About Stephanie

Hi, I’m Stephanie Marino

Welcome to my page!

I don’t know what landed you in this little corner of the internet, but let me just say, I am so glad you are here!

If I had to guess, the trail of breadcrumbs led you here because you’re on a quest. You’re searching, seeking, looking for something deeper in your life. Perhaps it’s more fulfillment, meaning, satisfaction, happiness, direction, clarity, or peace of mind…

You’re interested in learning what coaching can do for you and if it can help.

No surprise because there has, undoubtedly, been a lot of buzz about coaching in recent years.

You know, it’s funny. When I first started coaching almost a decade ago, nobody knew what a coach was, no one had even heard the term before, and I can’t tell you how many people balked at the idea of coaching as a viable profession.

However, a lot has changed since then. Many people are now exploring coaching not only as an alternative or complimentary route to therapy but as a pathway to increased happiness, better relationships, greater fulfillment and satisfaction, and overall improved quality of life.

If you are like those people, you probably have lots of questions like, what is coaching, how does coaching work, how do I know if I need a coach, how do I find a coach, and most importantly, how can coaching help me?

I’m going to answer all those questions for you, but first things first.

My Story

Before we get into the nitty gritty of coaching, I want to lay a bit of foundation.

I’m going to tell you the very personal and vulnerable story that led me to the path of becoming a coach and ultimately building a successful business that has helped hundreds of people transform their lives.

Then, I want to learn about you!! Sound good? Arite, let’s dive in.

The story starts back in the ’90s when I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, as second to the youngest of five siblings.

My childhood, not unlike many others, was one of poverty, dysfunction, abuse, trauma, and instability.

My father suffered from severe mental illness, and was also physically, emotionally, and mentally abusive. For much of my childhood, he didn’t work due to mental and physical disabilities. We lived on all types of government assistance, disability checks, welfare, food stamps, and section eight.

When I was about 7 years old, my mother enrolled in college with the aspiration to dig us out of poverty. She worked tirelessly for years to obtain a teaching degree and began working multiple jobs. Teaching during the day, and receptionist for a car dealership at night.

While my mom was successfully putting our family on the right track financially, my father’s mental state was rapidly declining and his abusive behavior escalated.

Like any child lacking the proper mechanisms to cope with dysfunction, I turned to food as an attempt to gain control over the instability of my environment, outlet my emotions, and regulate my nervous system.

This ultimately manifested as restrictive and compulsive eating, laxative addiction, and body dysmorphia. By the time I was 16 years old, I was full-blown with eating disorders.

I had a completely distorted perception of my body. I was stick-skinny at 95 pounds and saw something completely different in the mirror. I hated myself and was convinced that if I lost weight and changed the shape of my body, I would be worthy of love and acceptance.

I’d restrict calories daily, go to the gym and run on the treadmill for hours, then completely lose myself in a binge at night. I’d feel so bad about not being able to have more “willpower and self-control”, that I’d mentally beat myself up, only creating more self-hatred and shame.

The next day, in an effort to course correct and “get back on the diet”, I’d consume laxatives and diet shakes, until eventually going back to full restriction, and the cycle would continue over and over again.

You see, I was health conscious but it was being done in a very distorted and self-punishing way, my unhealthy relationships with food and my body were evidence of that.

Things began to shift a few years later when I had my first spiritual awakening at 18 years old.

Like most initiations, it was sparked by profound teaching, Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.

This book. Blew. My. Mind. Wide. Open.

I experienced a paradigm shift in which everything I thought I knew up until that point was shaken loose, tossed up in the air (like a snow globe), and completely shifted.

It was like putting on a pair of glasses with lenses I’d never looked through before. I began to have an entirely new perspective on life, my health, my mindset, my relationships, how I related to the world, and most importantly, my healing.

For the first time, I saw it was possible to overcome the trauma of my childhood, the obstacles I was facing with food and my body, and find forgiveness in my relationship with my father. You can read the full story here in my book.

I was finally beginning to get a sense of what freedom, peace of mind, and healing were actually about.

I moved out of my childhood home to split the rent in a small one-bedroom apartment with a friend. I was enrolled in Brooklyn College earning a degree in Early Childhood General and Special Education, while working two jobs, bartending at night and assistant teaching at a daycare center during the day. I had also started traveling internationally which was broadening my horizons even more.

I was beginning to feel new possibilities and a change in the trajectory of my life’s path emerging.

All of the pieces started coming together, and things started to make sense in a new way.

I recall the moment I asked myself a very critical question that determined how the rest of my life would unfold.

Will I carry my childhood narratives and experiences into the rest of my life, feeling victim to them, OR will I use these challenges as an opportunity to powerfully create change in myself and in others?

This was so important because I saw how my father lived, and I knew I never wanted to suffer, nor create suffering for others, in the ways he did.

I never wanted to give up on life or blame the world for everything how he did. My father lived in a chronic state of misery, victim consciousness, lack of personal responsibility, and without an ounce of self-reflection. Albeit, he was diagnosed with mental illnesses, in many ways he leaned on them as a crutch which perpetuated his physical, mental, and emotional collapse.

He was the exact model of what I didn’t want for my life. Seeing how he lived, fueled me to create massive change in myself, taking full responsibility for my health, happiness, and quality of life.

It was because of what I went through in my formative years, that I chose to dedicate my life to a path of ongoing personal, professional, and spiritual growth. And that’s exactly what I’ve done in the last almost 2 decades.

What I can do for you as a Coach

My hope is to bring this knowledge and insight to the table when I work with my clients. After all, the greatest reward of my self-discovery is imparting this wisdom to others and seeing them transform into the best versions of themselves.

At the core, I teach you how to significantly transform and heal your relationship with yourself.

With 10 years of professional coaching experience, I’ve helped hundreds of people transform their lives through personal and spiritual development.

I’m the founder and owner of Marino Holistic Services, Inc., a holistic wellness coaching company, established in 2013. As a Certified Holistic Health Coach, Life Coach, and Yoga Instructor, I specialize in guiding people through a deeply transformative journey of self-discovery.

My areas of coaching expertise are in the following areas:

• mindset, self-talk, and core self-concept
• disordered patterns of eating & body image
• holistic nutrition & self-care
• confidence, self-worth, self-love & self-esteem building
• building habits, routines, & sustainable lifestyle
• spiritual growth & development
• stress and anxiety reduction

At the core of what I teach, people learn how to significantly transform and heal their relationship with themselves.

To do so, I facilitate individualized private and group coaching programs, weekly yoga and meditation classes, monthly workshops, women’s circles, and yoga retreats. I truly advocate for living an inspired, passionate, and purposeful life, and it brings me immense joy to inspire others. My mission is to empower people to rise to their highest potential. I want them to be the most fully-expressed version of themselves, so they can know their purpose, share their gifts with the world, and create an extraordinary life for themselves!

When you’re ready to take the next step, I’m ready to help you.

 

My dynamic (virtual and in-person) coaching practice supports people in redefining their relationship with their bodies, healing their relationship with food, empowering their minds, and creating a harmonious body-mind-soul connection.

I facilitate individualized private and group coaching programs, weekly yoga and meditation classes, monthly workshops, women’s circles, and yoga retreats.

Certifications:

My education has equipped me with extensive knowledge of methodologies in holistic nutrition including dietary theory, highly effective health and life coaching techniques, practical lifestyle management techniques, and a strong focus on preventive lifestyle care.

To date I’ve completed and earned the following studies and certifications:

• Integrative Nutritional Health Coaching Certification (INHC) through The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN)
• American Association for Drugless Practitioners (AADP) Certification
• Level 1 & 2 Skills Training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), a therapeutic methodology used in traditional psychotherapy which focuses on Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Relationships, and Distress Tolerance, through Behavioral Tech, a Linehan Institute Training Company
• Level 1 & 2 Reiki Certification, studying under Judy Stern
• Wild Woman Project Circle Leader Training through Chris Maddox’s The Wild Woman Project
• A 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training through Satya Embodied Yoga School in Costa Rica under the study of EYT-500, Sara Goff
• Most recently, I’m a published author with an Amazon #1 Bestseller, titled The Empowered Women Series, Book 4.