When Morena Escardo joined IIN, she was passionate about learning as much as she could about healthy eating and helping her Latina clients clean up their diets to improve their health. However, learning about the importance of primary food and how out of balance they were in her own life led her on a path of discovery and deep inner transformation that she now shares on her blog, social media, and online programs.
Her business now focuses on teaching meditation, spirituality, and a conscious lifestyle to help people cultivate joy and inner peace in their daily lives and connect to their true inner potential.
Q: What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
A: I had a Peruvian food blog with my mother, who is a chef. We worked with different brands, published three cookbooks, and created recipes for many online magazines and websites.
Q: What led you to explore the Health Coach Training Program?
A: I knew I wanted to get into the health and wellness world, but I had no idea how to do it or what exactly I could do. I had been checking out IIN for a couple of years, and one day I got an email with an offer, and my intuition said YES! I didn’t even think about it. I just signed up, and it felt completely right.
Q: How has your life changed since becoming a Health Coach?
A: When I joined IIN, I felt like I could finally embrace and explore who I truly was. In high school, nobody tells you that you can be a Health Coach, or a meditation teacher, or anything “alternative” like that. I think this is why I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. The closest I got to this was thinking for a while that I would be a dietitian, but even that didn’t feel quite right as I had a more holistic approach to my health, my nutrition, and my life. Once I joined IIN, I felt that I found my tribe, and a whole world of possibilities opened up. All the right people and situations started appearing in my life and moving me forward in the right direction.
Q: Which topics and modules were most beneficial for you?
A: I really liked everything related to primary food. As simple as it seems, the Circle of Life was a big eye-opener for me, showing me how imbalanced my life was. I was deeply focused on nutrition before joining IIN, and the primary food modules made me realize the importance of all the other aspects of life. I also really enjoyed the marketing modules as I was completely new to this and learned a lot.
Q: What does a typical day look like for you now?
A: I would say half of it is dedicated to self-care/fun and half of it to work. I used to force myself to work at certain times (regular office hours), but I recently realized that my creativity ebbs and flows and decided to go with it. So now I may take my dog on a long walk or call a friend in the middle of the day, and I’ve noticed that when I do this, I then get so much more done when I actually sit and work. I love it! My days are definitely filled with meditation, many portions of fruits and veggies, lots of content creation, coaching sessions/webinars/interviews/group programs, and massive amounts of cuddling with my dog!
Q: What makes you and your practice unique?
A: My practice has a deep spiritual component as my life is completely focused on my own spiritual path. I didn’t fully integrate this into my work until recently, and I’ve noticed a big shift in the kind of people who come to me and the kind of help they are looking for. I would say my practice now focuses on the deeper aspects of life: finding inner peace and consistent happiness, getting in touch with your intuition, manifesting the desires of your soul. This is pretty unique, particularly in Latin America, where most of my clients are from.
Q: How do you help your clients be successful? Is there a recent example that stands out for you?
A: I help them calm their chattering minds, look inside, and connect with their intuition, which has all the answers they need. The magic that happens when they realize this and start working on it is immediate and so beautiful to witness. A recent example that stands out is a friend who took both my meditation and manifesting courses, and everything she desired literally started coming to her almost immediately. She had been struggling with work for a very long time. (She’s an artist and wanted to live from her art. She was frustrated doing commercial work that didn’t excite her just for the money.) Once she started meditating, listening to her intuition, and being guided, she was able to say no when she meant no, do more of the things that fired up her soul, relax, and trust that everything would unfold perfectly. And guess what? That is exactly what’s happening!
Q: What do you love about your work?
A: I love two things the most. The first is that we get to impact people’s lives and, indirectly, the lives of everyone around them. The second is that I get to be my best self when I work with my clients. The more I do it, the more it stays with me, even when I’m not working. Managing my own time is pretty nice, too!
Q: How have you seen the need for Health Coaches change over the years?
A: I feel like the focus now is on stress management more and more. Learning to eat well and improve our daily habits is still essential, but I think people are starting to realize that the root of most of their imbalances (including bad food choices) is stress. I feel the concept of a coach is also becoming more and more normal. Many of my friends have coaches now, which is amazing! People are starting to realize that they need help in different areas of their lives to feel their best, and they are willing to pay for that help.
Q: What’s your tip for balancing your family, work, and personal wellness?
A: Meditation. Meditating twice a day helps me be more efficient, so I can do more in less time. It also helps me listen to my intuition, which I do all the time now. I let my intuition tell me whether it’s time to work, have fun, or take care of myself. Things flow much more smoothly when I live this way!
Q: Tell us your favorite way to wake up each day!
A: I meditate for 20 minutes every morning after drinking a large glass of lemon water and dry scrubbing my body. I then drink celery juice, do an hour of yoga at home, take a shower, and am ready to start my day!
Interested in becoming an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with our Spanish resources? Class starts on October 21st - learn more today!