Lifestyle
Welcome to the Emirates Woman weekly series ‘How I got my job as…’ where we speak to some incredible entrepreneurs and businesswomen both based in the UAE and globally to find out about their career paths that led them to where they are now; what their daily routines look like; the advice they’d give to those starting out; and the hurdles they’ve had to overcome.
This week we chat with Danielle Françoise, UAE-based Health and Mindset coach who works on helping clients heal from the inside out. Through breathwork, meditation and gut cleansing, she’s able to guide her clients to live a more fulfilling life.
After launching Coached by Françoise, her clients have access to her services at Dubai’s all-in-one wellness destination, Blended and can practice the art of meditation through different techniques.
To understand more, sat down with this Mindset coach to find out more about her health and wellness journey.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Art. I loved having the opportunity to be creative and express myself.
What was your first job?
After I graduated from Leeds University in the UK and I was a dance teacher for two years in a secondary school academy. I had grown up dancing at a stage school from the age of three years old so at the time this was my dream job.
What brought you to Dubai?
Change of lifestyle, the weather and new opportunities to grow personally and professionally.
What inspired you to become a health and mindset coach?
I have been on my own personal health journey since the age of 15 when I was diagnosed with chronic anxiety. With a range of health issues that then followed over the next 15 years including insomnia, skin issues, alopecia and depression, once I finally found a health protocol that helped me heal naturally from the inside out with a huge focus on gut health, I wanted to be able to share and help others – especially those who were going through the same or similar issues. It took me years and years to finally crack it, from poor advice to getting stuck in the pharmaceutical system which is even more motivation to share what I have been through to help others fast-track their healing compared to my long journey.
Talk us through the inspiration behind your sessions? Tell us more about your gut health plans.
I guide people through meditation and breathwork online and in person here in Dubai, privately and in groups. Breathwork is an incredible way to relax and reset the nervous system and is something that personally helped get my anxiety under control. My personalised gut health plans I offer online for those who want to cleanse, repair and heal their gut which is the root cause of a lot of peoples issues so it will reduce any physical symptoms but also improves mental health as the gut is connected to the brain through the vagus nerve. Heal your gut, heal your whole body.
What are the key elements of your role?
To support, guide and educate those who want to heal their body naturally, long term and look at getting to the root cause of issues and not just temporarily treating the symptoms. I also love to share and relate my coaching approach to my own health journey and experiences so that it can inspire and motivate others. I give people the tools and knowledge they need to live a healthier and happier life, with no fuss or fluff, straight to the point. I also like to make it as fun and enjoyable as possible. healing yourself really is a vibe!
Talk us through your daily routine.
I like to wake up, get out into the sunlight, warm lemon water, take my supplements and then do a 10k walk around Dubai Marina while plugged into a motivational podcast. Sometimes I grab a matcha latte on the way back home (obsessed!) and then my schedule day to day can look slightly different. But on average, I will have meetings, online client calls, write up client plans, or preparing for a meditation and breathwork session at Blended Wellness or Nao Dubai. In the evening I like to join a reformer pilates class, a bike ride to Kite Beach to watch the sunset or catch up with friends over food. I’m a big foodie!
What advice do you have for anyone looking to follow in the same footsteps?
Research your course thoroughly and make sure it covers all the areas in detail that you want to learn and practice. For me, it was super to important to study gut health in-depth as that was the missing piece of my health journey and something I am super passionate about. I am a qualified Nutritional Therapist and a Transformational Life Coach and I love to combine the two disciplines within my work as I am a big believer in treating the whole person and offering a full body experience to heal and thrive long-term.
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
‘If we want something we have never had, we must do things we have never done.’ I repeat this to myself a lot when faced with new opportunities, challenges or things that take me way out of my comfort zone.
And what is the worst?
To just wait until you feel you are ready. In life, we will never feel ready, for anything. So go with your gut, push through the harder moments and there will be a stronger version of yourself waiting on the other side.
What has been the biggest challenge you had to overcome?
Probably my own mindset at times during challenging experiences with depression and anxiety. But I know from hitting rock bottom and pulling myself out of those dark places, (most of the time on my own as I didn’t want to worry anyone) that I wouldn’t be where I am now, doing what I love, helping and guding others. I am now grateful for my journey and those hard times for helping me to grow and become more fearless and resilient.
What are the future plans for you as health & mindset coach?
To continue working on myself – healing is a journey, not a destination so that I can serve and help heal others as my happiest and highest self. To broaden my business online so I can reach more people globally and just to carry on being the person I needed when I was younger – I became a health and mindset coach to help others but also as a big giant hug for my younger self.
