ABOUT ME
Welcome!
I am Melissa Arthur, Wellness Coach and Founder of Illuminate Guidance, LLC. I believe each of us has the power to create a healthy, joyful, purpose-driven life. For most of us, there’s a gap between our current experience of life and our highest aspirations. When we are supported and open to exploring this gap, new resources and possibilities emerge.
I work with bright, creative, motivated women who want to live their life's purpose and shine from the inside out. My vision of wellness goes beyond the absence of disease to include a consistent experience of satisfaction, enthusiasm and joy. It's about thriving, not just surviving. It starts with owning our inner authority so we can more fully know, love, trust and be ourselves. It continues with cultivating internal strength, balance and joy that radiates from within. It extends to spark clarity, courage, and inspiration to shine our light and share our unique gifts with the world.
At the core of my being I have always enjoyed helping others. Friends and strangers alike are drawn to my ability to lovingly listen to and accept them for exactly who they are, while challenging them to become more of who they are meant to be. My clients often say that my zest for life, joyful presence, and infectious laughter help them feel at ease, with a sense that something wonderful is about to happen.
I am Melissa Arthur, Wellness Coach and Founder of Illuminate Guidance, LLC. I believe each of us has the power to create a healthy, joyful, purpose-driven life. For most of us, there’s a gap between our current experience of life and our highest aspirations. When we are supported and open to exploring this gap, new resources and possibilities emerge.
I work with bright, creative, motivated women who want to live their life's purpose and shine from the inside out. My vision of wellness goes beyond the absence of disease to include a consistent experience of satisfaction, enthusiasm and joy. It's about thriving, not just surviving. It starts with owning our inner authority so we can more fully know, love, trust and be ourselves. It continues with cultivating internal strength, balance and joy that radiates from within. It extends to spark clarity, courage, and inspiration to shine our light and share our unique gifts with the world.
At the core of my being I have always enjoyed helping others. Friends and strangers alike are drawn to my ability to lovingly listen to and accept them for exactly who they are, while challenging them to become more of who they are meant to be. My clients often say that my zest for life, joyful presence, and infectious laughter help them feel at ease, with a sense that something wonderful is about to happen.
What led you to become a Coach?
Freedom to experience all that life has to offer is core value of mine. I draw wisdom, empathy, gratitude and inspiration from the joy, love, and pain of my own life experiences. I arrived at my current experience of abundant joy, health and freedom only after navigating through a period of intense stress and a health crisis of my own.
As is the case for so many of my clients, I experienced a series of stressful life events that eventually took a toll on my body and began to manifest as physical symptoms. My condition became debilitating, and after extensive testing, my Doctor presented a grim prognosis. When she recommended taking a prescription and doing my best to accept and manage a disease that would continue to progress, something deep within me knew I had to find another way to heal myself. My Doctor agreed to partner with me as I sought the help of a functional medicine clinic. With the guidance of a health coach, I made changes to improve my stress response, diet and lifestyle that addressed the root cause of the disease. Within 6 months I was completely healed, and experiencing more energy and vitality than I had before. This personal experience with the healing power of lifestyle changes and the support of a skilled and caring coach opened my heart and mind to coaching.
Yoga, Mindfulness, and Ayurveda (an ancient healing art and sister science to yoga) were essential to my healing. Through Yoga, I became part of a joyful and loving circle of women who shared my passion for conscious creation and physical, psychological and spiritual transformation. To my great surprise, a friend invited me to partner on creating a new yoga studio, and I said yes to becoming a small business owner! I delighted in this opportunity to share the life-transforming practices of Yoga, Mindfulness and Ayurveda with my community and continue to learn so much as both a teacher and student of these ancient traditions. As I continued to practice and research lifestyle medicine, I was inspired to find that the evidence-based medical recommendations for healthy eating, activity, sleep, and stress management supported what I had been learning and practicing through the 5000 year old art and science of Ayurveda.
Teaching a workshop about aligning with Dharma (life purpose) at our studio in 2015 challenged me to re-examine my career path. As I engaged with my students in the work of Dharma discovery, the words nourish, connect, and transform came up for me again and again. It hit me like a ton of bricks that my innate ability to help others honor their inner wisdom, cultivate balance & strength and align with joy is the most important work of my life. This has always been my nature, but I had been pursuing other professional interests while quietly supporting those in my inner circle to transform their lives. As a director in a non-profit organization and owner of a yoga studio, I was providing leadership and holding space for some really important work, but I began to feel pulled to spend more time supporting women one on one. Not long after, my calling to become a Coach presented itself and I accepted.
I healed my heart and body, aligned with my true life purpose, owned my inner authority to create a life I love, then started supporting women to do the same. I have since become an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Certified Coach, completed training for my National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches certification, and founded Illuminate Guidance, LLC to help even more women to explore the possibility of inviting more self-love and confidence into their lives while feeling emotionally, spiritually and physically balanced. As a Certified Coach, I have worked with many private clients and led workshops and group experiences that have helped women transform their lives and communities. In addition to my private practice, I coach part time as an integrated member of a clinical care team, serving as a leader in the areas of coaching and behavior change at Spira Care in Kansas City.
I have created Strength, Balance & Joy , a 6 part system that every bright, creative, motivated woman needs to transform their experience of life from surviving tho thriving. Through this work, I get to live my dream and learn from so many amazing women who are being and doing so much to make our world a better place. When I help them to come more fully into their power and move past what is holding them back, they create the kind of community and world that I want to live in.
Who are your clients?
I work with bright, creative, motivated women who want to live their life's purpose and shine from the inside out, but who are currently feeling depleted, dissatisfied, or stuck in some area of their life. I work with those who would like to own their inner authority to cultivate internal balance and strength, align with joy, and answer the call to be something greater for themselves and the world.
Are you…
What makes you different from other Wellness Coaches?
My vision of wellness goes beyond the absence of disease to include a consistent experience of satisfaction, enthusiasm and joy. It's about thriving, not just surviving. It starts with owning our inner authority so we can more fully know, love, trust and be ourselves. It continues with cultivating internal strength, balance and joy that radiates from within. It extends to spark clarity, courage, and inspiration to shine our light and share our unique gifts with the world.
My clients benefit from my extensive study of yoga, mindfulness and Ayurveda whether or not they practice these personally. What my teacher, Kathryn Templeton, calls a "5,000+ year longitudinal study" plus my own experience of healing provide compelling evidence of the life transforming power of these ancient healing perspectives to maximize human physical, psychological, and spiritual potential.
I believe your body, mind and spirit are wise and resourceful, and ready to align with your highest desires. You are worthy of receiving all that life has to offer, and of realizing your life’s purpose with ease, grace and joy. My approach to coaching recognizes you as a biologically, psychologically, and spiritually unique individual. We will start where you are and go where you want to go. I’m concerned with helping you own your inner authority to be the most vibrant, joyful, purposeful version of you. I will help you to cut through the ever-changing, often confusing, cultural dialogue of fear and shame to honor yourself as the #1 authority on how to know, love, and care for your needs. Because of this, my clients experience lasting balance and ease in their health and feel more joyful, enthusiastic, and satisfied in all aspects of their lives.
I believe in and practice with respect to:
As a supportive, open-minded and objective coach, I will walk beside you as you inquire deeply into your own needs and resources, co-create a plan for transformation, and activate strategies to reach your goals. I create space for you to express your full range of emotions and ideas freely and without judgment. I will often see more beauty and more possibilities within you than you can see and serve as a mirror for you to discover more self-love and confidence. Your life purpose and your path to fulfill it are uniquely your own. I believe that your inner wisdom and guidance will lead you wherever you need to go, and I am deeply honored to hold a safe and creative space for you to discover.
What is expected of your clients?
My Strength, Balance, Joy coaching program, workshops, and group experiences were created for people who are ready to explore new possibilities. This means not just wishing things were different, but committed to honoring your needs and embracing your potential to experience life on your own terms. My programs were created for women who are committed, decisive and resourceful. They were created for you to design and activate strategies within a few months (sometimes weeks!), which will eventually lead you to love and trust yourself, live your life's purpose and shine from the inside out.
Being a bright, creative, motivated woman myself, I’m known to work best with other bright, creative and motivated women, people who are committed to their success, who are super-ready to get going and follow through on their commitment to themselves. You will be expected to take consistent action, and to be open to new ways of thinking. You will be fully supported to step more fully into your power to feel great and live life on YOUR terms.
What is coaching, and what can your clients expect from your program?
Please visit my Coaching Page to read about my program in more detail.
How else can I find out what it’s like to work with you?
My clients are getting great results and have taken time to write about how working with me has impacted their lives. Please go to the Client Testimonials page and read all of them. You will likely find someone who is in a similar situation to your own and is enjoying the results you would like to achieve with the support of a coach. Watching my videos on YouTube, reading my Blog and joining the discussion on my Facebook Group are great ways to get to know me, the next best thing to meeting in person!
If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly via email and/or book a free breakthrough session with me. It is my intention for you to have a complete understanding of exactly who I am and what I offer so that when you sign up to work with me you can do so with clarity and confidence that I am the right coach for you.
Yes, if you have a couple of questions, just email me or go ahead and schedule your breakthrough call with me. I’ll be happy to walk you through the different options to see which one will be the very best for you. I can’t wait to see you succeed and am honored to be the one to help you. Let’s get going!
To your freedom, expansion and joy, Melissa
Freedom to experience all that life has to offer is core value of mine. I draw wisdom, empathy, gratitude and inspiration from the joy, love, and pain of my own life experiences. I arrived at my current experience of abundant joy, health and freedom only after navigating through a period of intense stress and a health crisis of my own.
As is the case for so many of my clients, I experienced a series of stressful life events that eventually took a toll on my body and began to manifest as physical symptoms. My condition became debilitating, and after extensive testing, my Doctor presented a grim prognosis. When she recommended taking a prescription and doing my best to accept and manage a disease that would continue to progress, something deep within me knew I had to find another way to heal myself. My Doctor agreed to partner with me as I sought the help of a functional medicine clinic. With the guidance of a health coach, I made changes to improve my stress response, diet and lifestyle that addressed the root cause of the disease. Within 6 months I was completely healed, and experiencing more energy and vitality than I had before. This personal experience with the healing power of lifestyle changes and the support of a skilled and caring coach opened my heart and mind to coaching.
Yoga, Mindfulness, and Ayurveda (an ancient healing art and sister science to yoga) were essential to my healing. Through Yoga, I became part of a joyful and loving circle of women who shared my passion for conscious creation and physical, psychological and spiritual transformation. To my great surprise, a friend invited me to partner on creating a new yoga studio, and I said yes to becoming a small business owner! I delighted in this opportunity to share the life-transforming practices of Yoga, Mindfulness and Ayurveda with my community and continue to learn so much as both a teacher and student of these ancient traditions. As I continued to practice and research lifestyle medicine, I was inspired to find that the evidence-based medical recommendations for healthy eating, activity, sleep, and stress management supported what I had been learning and practicing through the 5000 year old art and science of Ayurveda.
Teaching a workshop about aligning with Dharma (life purpose) at our studio in 2015 challenged me to re-examine my career path. As I engaged with my students in the work of Dharma discovery, the words nourish, connect, and transform came up for me again and again. It hit me like a ton of bricks that my innate ability to help others honor their inner wisdom, cultivate balance & strength and align with joy is the most important work of my life. This has always been my nature, but I had been pursuing other professional interests while quietly supporting those in my inner circle to transform their lives. As a director in a non-profit organization and owner of a yoga studio, I was providing leadership and holding space for some really important work, but I began to feel pulled to spend more time supporting women one on one. Not long after, my calling to become a Coach presented itself and I accepted.
I healed my heart and body, aligned with my true life purpose, owned my inner authority to create a life I love, then started supporting women to do the same. I have since become an International Coaching Federation (ICF) Certified Coach, completed training for my National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches certification, and founded Illuminate Guidance, LLC to help even more women to explore the possibility of inviting more self-love and confidence into their lives while feeling emotionally, spiritually and physically balanced. As a Certified Coach, I have worked with many private clients and led workshops and group experiences that have helped women transform their lives and communities. In addition to my private practice, I coach part time as an integrated member of a clinical care team, serving as a leader in the areas of coaching and behavior change at Spira Care in Kansas City.
I have created Strength, Balance & Joy , a 6 part system that every bright, creative, motivated woman needs to transform their experience of life from surviving tho thriving. Through this work, I get to live my dream and learn from so many amazing women who are being and doing so much to make our world a better place. When I help them to come more fully into their power and move past what is holding them back, they create the kind of community and world that I want to live in.
Who are your clients?
I work with bright, creative, motivated women who want to live their life's purpose and shine from the inside out, but who are currently feeling depleted, dissatisfied, or stuck in some area of their life. I work with those who would like to own their inner authority to cultivate internal balance and strength, align with joy, and answer the call to be something greater for themselves and the world.
Are you…
- Meeting everyone else’s needs and expectations but struggling to meet your own?
- Experiencing a growing sense of dissatisfaction with some aspect of your life?
- Stuck in survival mode and feeling depleted?
- Knowing deep down you were meant for greater things but not sure how to change course?
- Finding life keeps getting in the way of changes you know you need to make for your health and well-being?
- Yearning to share your brilliance with the world in a way that creates more abundance and joy for yourself, your community and your world?
What makes you different from other Wellness Coaches?
My vision of wellness goes beyond the absence of disease to include a consistent experience of satisfaction, enthusiasm and joy. It's about thriving, not just surviving. It starts with owning our inner authority so we can more fully know, love, trust and be ourselves. It continues with cultivating internal strength, balance and joy that radiates from within. It extends to spark clarity, courage, and inspiration to shine our light and share our unique gifts with the world.
My clients benefit from my extensive study of yoga, mindfulness and Ayurveda whether or not they practice these personally. What my teacher, Kathryn Templeton, calls a "5,000+ year longitudinal study" plus my own experience of healing provide compelling evidence of the life transforming power of these ancient healing perspectives to maximize human physical, psychological, and spiritual potential.
I believe your body, mind and spirit are wise and resourceful, and ready to align with your highest desires. You are worthy of receiving all that life has to offer, and of realizing your life’s purpose with ease, grace and joy. My approach to coaching recognizes you as a biologically, psychologically, and spiritually unique individual. We will start where you are and go where you want to go. I’m concerned with helping you own your inner authority to be the most vibrant, joyful, purposeful version of you. I will help you to cut through the ever-changing, often confusing, cultural dialogue of fear and shame to honor yourself as the #1 authority on how to know, love, and care for your needs. Because of this, my clients experience lasting balance and ease in their health and feel more joyful, enthusiastic, and satisfied in all aspects of their lives.
I believe in and practice with respect to:
- Dharmic Self-Determination: Each individual is free to discover and define his/her life purpose, or reason for being. The way in which an individual aligns with their life purpose is self-determined and may evolve and change throughout life. The cultivation of leadership qualities and effective delivery systems can accelerate an individual’s progress toward realizing their life’s purpose.
- Leadership & Inner Authority: Each individual is capable of exercising leadership in every aspect of life, anywhere, any time. Leadership is an activity, not a position. The most powerful leadership emerges when we embrace our own inner authority to create the change we wish to see.
- Spiritual Freedom: Each individual’s spiritual journey is unique, and highly personal. Some may choose to follow a traditional or ancestral spiritual path, some create their own spiritual path, some adopt the spiritual traditions of other cultures, and some do not consider spirituality to be part of their life’s journey. Each individual follows their own truth and is free to determine their own path.
- Bio-Individuality: Each individual is biologically and genetically unique, impacted by myriad and diverse life experiences and exposures. The nutritional, emotional, lifestyle, and activity needs of each individual vary based on physical constitution, life demands, seasons of the year, and phases of life. Each individual’s inner wisdom is the most powerful tool for aligning with what is most nourishing and supportive.
As a supportive, open-minded and objective coach, I will walk beside you as you inquire deeply into your own needs and resources, co-create a plan for transformation, and activate strategies to reach your goals. I create space for you to express your full range of emotions and ideas freely and without judgment. I will often see more beauty and more possibilities within you than you can see and serve as a mirror for you to discover more self-love and confidence. Your life purpose and your path to fulfill it are uniquely your own. I believe that your inner wisdom and guidance will lead you wherever you need to go, and I am deeply honored to hold a safe and creative space for you to discover.
What is expected of your clients?
My Strength, Balance, Joy coaching program, workshops, and group experiences were created for people who are ready to explore new possibilities. This means not just wishing things were different, but committed to honoring your needs and embracing your potential to experience life on your own terms. My programs were created for women who are committed, decisive and resourceful. They were created for you to design and activate strategies within a few months (sometimes weeks!), which will eventually lead you to love and trust yourself, live your life's purpose and shine from the inside out.
Being a bright, creative, motivated woman myself, I’m known to work best with other bright, creative and motivated women, people who are committed to their success, who are super-ready to get going and follow through on their commitment to themselves. You will be expected to take consistent action, and to be open to new ways of thinking. You will be fully supported to step more fully into your power to feel great and live life on YOUR terms.
What is coaching, and what can your clients expect from your program?
Please visit my Coaching Page to read about my program in more detail.
How else can I find out what it’s like to work with you?
My clients are getting great results and have taken time to write about how working with me has impacted their lives. Please go to the Client Testimonials page and read all of them. You will likely find someone who is in a similar situation to your own and is enjoying the results you would like to achieve with the support of a coach. Watching my videos on YouTube, reading my Blog and joining the discussion on my Facebook Group are great ways to get to know me, the next best thing to meeting in person!
If you have additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly via email and/or book a free breakthrough session with me. It is my intention for you to have a complete understanding of exactly who I am and what I offer so that when you sign up to work with me you can do so with clarity and confidence that I am the right coach for you.
Yes, if you have a couple of questions, just email me or go ahead and schedule your breakthrough call with me. I’ll be happy to walk you through the different options to see which one will be the very best for you. I can’t wait to see you succeed and am honored to be the one to help you. Let’s get going!
To your freedom, expansion and joy, Melissa
