issues and thyroid issues, and ultimately thyroid cancer. Thankfully, I am now nine years cancer-free. In the same month, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, my father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Sadly, my father passed away within six months.
What happened next?
Terri Clime: I knew I had to find a better way to manage stress, anxiety, and grief, and find a healthier way to live. My first step was a deep dive into the nutrition world, learning everything I could about foods that prevent cancer. My next mission was to get back to yoga. Then, I started a regular meditation practice and explored energy healing therapies like reiki and chakra work.
What steps did you take to change your path?
Terri Clime: I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and became a certified Holistic Health Coach. I received my Yoga Instructor certification and completed Penn Medicine’s 8-week foundational Mindfulness course. These certifications complemented my master’s degree in Public Health and an undergraduate degree in psychology.
How did this change your life?
Terri Clime: Each of these tools helped me manage stress, anxiety and deal with grief. I also found clarity and the courage to finally take a leap of faith. I left the corporate world, with a newfound passion to share all I’ve learned on this journey through ClimeWellness.
How were you changed by COVID-19?
Terri Clime: I would say that COVID-19 helped me see how remarkably adaptable, creative, and resilient people can be. It also helped me to truly appreciate that we do not have to be running all the time to find happiness. It is very important to make time for and appreciate simple things like a family board game or a bike ride.
How did you pivot ClimeWellness as a result of the pandemic?
Terri Clime: I had preferred in-person meetings with health coaching clients but the pandemic has taught me that video conferencing can be just as effective. This helped me expand my potential client base to be anywhere rather than local. I also never imagined I would teach yoga online but I started my yoga training right after COVID-19 hit. The first half of the training was on Zoom so it helped me get more comfortable with this modality for yoga as well.
The Importance of Family Time
How do you and your family spend your free time?
Terri Clime: My husband, Andy, and our 13-year-old daughter, Ava, enjoy bike riding, camping, traveling, and anything related to the ocean, especially scuba-diving. All three of us are certified divers. Diving is what brought me and Andy together. I met Andy on a dive trip to Belize. Andy is Belizean and was a Dive Master at that time. Ava has always been a water bug, so at 10 when she was eligible, we took her for diver training, and she completed her check-out dives in Belize.
What advice do you have for my readers who feel overwhelmed, stressed, and having a difficult time going back to work and routine?
Terri Cime: Remember to breathe. Closing your eyes, focusing on your breath, and pausing for a moment can help you hit the reset set button.
Consider starting a daily meditation practice. It is a fantastic tool to help reduce stress. You can start with just a minute or two a day. You can sit silently and just focus on your breath or there are tons of guided mediation options on the internet. If you have a busy mind a guided meditation might be your best choice.
Create a “to-do list” each morning to help you prioritize and keep track of what needs to be done for the day.
Make time for movement each day. It can boost your feel-good endorphins and help distract you from daily worries. It can be as simple as a short 10-minute walk or a short yoga routine.
Fuel your body with real food. Eating junk and processed food has been shown to increase brain fog while eating a healthy diet can reduce the negative effects of stress on your body.
What do you look forward to every day?
Terri Clime: I am grateful every day that I had the courage to make a career change. I look forward to working with my clients and helping them make positive life changes.
What is your motto:
Terri Clime: “Small Steps, Big Changes.”
7 Tips to Stay Balanced This Busy Fall/Winter Season.
1. Allow for quiet time or meditation each day. This helps reduce stress, allows time to turn down the inner noise, and increases awareness of what matters most.
2. Make time for self-care. Pushing yourself up on your to-do list helps reduce stress, improves health, and makes you a better caregiver.
3. Move every day. Studies have shown staying active is one of the best things you can do for your health. A daily 30-minute walk or gentle yoga routine can do wonders for the mind and body.
4. Make nutrition a priority. Proper nutrition will keep you energized throughout the day. Eating less processed foods and adding more vegetables and fruits is a good start. Vary the colors to maximize the types of nutrients.
5. Make sleep a priority. Most adults need about 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Sleep is the time when your body recovers and repairs. It is essential for overall wellbeing.
6. Let go of perfectionism. When you let go of unrealistic expectations and standards you can feel calmer and create more happiness in your life.
7. Say no. It helps you establish healthy boundaries and enables others to have clarity about what they can expect from you. Every time you say “No” to others, you are saying “Yes” to yourself.
For further information, please check out ClimeWellness.
