What do NASA Astronauts and Functional Medicine Coaches have in common?

This is dedicated to all my colleagues, Functional Medicine Health Coaches, our amazing patients and clients and our future patients and clients. You are the reason why we do what we do everyday. We are transforming healthcare together.

Since I have been living in Houston for the last 6 years, I have had the opportunity to visit the NASA Space Center a few times. I find it absolutely fascinating. Each time I go I discover something new and come away with even more questions…such a joy. My 10 year old son always comes with me and that makes it even more exciting since his is a little obsessed and his endless curiosity about NASA is out of this world.

It wasn’t until the last couple of visits that I started to see some amazing similarities between NASA astronauts and engineers and Functional Medicine Health Coaches. Of course!!! Here is why: Listening to these remarkable individuals talk about what they do, why they do it and their purpose. It reminds me of the endless universe that Functional Medicine represents and the passionate, lifelong learners and inspirational people that Coaches are.

Like one of the astronauts said: “It is not fear, it is the desire for exploration and achievement for the benefit of humankind”. When we embark in such a vast endeavor, either being in space or diving into a complex Functional Medicine case, our purpose is HUGE, it transcends fear.

Another impressive quote from an astronaut: “ There is 50% chance that we will not survive. But the rewards of accomplishing something that nobody has done before outweigh the risks.” Now, as Functional Medicine Health Coach we do not risk our lives. However, our job requires a leap of faith as we dig deep, strive to learn the root cause of disease, research, test, and gain knowledge. We learn everyday and only then can we deliver the type of care that is transforming medicine, helping our clients hit their health goals and improving disease dynamics in revolutionary ways.

Watching one of the NASA real experiences in Space, one the women astronauts said: “After all the training and mock ups, this is the real thing, this is it, using our training right on the spot. I have never done the real thing myself, I haven’t even seen anybody doing the real thing myself….all I have is the training I have received!” These men and women are extremely humble and brave at the same time. Dear fellow Functional Medicine Health Coaches, just like you are!

For NASA, Failure is NOT an Option. The same standard holds in every single case we tackle as coaches.

My son and I had the privilege to tour NASA with one of their engineers (and friend) for a private tour. What stands out while talking to him was: his authenticity, attention to detail, his outstanding knowledge, his sincerity, his empathy and most of all his drive to expand human knowledge. His impact is out of this world and fascinating! And you know what? That is Functional Medicine! We dig deep, we look for the root cause, we “unlearn” to adjust to new science, we look for the interconnectedness in the human body, we listen carefully to our patients and clients and then we go and push back the frontier of human knowledge and improve human health one patient at a time. At NASA we could not stop asking questions! In Functional Medicine we must not stop either.

A couple of last things our friend told us were: “ We need kids like yours to get excited about all this”. We so need the same in Functional Medicine, we need to instill our passion into the future generations so that this transformation continues for the benefit of humankind. He also said: “In NASA you have to think ahead all the time, looking for the different things that can happen, the consequences, we need people that can do that” . This is also Functional Medicine. Let’s keep sharing our journey into a brave new world of human health and make our own small step to healing humankind.

At the end of the visit my son said: “ You know what mamá? We are all astronauts on earth. We are all in this huge space ship called Planet Earth”. And then my heart just melted….

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If you have any questions about how you could benefit from Functional Medicine applied to health coaching, please schedule an initial consultation with me. During this session we will discuss your health and lifestyle to determine how I can best support you in achieving your goals.

Virginia