Afrina Khan found her passion as a certified holistic health counselor. She trained in more than 100 different dietary theories, from all the new-age, raw food, and vegan movements to ancient traditions like Ayurveda and the work of Dr. Weston Price. She also trained in a variety of practical lifestyle coaching methods such as stress management and positive thinking. Drawing on this knowledge, she offers programs to women that are tailored to their unique body, lifestyle, preferences, and goals. But her journey of personal discovery did not happen overnight.

Sometimes your passion is not something you grow up dreaming about, but something that you stumble upon “accidentally” and fall in love with as you grow on your own personal journey.

I graduated with a BA in accounting and worked in the field for a limited amount of time.  I realized very quickly that working as an accountant was not the career path I wanted for the rest of my life.  For me, personally, the 9-to-5 grind – plus the commute every day for a job which didn’t spark any real joy or passion in me – was just not going to cut it.

Around the same time, I was going through a spiritual journey and was developing a stronger connection with and appreciation for my faith, Islam. I was also in the midst of getting married and planning my future with my soon-to-be husband.

So, I took a break and explored.  I wasn’t working, and I wasn’t going to any school. So I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of this beautiful life I was blessed with.

The possibilities I could see at the time were either being a traditional, stay-at-home wife/mom, or a working wife/mom pursuing her own aspirations. But I wanted both.  At the time, I was home often, so I started investing more time into cooking.  Something inside me always spoke to me to cook “healthy.”  I felt almost obliged to cook in a way that supports health and well-being, especially as an act of gratitude to God who gave us this huge blessing.  My father’s heart attack (which he recovered from, thankfully) also motivated me to venture more and more into healthy cooking.

In the process, I got more and more interested in nutrition and diet, so I decided to take some basic nutrition courses.  However, while searching for schools, I stumbled upon the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.  Little did I realize at the time, I was going into something much bigger than just diet.

I got certified as a holistic health coach. In our training, we studied many different dietary theories for healthy eating and nutrition, but we also studied all about creating a healthy lifestyle.  I learned that along with a healthy diet, other areas of your life – like getting enough rest and sleep, having an exercise/physical fitness routine, a spiritual practice, meaningful relationships, positive stress management, etc. – were just as important to our overall health and well-being.  The training I received was invaluable to me in my own life as I went through my own personal hardships.

I had found my passion, finally: to help others live their best life by helping them make healthy dietary and lifestyle changes. I started my own business, Health With Afrina, to share what I have learned as a holistic health coach.  I hope I am able to serve my Creator through this endeavor by helping people in my faith community and the larger human community to live healthier and happier lives, inshaAllah (God-willing), while also supporting my own little family of two little girls.

Afrina curates a blog (healthwithafrina.com) with a mission to empower others to reach their fullest potential.