In the previous blog the author tried to take you through the journey of what went into identifying his why with regards to becoming a wellness coach.

Recap: To lose some body weight and get in shape and help his mom regain her health and live a more energetic and fulfilled life.

This article will look to take the readers along the journey of how a small idea became a big one helping the author clarify his vision on what he wanted to do.

I am a fitness enthusiast and frequent the gym very regularly. One such evening my friend “CoachKeegan” gave me a call from the blue and asked me if I'm looking for a business opportunity as well as work on my health.

He was conducting a wellness opportunity workshop and sent me an invite link to join the orientation of a community. Gradually, I was drawn to the health benefits and the opportunity to make a living offered by the prospect of direct selling. For this, I had to make a small initial investment of close to Rs. 6,000 to begin the program, which comprised of a fitness routine in the morning followed by a talk on nutrition, the importance of a balanced lifestyle, the various kinds of lifestyle diseases that I had mentioned in my previous blog to go along with a nutritious breakfast kit to be consumed after my morning workouts.

Further, I was entitled to a coach who would hold me accountable and chart my progress along my journey to fitness, which I had decided for myself.

For 6 days a week, the above routine and a disciplined lifestyle change on my end brought me immediate results, which were seen in my two-week evaluation in person, which blew the minds of the coach and his team. Now, mind it, I am a low vision person, and I have a specific inclination towards fitness and wellness, so it was easier for me to subscribe to this change. However, imagine the potential if more PWD’s with non-mobility disabilities had a community like this that could cater to their needs for fitness and wellness and train them as coaches.

How to train them as coaches?

It's quite simple, ideally just the regular attendance of such PWDs for the morning fit hours, which can be customized to the particular needs of the category of disability connecting members from all over India.

For instance, a visionary team leader could be in charge of a given team of managing the morning workout sessions consisting of low vision or completely visually impaired  coaches alongside persons with hearing impairments who could perform workouts on a common online platform.

An initial oversight would be required to ensure the smooth facilitation of this activity, and gradually, as the community becomes bigger and more vibrant, these communities can be self-sustaining on the merits of the PWDs. The tasks of identifying and tracking the meal plans can be handled by the PWDs with mobility issues who have a keen sense of understanding the importance of nutrition, thus ensuring diversity within the communities.

The sending out of fliers can be made in the forms of qr codes which people would be able to scan with the help of screen reader software, giving the members information on the time, date, nature of the workout schedule for the day, and the topics to be covered during the day.

For the membership of this community a nominal fee can be charged to ensure that most of the PWDs are incentivized to join the fitness routine, and gradually, as they are encouraged to learn and grow through training, they can be encouraged to branch out. The benefits of branching out could help them connect with other PWDs and even members who do not have any legal disabilities. The power of the motivation of the PWDs to take care of their health as well as understand the aspect of self employment can go a long way in inspiring others to take care of their own well-being, thus reducing the burden of the debilitating health conditions of their fellow citizens. To go along with the benefits of health, they can now find a means to earn a living by charging a nominal fee from PWDs who are new recruits in order to ensure that the services here are valued.

In short, making a healthy lifestyle choice is a decision for those who have the gumption to back themselves to have a larger vision. A vision to first ask themselves the right questions, find out their why through connecting with their wellness coach, and then come up with a roadmap to execute their plans.

Disclaimer: This blog is strictly intended as a tool to inspire PWDs and my affiliations with such a wellness community has no sense of bias or conflict of interest with the Say Foundation.

Author of this article:

Joshua Lobo is a research scholar in the domain of Political science with a Masters Degree from Delhi University. He aspires to be a research enterpreneur in the field of Public Policy, comparative politics and constitutionalism. He is a Person with low vision Disability (90% blindness RodCone distrophe) and is currently an Intern.

He writes about finding inclusive and enabling policy solutions for the marginalized sections of society.