Meet Deborah Bigda | Queen of Hope – Health & Wellness Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Deborah Bigda and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Deborah, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I prefer focusing on work life alignment vs. work life balance, because balance makes you think you need to spend an equal amount of time between work and life and let’s face it, that’s difficult to do, so you feel guilty for failing. However when you shift your focus to work life alignment, you focus on quality vs. quantity. Spending 30 minutes of quality time with your family where you are fully present, making eye contact, really listening and being engaged is significantly more valuable than spending 3 hours with them, but being distracted.
Over the past several years, I have shifted my focus to the alignment of my five coaching pillars: emotional, spiritual, mental, physical and financial health. When you focus on quality time on what’s most important to you: relationships with family & friends (emotional), relationship with God (spiritual), self-care & healing both mentally and physically for yourself and your money mindset, you will notice an increase in feeling fulfilled and aligned. Taking time for yourself, a practice many women forget to do, allows you to serve others better because you’re not depleted mentally, emotionally, spiritually or physically. When you focus on and nurture these other areas, you thrive in your work, because you do not feel guilty.

Watching my clients who use my five coaching pillars move from feeling guilty and “out of balance” to feeling as though they are living a life full of alignment is my greatest joy.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As a health and wellness coach, I help people live their life with purpose, passion, and vibrancy. What sets me apart from other health and wellness coaches, is I don’t just look at somebody’s physical health. I’ve discovered that in order to have true health, we need to take a deep dive into a person’s mental health, emotional health, spiritual health, physical health, and financial health. I call these your five pillars of well-being. These five areas of your life are intertwined and it is impossible to truly live a fulfilled life if you are struggling even just in one of these areas.
True health is not just about absence of disease or illness, it is about living life with joy, hope, passion, and vibrancy, so that no matter what gets thrown your way you are able to laugh in the face of adversity, and have the health and energy to pursue your dreams and passions.

What excites me the most is watching women transform from a state of just surviving to thriving. Recently one of my clients came to a retreat, and as she walked in, you could see she was worn out, and just literally going through the motions of life. After three days of digging deep into her five pillars, she was able to discover what was holding her back from living with purpose and vibrancy. Now there’s a glow on her face that is impossible to miss, she is genuinely smiling, and is now pursuing her passion of teaching others about foster care. Nothing brings more joy and happiness to my life then to watch people transform.

In addition to my coaching business, I host the Restoring Hope podcast. Tune in for vibrant and inspiring episodes packed with advice to improve your emotional, spiritual, physical, mental and financial well-being. You’ll also hear uplifting stories from individuals who have overcome adversities and will offer their insights to help you build resiliency too.

The inspiration behind my business stems from a personal journey full of challenges.  In a three month period, my husband lost his job, our property was hit by a tornado and we faced a health diagnosis at a time with no insurance coverage. Enduring these trials for two years strained our hope and faith leaving us feeling as though God had abandoned us. While it wasn’t easy, we found ways to strengthen our marriage, cling onto hope and discover the hidden treasure in the trench. From this experience, I developed tools to nurture in all aspects of life. Today, I am grateful to share these insights with numerous women from stage, in my coaching programs, my podcast and intimate retreat settings.

We are not designed to do life alone and I’m thankful for the pivotal moment when I took a leap of faith to invest in myself for the first time. This decision of believing in my own worth has transformed everything and is a core component of my mission inspiring other women to do the same. It’s now my passion to encourage other women to believe in their own value, assuring them there is hope awaiting them on the other side of the work they do.

I work with women one on one, in group coaching, and during retreats. I want women to know that regardless of their past attempts or setbacks, working with me offers a unique advantage because we take a holistic approach. Focusing on my five pillars of coaching, results in living a life full of purpose, passion and vibrancy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Creating memories by visiting places unique in meaning or allowing us to enjoy nature would be key to planning a trip for my friends. I would start each day off by dropping in at Rise Coffee & Tea in Marietta, a quaint coffee shop that is known for serving our community with delicious home-baked goods, coffee and tea while providing an opportunity for people with special needs to shine as their staff is comprised mostly of people with special needs.
Next, we would explore the great outdoors, soaking in the beauty of nature bolstering our mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health as we enjoy a hike at some of Georgia’s gorgeous parks.  Some of my favorite places to hike include: Kennesaw Mountain, Amicalola Falls, Cloudland Canyon, and Leita Thompson Memorial Park. Of course, we would include Stone Mountain as you can’t come to Georgia without a viewing of the laser show.

For dinner, we would visit local, independently owned restaurants in downtown Woodstock, Marietta Square or downtown Kennesaw as I love supporting local businesses. Sitting around a table, enjoying a freshly prepared dinner would fuel our bodies after a day of fun physical activity.

We would finish each day by retreating back home and enjoying some of my family’s favorite activities: cozying up around our fire pit, playing board games, recounting the day’s activities and enjoying the time building relationships. These precious memories are what enables you to feel fulfilled and live a life full of purpose, passion and vibrancy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my husband and family who have been a constant support in my endeavor to pursue my dreams. Additionally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the incredible coaches I have had along the way as well as the support and collaboration from my fellow industry professionals. However, all of this would not be possible without the trust from my clients who have blessed me with the ability to lead them on a journey to true health and wellness, so they can live a life of purpose, passion and vibrancy.  Finally, I want to extend my gratitude to the women who have caught the vision with me, joined my team and formed a community and sisterhood that is creating a ripple effect impacting the lives of women throughout the U.S.

Website: www.deborahbigda.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deborah.bigda/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahbigda/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deborah.bigda

Image Credits
Roosh Photography (only for the photo with no background), none of the other photos need credit