Hi, I’m Rhianne!
I’m an IIN integrative health coach and a 500-hour certified yoga teacher.
Since I was little, I always had a deep connection to my body and movement. You’d find me dancing in the kitchen, dancing around the supermarket, and when I got older I danced my way right onto the Fairfield University Dance Team and Dance Ensemble.
Then…I got into the “real world” and things changed.
I was living in South Boston—with 4 people crammed into a 3-bedroom apartment—working in development at a local school.
It was stressful. I’d often work 10-hour days. Tack on a 1-hour commute and I wasn’t getting home until 8 pm. I worked hard, so they kept giving me more “jobs”—with the same pay and same title. So my hours just got longer and longer. Fun!
I’d come home in my go-to black Express pants exhausted (and fueled by the peanut butter jar and all the leftover office munchkins) and say to myself:
“omg I NEED to go for a run”
But first, let’s see what’s in the fridge real quick…
Ooh! Pint of Ben & Jerry's!
I was feeling overheated from such a long work day, so why not “cool off” with a few spoonfuls in front of the TV? I deserve a quick break.
Then, 15 minutes later I was too hungry to go for a run. So I’d say to myself, “might as well eat the leftovers (usually pizza or chinese food) and I’ll go for an even LONGER run tomorrow.”
This began a vicious cycle…
⤷
7am—Wake up and be “good”, eat only egg whites —>
10am—starving, resist the office munchins —>
12pm—have a salad to be “good” —>
2pm—Willpower fleeting, give into the leftover munchkins —>
Feel like crap, vow I’m going to work out hard when I get home —>
7pm—Get home exhausted + overheated from work stress, have a “quick” bite of ice cream to cool down —>
8pm—Too hungry and tired “F it”, eat dinner and watch TV —> Fill with self-loathing and guilt, vow to be better tomorrow —>
Repeat…
Sound familiar?
I went on like this for a couple of years. I started gaining weight. I felt sluggish. Everything felt harder:
Running was harder
Getting up in the morning was harder
Focusing at work was harder
I’d have those “I have NOTHING TO WEAR!!!” meltdowns when getting ready to go out— everything in my closet felt a little too snug and uncomfortable.
So I punished myself even more.
I’d eat Lean Cuisines and frozen Gordon’s fish filets (yes, really!) but it was never enough to fill me up. I’d go to the gym at 9pm and grind on the elliptical machine for an hour.
I honestly felt like a hamster on a wheel. And to make matters worse, my mental state was something like – “Is this really what real life looks and feels like?” It was depressing.
Suddenly, something shifted.
I was so stressed at work one random Monday I literally googled “How to relieve stress” 😔
The internet rabbit hole helped me find a “Hot Power Yoga” class in Canton, Mass and signed up for a class.
I took one class and suddenly realized:
It was everything my body was missing
A connection to my body
Challenging enough to feel like a “real” workout—girl did I sweat it out!
Yet grounded enough to let me BREATHE and actually connect to my body — the one I had been punishing for years
The flowing movement that my inner dancer craved so much—but I had forgotten.
I felt so much better that I quickly made that Monday Power Yoga class became my weekly non-negotiable—even though it was a long drive from my Southie apartment.
Unlike forcing myself to grind on the elliptical, it actually felt good. Something I actually looked forward to.
This one weekly class created a ripple effect:
I was moving body
I was more at peace
I was more relaxed
I started eating better—without trying so hard
I was happier—and even met the man who eventually became my husband (right before I was ready to give up on the idea of marriage)!
Oh, and it turns out that I started losing weight in the process.
That’s when I realized…
Health is not just about calories or how hard you push.
I learned to listen to my body. To see hunger, energy, digestion, mood and cravings – not as good or bad – but as messages from my body. I learned to work WITH my body and her unique needs.
And like magic, my body responded. This new, softer approach gave me the energy to pursue other things I was passionate about outside of my job, like yoga teacher training and integrative health coach training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
The integrative health coaching and yoga were just for me, I never planned to make a career out of it.
Then, everything changed again.
I finished my training at IIN, had my daughter, and then my dad got sick.
When we realized he wasn’t going to make it, my whole world changed.
That was the moment I realized, this is so much more than losing a few pounds. I never in a million years would have imagined I’d lose my dad this early.
Health is so much more than weight.
Health is being around to live the life of your dreams — and have the energy you need and want to truly LIVE it.
So I committed to helping others reclaim their health—in THEIR way. Just like I did.
Now I work with women who are sick and tired of trying the latest diet with all the hopes in the world, only to be disappointed and back at square one. The women who feel like they are doing “all the right things” and not getting results.
Instead of pushing through the same-old punishing diet and exercise, I show clients how to work WITH their body to create a custom plan:
Does your body crave warm foods? Maybe a salad for lunch is not the best idea for you—as “healthy” as it seems.
Not a morning person? Great, no more guilt for not waking up at 5:30am to crush that glorified IG morning routine of lemon water, meditation and journaling. It’s time to get real about what really energizes you.
Hate the treadmill? Noted. Let’s find a style of movement that brings you JOY.
Let’s find something that feels so good that you don’t have to “make” yourself do it, you actually WANT to do it.
Ready to get started? Click here to set up a discovery session with Integrative Health Coach Rhianne.
More about Rhianne :) & Integrative Health Coaching
My Education:
IIN Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Certified Health Coach
New York, NY
South Boston Yoga
200 hr Registered Yoga Teacher
South Boston, MA
Universal Power Yoga
300 hr Registered Yoga Teacher
Norwood, MA
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT
More about the IIN Institute for Integrative Nutrition
During my time at IIN Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I had the privilege of learning from renowned nutritionists, physicians, researchers, doctors, and wellness experts worldwide. I studied over 100 diverse dietary theories and explored traditional philosophies such as Chinese medicine and Ayurveda.
A significant revelation during my time at IIN was the concept of Primary Foods — the non-food elements of our health like relationships, exercise, career, and spirituality. These crucial aspects of our health and wellness, though not found on a plate, serve as the foundation that nourishes and satisfies us. Achieving balance in our Primary Foods naturally shifts the focus, making actual food a secondary consideration.
Some of my teachers include:
Joshua Rosenthal, founder, director, & primary teacher of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Neal Barnard, MD, author & founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Susan Blum, MD, MPH, pioneer in functional medicine & founder of the Blum Center for Health
Deepak Chopra, MD, mind-body medicine expert
John Douillard, MD, Ayurvedic physician, professor and chiropractor
Joel Fuhrman, MD, physician & author of Eat for Health: Lose Weight, Keep it Off
Mark Hyman MD, functional medicine leader & director of the UltraWellness Center
David Katz, MD, director of Yale Prevention Research Center
Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition at New York University
Mehmet Oz, MD, cardiothoracic surgeon, best-selling author, & star of The Dr. Oz Show
Bernie Siegel, MD, expert in healing & patient empowerment
Andrew Weil, MD, director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona
Walter Willet, MD, chairman of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health
David Wolfe, authority on superfoods & raw foods nutrition
Still exploring the idea of health coaching?
Click below to read my blog post on “What is a Health Coach anyway?”
