Introducing Grata Wellness

Hello! I am so grateful that you have joined the Grata Wellness community.

To introduce myself, my name is Marianna, and I created Grata Wellness, a holistic coaching practice that provides a gratitude-centered approach to health and wellness. I am a Wellcoaches® Certified Health and Well-Being Coach.

The Grata Moment is a place where I will be sharing my wellness journey, holistic lifestyle practices, tips, and activities that will help spark joy. Thank you for joining me on this adventure!

So who am I and what do I love?

I just moved to New York City having previously lived in Denver and Chicago. Above all, I love to spend time with my friends and loved ones. I love being active. Outside, that’s typically walking or running, while indoors I enjoy Cody Rigsby’s Peloton rides and hot yoga. I never leave home without my headphones and can often be found singing and dancing to music – everything from Lizzo to Motown to Third Eye Blind. I love to cook and explore new restaurants and as a gluten free foodie, to discover gluten free alternatives.

Why now?

Throughout my life, I have been challenged to find balance and have true awareness of how I feel—to engage in movement in a way that feels good, eat in a manner that is enjoyable and fueling, and maintain a lifestyle that flows with my social desires and professional commitments. As a twenty-something, I’ve come to recognize the importance of having a sense of purpose. Mine is forming authentic connections with and directly impacting people. Through my experience as a Teach for America pre-K teacher in Chicago and Chief of Staff of a health tech startup, I discovered my passion for supporting and uplifting others via personal engagement. Coaching allows me to combine my aspiration to positively impact others with my interest in advancing health and wellness efforts.

Some of the things I’m extremely passionate about that I wish more people would experience:

• Finding awareness for one’s mind and body through intuitive eating and exercise

• Understanding one’s gut/digestion to know what works for one’s body

• Achieving balance to integrate fitness and nutrition in one’s lifestyle while being realistic and feeling freedom with social desires (fun meals out, balanced social drinking)

Some of the barriers that have stood in my way of achieving balance and feeling intuitive about my body and mind were:

• No time to exercise/cook

• Lacking knowledge of foods that made me feel good

• Inability to balance wellness practices with work and play

• Not knowing where to begin

Through my journey in becoming intuitive with my body and achieving sustainable balance, I have been able to more fully experience the joys of life. Recently, this looks like knowing when I need more sleep or when to take a rest day and planning meals around delicious and fueling foods. As my life circumstances naturally change and progress, I use this sense of intuition to adapt alongside these changes. What’s even better is that being intuitive isn’t stagnant, it’s a continuous learning curve that I am eager to be on. Please join me in this evolving journey of enhancing your health and finding what fills you with happiness.

Thank you for joining the Grata Wellness community and following along on my adventure!

With gratitude and admiration,

Marianna