Meet Rachel Moncayo

Today we’re excited to be connecting with Rachel Moncayo again. If you haven’t already, we suggest you check out our prior conversation with them here.

Rachel, thanks for joining us again. Just to level set a bit for folks who may have missed our last interview together, can you briefly introduce yourself?
I’d love to! So, I’m a Wellness Professional and my main focus is teaching Yoga and Mindfulness/Meditation. Back in 2012, I came up with this holistic wellness concept called Move-Nourish-Mind® – it’s actually trademarked! – and I launched it at my studio in Brookhaven. The idea was to help people understand how movement, nutrition, and emotional well-being are all connected and how addressing all 3 together can really transform your life. Every client got a personalized assessment and we created programs tailored to their unique needs. It was a game changer for so many people!
Our clients loved it so much that they started bringing us into their workplaces to share the concept with their teams. Having spent over 20 years in the corporate world myself I totally got the challenges they were facing, so I developed programs specifically for those settings. It was rewarding, but over time I realized that while corporate was impactful, I didn’t find that corporate environments were quite ready to commit completely to addressing employee wellness…and I felt most fulfilled working with individuals who were all-in on making real lifestyle changes.
Then when Covid hit, it kind of closed the door on corporate gigs – and honestly, I was ok with that. These days, I’m fully focused on my private practice, working one-on-one with men, women, teens and tweens. It’s so rewarding to build these deep connections and see the transformation in their lives. I truly love what I do, and I feel lucky to be able to make a difference every day.

Awesome, so we reached out because we wanted to hear all about what you have been up to since we last connected.
So much has changed since our last conversation! I released corporate work entirely and decided to stick with private clients. This was a huge decision because the “business person” and passionate leader in me felt it challenging to make the courageous/bold move of saying “no” to this, BUT…I realized that it was/is the leader in me as a Wellness Professional that needed to lead by example and follow my own advice to take the path that felt most fulfilling to me. Luckily Covid ushered me in the right direction as well, as I decided to only focus on private clients. And what an enriching experience it’s been to walk alongside clients committed to their wellness! Covid also brought on the challenges of learning how to teach via video and connect with my clients differently as a result of it. This was not easy, but it made me stronger as a teacher and further honed my skills and unexpectedly built and sustained my practice. I acquired new clients during Covid years, maintained old ones, and some even chose to stay on Zoom with me after the pandemic.
During Covid I started working more with younger clients, specifically middle and high school aged kids and many in their twenties. Many were dealing with anxiety and uncertainty during and directly after the Covid years, and I was grateful for the opportunity to help them work through this.
Also, by some odd twist of fate, video training has been a blessing that has allowed me to have no geographical restrictions…allowing me to teach from wherever I am, so I travel more flexibly and can work with clients from wherever they are.
Since we last met, I am proud to share that I’ve been blessed with a referral-based client business only – I don’t do any marketing. I’m also blessed to develop great relationships that keep clients working with me at some level for up to 10 years as of this writing, which is not standard in my industry.
Lastly, my online self-guided course “Mind Muscle Training” continues to attract students, especially since Covid because managing stress, anxiety and emotional regulation in general are, unfortunately, very real challenges for many.

We also want to give folks a chance to get to know you a bit better so we’ve prepared a fun lightning round of questions. Ready?

Favorite Book: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Favorite TV Show: Suits

Favorite Band or Artist: Sade

Sweet or Savory: Savory

Mountains or Beach: Beach

Favorite Sport (to play): Golf

Did you play sports growing up (if so which ones): No

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up: A Dancer

French Fries or Onion Rings: Neither…Unhealthy! 🙂

Favorite Cartoon growing up: The Flintstones

Favorite Childhood movie: Mary Poppins

Favorite Breakfast Food: Yogurt with Nuts & Berries

What are you most excited about in the coming year?
I am most excited about beginning the planning process for young adult small group wellness retreats. This is a dream that is emerging from studying the impact of my work with young clients and the value of wellness retreats on myself. Most weekend or weeklong retreats seem to cater to older adults or large groups. I’m exploring the idea of offering weekend retreats catering specifically to young adults and for groups of up to 10 attendees maximum. Stay tuned as I navigate this idea!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-moncayo-26911015/

Other: https://qonscious-fit-school.teachable.com/p/Mind-Muscle-Training