Voices of IIN is our content series where we talk with IIN students, graduates, and staff members who make up our diverse, vibrant, and passionate community ? from all over the world! IIN�s commitment to improving health and happiness is what brings us all together, and we aim to celebrate this commitment by sharing the unique stories and backgrounds of IIN change makers. Through this series, we hope to continue working toward creating a more inclusive wellness community, where all feel welcome to create a healthier life.
Pame Acun?a is a Health Coach, an astrologer, a meditation teacher, and a web designer for Health Coaches. She loves to travel, learn about new cultures, and spend time in nature, and she enjoys healthy living. She�s passionate about helping anyone who feels the call to live their lives authentically as well as more fully, happily and healthfully, away from diets and everything that makes them feel unhappy � people who seek to feel comfortable with themselves, love themselves, and above all, connect with their true essence so that from this base they can build healthy habits they really enjoy and that last over time.
To learn more, check out her website and Instagram page.
I grew up in an environment of diets and being very aware of the physical. Even though I wasn't overweight, it affected me a lot because I remember trying many diets and constantly worrying about my weight and my body, always feeling insecure and like I was never enough.
It all started after a 14-month trip to America with my husband. On the trip, we made the decision to make a real change in diet, because on trips you generally eat more than you should and tend to gain weight. It had happened to me on other trips that I�d gained a lot of weight, and I didn't want to repeat the same story this time.
After those 14 months traveling, in which we changed our mentality and our way of eating and constantly trained, I experienced the biggest change of my life, both physically and mentally. I felt and looked like I�d always wanted, and best of all, I�d achieved it by just eating naturally and training about five days a week, free of diets!
My change and the way I�d achieved it were so exciting that I started sharing it on Instagram � and it was here that people started asking me how I�d made such a significant change in my physique.
I wanted to help all of them, but I didn't feel qualified to give advice on health, nutrition, or well-being in general. After arriving in Chile, I met with an acquaintance and she told me about IIN; it was the first time I�d heard it, and it caught my attention. I�d always wanted to be independent and have my own business, and when I discovered the world of health coaching and that I could do online sessions to help other women feel good, free of diets and with healthy eating, I completely loved it and connected with its purpose. It was here that I did not hesitate, and I signed up.
IIN gave me the foundation to listen to my body, mind, and soul. Since then, this has always been my basis: listening to myself and respecting the needs of my body. Before, I let myself be carried away by what worked for others and focused only on diets and exercise. Today, I feel free to explore what I want and don't want, to discover what my body, mind and soul need and to nurture them with love, compassion and calm. This is a lifelong journey; it�s not something you do for a certain time. And since studying at IIN, I�ve been implementing it day after day. Today, I know that I take care of my body ? I nourish it not only with natural foods but also with activities that nourish my mind and soul. It�s a life experience that I hope we can all discover and live.
IIN was the beginning of a path of self-discovery, of connecting with my essence, of finding my purpose and being able to live from it. It inspired me to want to be healthy in all areas of my life, to find calm, freedom, fulfillment, and happiness. It inspired me to build a career with meaning, in which I can accompany women to connect with their own well-being, to love themselves, to feel free and empowered, and live their lives connected with who they really are.
I feel that we�re light in the path of people who are looking for a real change in their lives. We are company, guides, people who listen, motivate, and support them to find their own balance in the different areas of their lives. For me, being a Health Coach is giving freedom, love, well-being, happiness, health, and calm, because in each session they discover different ways of working on their own well-being, their inner calm, their self-love; they unblock beliefs, knock down fears and insecurities, and rediscover what they really like � and it works for each one of them.
Bio-individuality: This unique IIN concept means that we�re all different and must embrace our uniqueness to best take care of our health, from the food we eat to the environments we thrive in and everything in between.
I love the concept of bio-individuality, and I feel that it was the gateway to my true well-being because it opened my eyes to discover what was good for me. Being aware that we�re all different helped me to focus on myself and to be my own observer and the explorer of my own needs, of what I like and is good for me, and to start putting aside what worked for others.
I began to listen to my body, mind, and soul, to connect with my essence ? and from this base, I began to build healthy habits that really work for me. This is how I accompany my clients. I guide and direct them to listen to their own bodies, minds, and souls, their own needs, to connect with their essence and from there begin to build their own healthy habits. The concept is beautiful, and I�m always sharing it with those I talk to, because I think it�s something that should be taught to us from a young age.
Chile was a pioneer in developing warning labels on food and was the first country to establish it at the national level and in a mandatory manner. Each product must display the respective warning labels indicating whether that product is high in saturated fat, high in sugar, high in sodium, and/or high in calories. It�s an extremely important initiative and I�m proud that it was created in Chile because it helps people to easily and quickly identify if the product they�re buying is high in sugar, saturated fat, sodium and/or calories. I feel it�s a great help for those who are looking to eat healthier and don't know how to read nutrition facts or have zero knowledge of nutrition.
Lately, Chile has been introducing a lot of natural foods. The culture of vegetarians and vegans has increased a lot in recent years, and that�s led to the opening of many restaurants concerned with offering dishes based on more natural foods. In supermarkets, it�s increasingly easy to find packaged products that contain less sugar and generally have few ingredients and are mostly natural.
However, the diet in Chile is mainly based on carbohydrates. Bread plays a relevant role in everyday life, in breakfast and lunch and always present in snacks and in our once (�elevenses� in England), which would be something like tea time. In the lower social strata, rice, french fries, dough-based dishes such as pizza, and other foods made with refined flour are often abused. Vegetables are everywhere, but people still consider them an accompaniment to meals rather than as the base.
I feel there�s a lot of work to do and a lot to teach. Most people are unaware of the importance of a good diet and of creating habits that support their general well-being. As a country, we took a big step with nutritional warning labels, but there�s still much more to educate. From schools showing children the importance of not only taking care their bodies but also treating themselves and those around them with love and compassion to hospitals, where food, despite being nutritionally well, is bland and boring.
Unfortunately, we still have the belief that eating healthy is dieting, restricting ourselves, or eating bad and boring food. Much still needs to be taught. We need to teach how to eliminate all those beliefs that only lead people to lose interest in starting to create well-being in their lives.
As IIN teaches us, as Health Coaches we have the power to spread happiness and well-being to the world.
Through my example and the conversations I have with those around me, I can increase the ripple effect so that more people know the benefits of a healthier life, not only related to food but to all aspects of their lives. I�m convinced that we all have the power to live a life more connected with ourselves and with our purpose � we just have to dare to take the step, despite the discomfort or fear that may appear.
I know that through my work, I give freedom to my clients because I open up a world of possibilities for them to find what they really enjoy and what works for them in particular. And so, through their examples, their families and those around them continue to spread this knowledge that�s so good for us and that we need so much as a society. The more people I can reach, the more expansive my message will be: �Inside you is your power. Only you know what you really like and enjoy. Once you identify it and connect with your essence, you�ll be able to live a life that you love and create healthy habits that you really enjoy and last over time.�
�Why� � This refers to one�s purpose and the reason(s) behind their chosen work.
For years, I felt insecure about my body and lived constantly on diets. I never found the formula that worked for me, because I kept trying what worked for others. When I discovered that my happiness, self-love, and well-being were based on listening to my body, mind, and soul � and that from there I could begin to feel full, free, and calm and experience in my own flesh all the benefits this entails � that was when I felt the need to share it with the world.
Today, I feel a very strong call to be a guide, a companion, a light on the path for all women who don�t know that the secret to their happiness, their well-being, is within them. Only they know what is good for them. And being able to accompany them to discover that and begin to experience it so they begin to live their lives with love, with meaning, with freedom, with happiness is what fills my soul and what motivates me to work in this beautiful career.
That our happiness is not in fad diets or in a toned body. That to achieve true happiness we must look within, dare to connect with ourselves and what we really want to feel fulfilled, not only with what we eat but also with our careers, with our relationships, with our homes, with our lives in general.
To achieve that connection, you must go through a journey of real transformation that will lead you to connect with what you really love, with what you like, with what makes you happy and from there begin to create healthy habits that last over time, without guilt or suffering. This journey of transformation is the one where as Health Coaches we accompany you, we empower and guide, with a lot of love and compassion, without judgments and always listening to your needs so that you can love yourselves, feel healthy, and live your lives as you really want.
SPANISH VERSION
Crec� en un ambiente de dietas y de estar muy pendiente del f�sico. A pesar de que yo no ten�a sobrepeso me afect� mucho porque recuerdo haber probado muchas dietas y de haber estado preocupada constantemente de mi peso y de mi cuerpo, de sentirme siempre insegura y de que nunca era suficiente.
Todo empez� despu�s de un viaje de 14 meses por Am�rica con mi marido.
En el viaje tomamos la decisi�n de hacer un cambio real de alimentaci�n, porque generalmente en los viajes se come m�s de la cuenta y se tiende a subir de peso. Me hab�a pasado en otros viajes que sub�a mucho de peso y no quer�a repetir la misma historia esta vez.
Luego de esos 14 meses viajando en el que cambiamos la mentalidad y nuestra forma de alimentarnos y de lograr entrenar constantemente, viv� el cambio m�s grande de mi vida, tanto f�sico como mental. Me sent�a y me ve�a como siempre hab�a querido, y lo mejor de todo, es que lo hab�a logrado solo comiendo natural y entrenando unos 5 d�as a la semana, libre de dietas!
Fue tan emocionante mi cambio y la forma en que lo hab�a conseguido que empec� a compartirlo en Instagram y fue aqu� cuando las personas me empezaron a preguntar c�mo hab�a logrado ese cambio tan importante en mi f�sico.
Quer�a ayudarlas a todas, pero no me sent�a capacitada para orientar sobre salud, alimentaci�n o bienestar en general. Un tiempo despu�s de llegar a Chile, me junt� con una conocida y ella me habl� de IIN, fue la primera vez que lo escuchaba y me llam� mucho la atenci�n. Siempre hab�a querido ser independiente y tener mi propio negocio y cuando descubr� el mundo del Health Coaching y que pod�a hacer sesiones online para ayudar a otras mujeres a sentirse bien, libre de dietas y con una alimentaci�n saludable, lo am� por completo y conect� con su prop�sito, fue aqu�, que no lo dud� m�s y me inscrib�.
IIN me entreg� las bases para escuchar mi cuerpo, mente y alma. Desde entonces, esta ha sido mi base siempre: escucharme y respetar las necesidades de mi cuerpo. Antes me dejaba llevar mucho por lo que a otras les funcionaba y me enfocaba solamente en dietas y en el ejercicio. Hoy me siento libre de ir explorando lo que quiero y no quiero, de ir descubriendo lo que mi cuerpo, mente y alma necesitan, de nutrirlos con amor, con compasi�n y con mucha calma.
Esto es un viaje de toda la vida, no es algo que haces por un tiempo determinado, y desde que estudi� en IIN lo he ido implementando d�a tras d�a. Hoy, s� que cuido mi cuerpo, lo nutro no solo con alimentos naturales, sino que tambi�n con actividades que nutren mi mente y mi alma. Es una experiencia de vida que espero todas podamos descubrir y vivir.
IIN fue el inicio de un camino de autodescubrimiento, de conectar con mi esencia, de encontrar mi prop�sito y de poder vivir de ello. Me inspir� a querer vivir una vida saludable en todas las �reas de mi vida, a encontrar calma, libertad, plenitud y felicidad. Me inspir� a construir una carrera con sentido, en la que puedo acompa�ar a mujeres a que conecten con su propio bienestar, a que se amen, se sientan libres, empoderadas, y vivan sus vidas conectadas con quieren realmente son.
Siento que somos luz en el camino de las personas que buscan un cambio real en sus vidas. Somos compa��a, gu�a, alguien que las escucha, motiva y apoya a que encuentren su propio equilibrio en las diferentes �reas de sus vidas. Para mi ser Health Coach es entregar libertad, amor, bienestar, felicidad, salud y calma, porque en cada sesi�n van descubriendo diferentes formas de trabajar su propio bienestar, su calma interior, su amor propio, van desbloqueando creencias, derribando miedos, inseguridades, van reencontr�ndose con lo que realmente les gusta y funciona para cada una de ellas.
Bioindividualidad: este concepto �nico de IIN significa que todos somos diferentes y debemos aceptar nuestra singularidad para cuidar mejor nuestra salud, desde los alimentos que comemos hasta los entornos en los que prosperamos y todo lo dem�s.
Amo el concepto de bio-individualidad y siento que fue la puerta de entrada a mi verdadero bienestar, porque me abri� los ojos a la hora de descubrir lo que a m� me hac�a bien. Ser consciente de que todos somos diferentes me ayud� a poner el foco en m� y a ser mi propia observadora y exploradora de mis propias necesidades, de lo que a m� me gusta y me hace bien y comenzar a dejar de lado lo que a otros les funcionaba.
Comenc� a escuchar mi cuerpo, mente y alma, a conectar con mi esencia y desde esta base empec� a construir los h�bitos saludables que realmente funcionan para m�. De esta misma forma es como acompa�o a mis clientas. Las gu�o y oriento a que escuchen su propio cuerpo, mente y alma, sus propias necesidades, a que conecten con su esencia y que desde ah� comiencen a construir sus propios h�bitos saludables. Es hermoso el concepto y siempre lo estoy compartiendo con quienes converso, porque creo que es algo que nos deber�an ense�ar desde peque�as.
Chile fue pionero en desarrollar los Sellos de Advertencia en los alimentos, y fue el primer pa�s en establecerlo a nivel nacional y de manera obligatoria. Cada producto debe tener a la vista los sellos de advertencia respectivos en los que se indica si ese producto es alto en grasas saturadas, alto en az�cares, alto en sodio y/o alto en calor�as. Es una iniciativa extremadamente importante y de la cual me siento orgullosa de que se haya creado en Chile, porque ayuda a las personas a identificar de manera f�cil y r�pida si el producto que est�n comprando es alto en az�car, grasas saturadas, sodio y/o calor�as. Siento que es de gran ayuda para quienes buscan comer m�s saludable y no saben leer la informaci�n nutricional o tienen cero conocimiento de nutrici�n.
�ltimamente, en Chile se ha ido introduciendo bastante la alimentaci�n natural. La cultura de los vegetarianos y veganos ha aumentado mucho los �ltimos a�os y eso ha hecho que se empiecen a abrir muchos restaurantes que se preocupan de ofrecer comida basada en alimentos m�s naturales. En los supermercados es cada vez m�s f�cil encontrar productos envasados que contienen menos az�car y que en general tienen pocos ingredientes y en su mayor�a son naturales.
Sin embargo, la dieta en Chile se basa principalmente en carbohidratos, teniendo el pan un rol relevante en el d�a a d�a, desde el desayuno, acompa�ando en el almuerzo y siempre presente en snacks y en nuestra "once", que ser�a algo as� como la hora del t�. En los estratos sociales m�s bajos, se suele abusar del arroz, las papas fritas, masas c�mo pizzas y otros alimentos elaborados con harina refinada. Los vegetales se encuentran en todos lados, pero las personas a�n los consideran un acompa�amiento incipiente en las comidas, m�s que la base de las mismas.
Siento que queda mucho trabajo por hacer y mucho por ense�ar. La mayor�a de las personas desconocen la importancia de una buena alimentaci�n y de crear h�bitos que apoyen su bienestar en general. Como pa�s, dimos un gran paso con los sellos de advertencia nutricional, pero falta a�n mucho m�s por educar. Desde el colegio, a demostrarles a los ni�os la importancia de no solo ciudad sus cuerpos, sino tambi�n de tratarse con amor y compasi�n con ellos mismos y con quienes los rodean hasta los hospitales, donde la alimentaci�n, a pesar de estar bien nutricionalmente, es desabrida y aburrida.
Lamentablemente, todav�a tenemos la creencia de que alimentarnos saludables es hacer dietas, restringirnos o comer comida mala y aburrida.
Falta mucho por educar. Necesitamos ense�ar c�mo eliminar todas esas creencias que solo llevan a las personas a perder inter�s por comenzar a crear bienestar en sus vidas.
Tal como nos ense�a IIN, como Health Coaches tenemos el poder de esparcir felicidad y bienestar al mundo.
A trav�s de mi ejemplo y de conversaciones que tengo con quienes me rodean puedo aumentar el efecto domin� para que m�s personas conozcan los beneficios de una vida m�s saludable, no solo relacionado a la alimentaci�n, sino que a todos los aspectos de sus vidas. Estoy convencida de que todas tenemos el poder de vivir una vida m�s conectada con nosotras mismas y con nuestro prop�sito, solo debemos atrevernos a dar el paso a pesar de las incomodidades o miedos que puedan aparecer.
S� que a trav�s de mi trabajo le entrego libertad a mis clientas, porque les abro un mundo de posibilidades para que encuentren lo que realmente disfrutan y funciona para ellas en particular. Y as�, a trav�s de sus ejemplos, sus familias y quienes las rodean siguen esparciendo este conocimiento que tan bien nos hace y que tanto lo necesitamos como sociedad. Mientras a m�s personas pueda llegar, m�s expansivo ser� mi mensaje: "En tu interior est� tu poder, solo t� sabes lo que realmente te gusta y disfrutas, una vez que lo identifiques y conectes con tu esencia, podr�s vivir una vida que amas y crear h�bitos saludables que realmente disfrutes y perduren en el tiempo"
�Por qu�: se refiere al prop�sito de uno y la(s) raz�n(es) detr�s del trabajo elegido.
Por a�os, me sent� insegura con mi cuerpo y viv�a constantemente haciendo dietas. Nunca encontraba la f�rmula que a m� me funcionaba, porque viv�a intentando lo que a otros les funcionaba. Cuando descubr� que mi felicidad, amor propio y bienestar se basaban en escuchar mi cuerpo, mente y alma; y que desde ah� pod�a comenzar a sentirme plena, libre, en calma y a vivir en carne propia todos los beneficios que conlleva, fue cuando sent� la necesidad de querer compartirlo con el mundo.
Hoy, siento un llamado muy fuerte de ser una gu�a, una compa��a, una luz en el camino de todas las mujeres que no saben que el secreto a su felicidad, de su bienestar est� dentro de ellas. Solo ellas saben qu� es lo que les hace bien; y el poder acompa�arlas a descubrir eso y que lo empiecen a experimentar para que comiencen a vivir sus vidas con amor, con sentido, con libertad, con felicidad es lo que me llena el alma y lo que me motiva a trabajar en esta hermosa carrera.
Que nuestra felicidad no est� en las dietas de moda ni en un cuerpo tonificado. Que para lograr la verdadera felicidad debemos mirar hacia dentro, atrevernos a conectar con nosotras mismas, con lo que realmente queremos, a sentirnos plenas, no solo con lo que comemos, sino que tambi�n con nuestras carreras, con nuestras relaciones, con nuestro hogar, con nuestra vida en general.
Para lograr esa conexi�n, debes transitar un viaje de transformaci�n real que te llevar� a conectar con lo que realmente amas, con lo que te gusta, con lo que te hace feliz y desde ah� comenzar a crear h�bitos saludables que perduren en el tiempo, sin culpa ni sufrimientos. Ese viaje de transformaci�n es el que como Health Coach te acompa�amos, empoderamos y guiamos, con mucho amor y compasi�n, sin juicios y escuchando siempre tus propias necesidades para que logres amarte, sentirse saludable y vivir t� vidas como realmente quieres.