TestimonialS:
"Karla is a deeply respectful and deeply active listener. I just asked Google to search for a new word for me to use for excellent listener so I could better describe the quality of her attention! Along with that attention she has offered me a kind and grounded guidance that keeps bringing my own strengths right back to center. In a world and time where there is an overabundance of health advice and information to navigate, I feel so grateful to have found someone with the knowledge and skill and heart to help me find MY WAY." ~Denise
“HER capacity to be present and attuned in our sessions, make uncomfortable topics easy and natural to explore.”
From Meg -
Prior to working with Karla, I had never heard of a functional medicine health coach. At 61 years old, I have a Naturopathic Doctor and a General Practitioner. But our dynamic doesn’t inspire the candid, vulnerable and inquiry-based conversations that I have immensely benefited from with Karla.
During our first meeting, Karla’s warmth was inviting and her knowledge evident. As we began to work together, I experienced that the information she was making available was not only helpful, but also established Karla as a committed partner in my well-being. Her astute listening and keen questions conveyed to me that my well being is a collaborative endeavor we are embarking on together.
Karla’s approach acknowledges that healing the body is most successful when all parts of the person are taken into account. Karla is superb at creating an atmosphere of inquiry that supports and sustains a willingness to be vulnerable. Her capacity to be present and attuned in our sessions, make uncomfortable topics easy and natural to explore. Karla’s questions often illustrate an empowering insight for me that is exciting to follow through on.
meet Karla
Karla Youngblood is an Herbal Educator and Trauma-Informed Functional Medicine Health Coach. She brings a wealth of practical knowledge to her coaching clients and students. With more than 25 years’ experience in the natural products industry, her passion for natural healing and medicinal herbs continues to be a driving force in her life.
Karla believes that committing to personal health contributes to global health. By choosing organic food and non-toxic products, we are supporting things we all need: clean water, clean air, and healthy soil. “Wellness” is not just about the individual, it is about Collective Health.
Karla is honored to have studied medicinal plants with Cascade Anderson Geller in Portland, Oregon and then later, studied Holistic Nutrition with KP Khalsa. These studies laid a solid foundation to teach others about natural health, but she wanted to offer more. So…
Karla became a Trauma-Informed, Certified Health Coach through studies with the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA) and NARM Training Institute (NARM stands for Neuro Affective Relational Model).
What is a Health Coach? And what does it mean to be Trauma-Informed? Good questions! Scroll down or click on the “About” button to learn more.
In addition to coaching, Karla is an educator, offering in-person classes on holistic approaches to specific topics, like Brain Health or Navigating Allergy Season. She also works with Herb Pharm, teaching retailers and the public about effective ways to use medicinal plants to support their health. Karla is also passionate about effective, compassionate communication. She believes that “Clarity is Kindness” and brings Non-violent Communication into her coaching work and her classes.
Karla's approach to coaching is to empower the client (YOU!) with deep listening and reflection, and then provide knowledge about holistic health so you can create a plan that supports your big vision of a healthy life.
Learn more about coaching in the section below and then reach out to Karla for a free 15 minute conversation to see if her work is a fit for you!
OFFERINGS
1:1 Coaching
Coaching is my favorite offering. It is an evidence-based approach to lasting change. Having a coach means having an ally on your journey to health. In our sessions, we can dig deep into what motivates you and create a plan based on YOUR vision of health. Change is hard for everyone, but it’s possible. One-on-one coaching is a great way to receive real support, that works. Whether you are healing from an illness, training for an athletic event, or wanting to reach a new level of health, coaching can help. See more about coaching below. Then reach out to schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
COnsulting
Consulting is different from coaching. Where coaching is about evoking qualities in the client that lead to lasting changes, consulting is more about sharing knowledge in ways that are specific to your needs. Do you need help knowing what herbs or supplements to take? How to shop for and prepare healthy food? How to do meal prep for the week? Many people are motivated to improve their health, but don’t know what to do. In one afternoon, you can have real-life experience that can benefit them for a lifetime.
For others, it can mean taking an hour to pick my brain. Some people want to know about the supplements they are taking - do they really need all of them? And what about that latest trend they heard about? Spending an hour talking with me can sometimes save you a lot of money and bring some peace of mind.
In person classes
I offer in-person classes in the Puget Sound area on holistic nutrition, medicinal herbs, and compassionate communication; all with the intention of empowering people to create a healthy life where they can thrive. I pack a lot of material into these classes to ensure they are a truly informative and a great value. (I’ll be offering online classes soon, but I’m not quite there.) Get on the mailing list to receive updates.
“Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the Whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
ABOUT ROOTED TO BLOOM
WHAT IS Health coaching?
“Health coaching is a collaborative process between a health coach and client aiming to improve overall health and well-being through sustainable lifestyle changes.
A health coach is a trained and certified health and wellness professional who guides clients along their health journey. They help clients get “unstuck” and coach them toward reaching their goals. Health coaches utilize evidence-based strategies to empower clients to make changes, activate internal strengths, utilize resources, and foster healthy lifestyle changes.
When working with a new client, a health coach listens and asks questions to help identify goals, barriers, and sources of motivation. As the client works to make changes, their health coach helps them tap into their innate strengths, using evidence-based strategies to empower clients to take ownership of their own change. They celebrate each win and provide support through each challenge, collaborating to solve problems and utilizing a wide range of resources to guide their clients to a healthier lifestyle.”
From: https://functionalmedicinecoaching.org/about/what-is-functional-medicine-health-coaching/
what is functional medicine?
To quote the Institute for Functional Medicine, “As a catalyst in the transformation of healthcare, functional medicine treats root causes of disease and restores healthy function through a personalized patient experience.”
I like to say that Functional Medicine (FM) is a merging of holistic and reductionistic approaches to medicine. The holistic aspect is that it looks at the whole body and the interaction of its systems to identify the root cause of disease or imbalance. The reductionistic side is that it sometimes uses extensive lab testing to determine how different body systems are performing. With that information, a treatment plan can be made to overcome the imbalance and remove the root cause. Sounds good, right?
As a coach, I help people connect the dots to see how one aspect of their lives may be influencing another, specifically their health. I don’t order or interpret tests (That’s not legal, yet.), but I do help implement plans to support a return to balance.
WHAT Does TRAUMA-InFORMED mean?
There has been a lot of talk of trauma in the last several years, and for good reason. I think it’s safe to say that we have all recently survived the traumatic experience of a global pandemic, not to mention the other monumental social and environmental changes happening on our planet.
Trauma, whether it be shock-trauma or complex trauma, impacts our bodies, brains and behavior. It affects our ability to feel safe in the world, to have satisfying relationships, and impacts basic physical functions like digestion. Understanding this is crucial to helping people make lasting changes.
This understanding shows up in my coaching practice as an increased level of compassion and understanding that people make choices when they are suffering that don’t match their values or their dreams for themselves. It shows up as supporting my clients as they look ahead to what is possible for the future and embrace agency to make to create change in their lives. It also shows up as sharing resources to help regulate the nervous system so we are making choices from a centered place, which is how we get where we want to be.