Amanda Whittaker's Journey from a Legal Career to Wellness Leadership

Keywords

wellness, nutrition, yoga, plant-based, fitness, body image, mindfulness, sustainable living, energy, breathwork

Takeaways

Amanda Whittaker transitioned from a legal career to wellness coaching.
Sustainable wellness plans focus on balance, not extremes.
Nutrition should be about fueling the body, not just weight loss.
Walking after meals can significantly improve digestion and health.
Breathwork is a powerful tool for managing stress and anxiety.
It's important to find a movement routine that you enjoy.
Children should be taught the value of food as fuel.
Body image issues often stem from societal pressures and can be reframed.
Sleep is crucial for overall health and energy levels.
Small, consistent changes lead to long-term success.

Summary

In this conversation, Amanda Whittaker shares her transformative journey from a legal career to wellness coaching, emphasizing the importance of sustainable wellness plans, balance in nutrition, and the role of movement and breathwork in achieving a healthy lifestyle. She discusses the challenges of body image, the significance of teaching children about healthy eating, and the necessity of small, consistent changes for long-term success.

Titles

Amanda's Journey from a Legal Career to Wellness Leadership
Sustainable Wellness Plans for Women

Sound bites

"You need to think of food as fuel."
"Walking is so amazing."
"Mobility goes a long way as we age."

Chapters

00:00 From Law to Wellness: A Transformative Journey
02:56 Sustainable Wellness: Breaking the All-or-Nothing Cycle
05:51 Nutrition and Balance: The Plant-Based Perspective
07:34 Food Hacks and Quick Meals for Busy Lives
10:43 Ethics and Nutrition: A Deeper Connection
13:35 Finding Alignment: Career and Personal Values
16:39 Raising Healthy Kids in a Screen-Filled World
19:19 Body Image and Energy: Redefining Self-Worth
22:16 Navigating Perimenopause: Lifestyle Changes for Energy
23:50 The Importance of Nutrition and Sleep
27:12 Consistency and Small Shifts in Lifestyle
30:04 Finding the Right Movement for You
35:09 The Power of Breath and Mindfulness
38:30 Starting from Extremes: Gentle Changes
41:14 Plant-Based Nutrition Essentials
45:34 Key Takeaways for a Balanced Lifestyle

 

Transcript

 

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:04)
We have Amanda Whittaker. Is that how you say it?

Amanda Whittaker (00:08)
That's it. Yes. Hello.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:11)
Awesome. It's so nice to see you. I saw your work background and your journey. And it sounds like you've really gone from an amazing legal career to wellness. Let's just dive right in. Let's dive right in with what your journey has been.

Amanda Whittaker (00:33)
Oh my gosh, where do I start? Melanie, where do I start? No. So yes, I was in a... Okay. Well, I will just start by saying growing up I was always into movement. I was a dancer. I loved movement. And then I went to college and got caught up. It shifted. I gained a lot of weight. I lost that connection. And I ended up going to law school and it was there that I found it again. law school was super stressful and that's when I found yoga.

Melanie Suzanne Wilson (00:37)
The beginning.

Amanda Whittaker (01:02)
I took a six week Hatha class I had never done yoga before in my life and I was immediately brought back to my passion for dancing and movement that felt good. So that kind of got me back to my roots. I graduated law school, I started teaching yoga at the same time and a couple years in I just felt this pull, like what am I doing? Law is not for me, it is so combative and that is not who I am.

And I went to a yoga retreat one weekend and they asked us what our intention was. And I said, mine is to immerse myself in this world of yoga and wellness and fitness and feel good. And we had to write down our blockages on a piece of paper. And I wrote down my legal career and we burned them in like a pot of flames. And I went into work the next day. No joke. I went into work and I was laid off from my legal job.

⁓ so that's what drove me right to the Oka studio in tears. What am I going to do? and that's how this kind of all began. I just, I, I dove in, I went full time, ⁓ teaching, taking on clients, leading retreats around the world. I was a Lululemon ambassador. I just was all in and it's kind of still where I'm at. I did go back to work.

about 10 years ago, not as an attorney. I'm a project manager in a health care organization. ⁓ But along the way, I've always been in the fitness space. I still teach, I still coach. And what brought me to coaching actually is in some of the groups I was in, would just start asking me