Today we’d like to introduce you to Priscilla Barnes.
Hi Priscilla, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Helping others has been something I’ve always been passionate about. I grew up in a wonderfully caring family, and as the fourth born of five kids, I developed a helper mentality, that was always greatly gratifying. Helping and caring for others has always been something that brought me gratification.
After graduating from Stratford, I went to UT Austin to become the ultimate helper: a nurse. While studying at UT, I also received a degree in Spanish.
My career as a nurse started with newborns from the well-baby nursery and later to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and moved to pediatrics, and finally the pre-op and post-op setting of surgery for adults and children. For 12 years, I worked in a hospital setting.
As a nurse, I saw the positive aspects of healing in a hospital. However, I also knew there was a better way to help others – preventative medicine. After dealing with my own back injury, I decided to become a Personal Trainer and Nutritionist as a way to help others heal and prevent disease. My father helped me set up a DBA, Wellness in Bloom – he also wanted to be my first official paying customer at the gym, where I was a part-time trainer.
In 2019, my active, healthy father suffered a life-altering stroke. Thankfully, he survived. However, he lost the ability to move the left side of his body. In the years that followed, I saw a more in-depth degree of the devastation and repercussions of life-altering health events. It opened my eyes to what goes on in Skilled Nursing Facilities, Rehab Hospitals, and the healthcare system. Aspects that propelled me to help others avoid this scenario.
In 2020, I turned my occasional coaching to a full-time pursuit. After being threatened to be fired from a hospital system I’d given 12 years to, I took that as a sign to become a part-time nurse, and full-time coach.
It ended up being a blessing in disguise, as most challenges are. It’s been the greatest gift to watch and to help people change their lives for the better by investing in their health today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Anyone who is a caregiver can understand the struggle of balance.
When others depend on you, it can be hard to do what’s in your best interest.
One of the greatest struggles along the way has been finding my own balance. In the name of helping, I let my own health and wellness become compromised. In 2020 my body started presenting signs of burnout.
Then in 2021, it peaked with an overnight stay in the hospital. It took my own health declining to realize something had to change. It also lead me to pursue other areas for healing, specifically, a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. Focusing on minerals, in foods and supplements changed my health – alongside lifestyle and stress management.
It was a good reminder that every struggle can lead to more growth.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Wellness in Bloom helps clients take action today for a healthier tomorrow. Many clients approach me with frustrations – pains, GI discomfort, inability to lose weight, chronic stress, high cholesterol, etc.
Wellness in Bloom focuses on incorporating lifestyle changes, so that the goal is achieved and maintained. What good is weight loss if you don’t know how to maintain it?
As a nurse, my process is set apart from other approaches at the foundation. I’m familiar with the devastation that chronic, low grade inflammation can cause – it is at the base of every illness today. Whatever the goal, whatever the health crisis, there is a nutrition, lifestyle, and movement change that can help you hit your goals AND prevent disease.
For that reason, my approach to hitting goals incorporates balance and nourishment rather than extremes. In addition, Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) sets me apart. It reveals signs of adrenal burnout, low thyroid function, and other areas that can go unnoticed in regular blood work. “I feel so justified,” is usually the response my clients say after their HTMA.
Whether through personal training, nutritional coaching, or a HTMA, my goal is to give others hope in their approach to wellness. Poor health can cast a dark shadow over our lives, but with the right approach, you can find peace.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
If you’re just starting out, don’t give up. One of the best parts about struggles in life is they create a sense of resilience.
Every loss, episode of grief, or period of frustration opens the door for an amazing breakthrough. I used to think that struggles and losses made me weaker.
Now I know because of them, I’m able to handle more and help more as a result of the resilience those hurdles created. It’s a joy to help others see that in themselves, too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wibpriscilla.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellness.in.bloom
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WellnessInBloom
- Other: https://www.wibpriscilla.com/blog
Image Credits
Mary Beth Koeth
