True healing is only possible when you take responsibility for your own well being on this Earth and your self-empowerment. See yourself as complete, healthy and whole.

I grew up in the South of France, where life is known for the Provençal Cuisine; for the delightful scents of lavender, rosemary, thyme, garlic, basil, and freshly pressed olive oil; for the way of living; and where cooking homemade food and having a vegetable garden were part of my childhood.   

In 2005 I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Sales, and decided to enroll in my first coaching training program as I was becoming interested in self-development within small businesses. While developing my professional skills I realized during the process, that we became the way we are in life as adults depending on what we could have experienced during childhood events and emotions felt at that time (conscious or not); and that our decisions, personal and professional, from our everyday life were indirectly impacted by those buried past experiences and emotions.

With that realization, and passion about Maria Montessori's philosophy and my love for early childhood, with having young nephews at that time, I decided to work as a nanny on the side. I wanted to learn help more children on their journey, along with helping other moms, and myself in the future. 

Later on when I moved to the US, my goal was to work with children to transition into a new country. I then became an early childhood teacher, and passed the Early Childhood Teacher Certification and the Administration I & II Certifications of North Carolina.

One day I had a wakeup call. As I was working as a teacher, I woke up with a huge burning rash all over my face and pain in my stomach. At the time, I did not realize I was overly stressed in that spiral of change I was living in, and how much it was impacting my health. 

The only solution that was offered to me at that time was a steroid shot, but for some reason (with the little knowledge I experienced in alternative medicine from back in France), I felt it was something related to a gut issue! 

I grew up sick all the time as a child and used a lot of antibiotics until the day I realized, when I was 18 (after a wisdom tooth extraction) that I was highly allergic to a specific molecule of a whole family of antibiotics, and that it is why I grew up having extreme and uncontrollable panic and delirium episodes since I was 5 years old, exaggerating the notion that everything is temporary in our human life on this planet, amplifying the feeling of powerlessness and the lack of meaning behind our existence; and that no one could do anything about it and help out. That was the beginning for me of a new path by looking at natural solutions as much as possible to help and support my body. I was already familiar with homeopathy and the benefits of some plants, as I grew up using them from our garden, and later on been introduced to the world of essential oils. I have been using them for over 20 years now.

Fast forward, from that day I woke up with that rash all over my face, I went down a health and wellness rabbit hole. From elimination diet, to eating gluten free; doing research and watching documentaries about the food industry, organic products, the impact of GMOs & glyphosate on our soil, the damage they create in our gut, but also the condition of intensive animal agriculture; the confirmation of the power of plants and herbal medicine, the benefit of whole food and plant-based diet; the development of autoimmune disorders, and how to heal the gut, the impact of environmental toxicity and more... I spent hours and hours of watching and reading information and books about gut health and wellness. I embarked on a discovery journey with experiencing veganism, a whole food diet, and learning in-depth about gut healing, and trying to understand why I had those rashes, flare-ups and digestive issues. 

Later on, my life did another 360 degree turn after having my first child, in 2014. As a new mom, while facing the multiples challenges of motherhood, breastfeeding, recovering from an unexpected C-section, sleep deprivation, and postpartum melancholy, my focus and attention were on making sure my baby had all the needs she required, but she was colicky, had digestive problems, was crying all the time, and was not a good sleeper. This period taught me a lot about finding more holistic solutions to help her ease her discomfort. 

Then, I had to strengthen myself even more when one day all of sudden she started having anxiety, uncontrollable fears, and behavioral tics. At some level it reminded me of myself when I was a child. For several years we went down the path of trial and error, eliminating diet for her too, emotional support, and looked for the proper balanced lifestyle to help her. She remains my inspiration in finding a way to help her feel better with herself and the world she is living in. 

With my second child, I learned that our bodies are capable of incredible things. I was able to experience the reality of natural labor at home and after a C-section, extended breastfeeding (4years), co-sleeping, and learned to let go of many of my expectations. 

With children, there is always something going on, common cold and chronic illness, scrapes and wounds, and hurt feelings... They are keeping us on our toes, pushing us at times and helping us too to become the best part of ourselves, as parents and caregivers. In the past years, I realized that having children (and working with children) is a blessing, because by helping them in their life, their situations, and helping them to cope with their emotions, we are helping our own selves at the same time with our own emotions, and those passed down through generations. It is important to "keep cool", isn't it? to show them an appropriate example, and learn to step back from situations instead of doing (like I name them) an adult's "tantrum" and leading our way with our emotions. So in fact, they are helping us indirectly.

After a few years of motherhood and investigations on how to help improve and optimize my health, my child’s, and my family’s, I realized I could work on a holistic coaching certification online while I was homeschooling my children. I then embarked on a Holistic training journey that opened doors to me progressively and brought me where I am today.

I started with IIN, Institute for Integrative Nutrition®, in 2019, a pioneer in the field of Health Coaching. It helped me confirm all the knowledge I gained through the past years of investigation, understood the concept of biodiversity, and gave me the tools to be a holistic coach.

Then, I advanced my knowledge by going to FDN, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®, pioneer of Functional Testing & Advanced Diagnostics. It was an eye opening experience doing this program, as I could understand furthermore some correlations with the lab testing results between my daughter's tics behavior, anxiety, complaints and my own health with fatigue, weigh issues, pain, digestive problems, and concerns. It helped me put the pieces of health back together, along with learning in depth the benefit of the DRESS® program, a personalized Lifestyle change and chronic stress reduction protocol making me comprehend, even more, that everyone is unique and that for some people healing could take time, depending on where they are at on their life journey.

I then transformed myself while discovering the world of Reiki (hands on Energy); while learning in-depth the wisdom of the Chakras and their close connection with our emotions and our body function; while learning about and practicing Qigong, and becoming a Master Reiki. It was when my father-in-law passed away unexpectedly in 2020, (at the same time I was progressing in the field of spirituality), I got the confirmation that the Energies are real around us, and there were more to learn from it. After all, I was able to feel the notion that there was a meaning to our existence. This was only the beginning of my spiritual journey.

In the meantime, as I was working on my own well-being and always loved to dance, I did the Zumba® Instructor Licensing program, along with the Zumba Kids + Kids Jr® certifications. Now, as I developed my technique and skills, and as I am growing my holistic activity, I am working on a beginner program and Kids' program locally, in an one-on-one and group classes format.

By working in the Health Coaching field, I am required to do ongoing professional development & education courses. So I am always studying new information and topics I want to pursue. If you come to me with a health concern while feeling against a wall in your journey, I will do my best to accompany you on your path with the best of my knowledge; and I am surrounded myself with a FDN growing community of health coaches and health practitioners who want to help resolve health problems naturally, so I can direct myself towards them when needed. Through the years, I also learned it is Okay not to know, because we are all here for a reason and to learn from each other!

To finish, as of today there is another field of work I am passionate about with a wonderful community of friends. It is the world of permaculture, no-dig gardening, and composting. For sure, a domain in tight connection with supporting the gut function by improving the quality of the soil to develop nutritious food and plants. So along with launching the Holistic Health Coaching activity as a whole, I am developing, locally in the Carolinas, a community of like-minded people, families, homesteaders, and farmers passionate about Health, Wellness, Nutrition, Cooking, Gardening, and about Supporting each other... Physically ~ Mentally ~ Emotionally & Energetically! 

We are together on this life-changing Journey!

In Health & Happiness,

Stephanie Pagnol-Palpacuer