Alumni Spotlight: Kim Taylor

FMCA alumni are bringing health coaching into new spaces with passion and purpose—and Kim Taylor is a powerful example of how functional medicine coaching can transform even the most traditional of professional landscapes. With nearly 30 years of experience as an executive coach, leadership advisor, keynote speaker, and retreat facilitator, Kim has long been a guiding voice for professionals across industries. But a personal health journey and a desire to bring more alignment to her work led her to FMCA, where she added health coaching to her professional toolkit.

Kim’s early career was marked by high stress and intense workloads, which ultimately impacted her health. With few functional or integrative options available at the time, she became her own health advocate—diving deep into wellness research and experimenting with lifestyle changes that helped her feel vibrant again. Over the years, her passion for wellness grew alongside her coaching practice. And while her executive clients were thriving professionally, she began noticing signs of burnout, overwhelm, and exhaustion—a trend she knew couldn’t be ignored.

“I wanted to shift from passion to profession, and FMCA let me do that. Now I can say, ‘I’m also a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach’—and that gives me the confidence, credibility, and authority to speak to what I know.”

Kim Taylor, FMCA graduate

That realization led Kim to FMCA. What drew her in was the program’s rigor, depth, and credibility—something she knew she needed if she was going to fully integrate health and wellness into her coaching. Today, Kim blends professional development with wellness support through her retreat series, keynotes, and workshops. Her brand, The Zen Within, reflects this dual approach, helping professionals align their personal well-being with their career aspirations. Whether she’s working one-on-one with clients or consulting with companies on burnout prevention and corporate wellness, Kim brings functional medicine health coaching into spaces that need it most.

From launching a second business and writing a book to influencing workplace wellness programs, Kim is proof that this certification can amplify your mission and expand your impact. As she puts it, the FMCA experience was not only deeply enriching, but a game-changer—for both her and the people she serves.

Watch the Interview

Watch the full FMCA Alumni interview with Kim to learn more about her inspiring journey:

Transcript

Jess: Hello, everyone. My name is Jess, and I am on the admissions team here at the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy. And today I am joined by Kim Taylor, and Kim is a graduate of our program and she is an entrepreneur in the corporate coaching space. So, I asked Kim to join me today because here on the admissions team, we receive questions from prospective students who are curious about what it looks like to apply health and wellness coaching in careers in the corporate world. So, perhaps to support corporate wellness, maybe workplace wellness or executive wellness.

And in some cases, students come to us with a corporate background and maybe they’re seeking a shift. Maybe they’re seeking a role that brings them more alignment of purpose. They feel pulled to use skills and to gain skills in the health and wellness world. Other times they’re seeking a career change altogether. And in some cases, they’re setting out to expand or to broaden in a space that they’re already working in.

So, what’s great about health and wellness coaching education here at FMCA is that it truly opens doors and supports you in crafting whatever it is that resonates most with you. So, I’m so excited because Kim is a part of our FMCA family, and she really exemplifies crafting that wellness path and using her education in a way that truly aligns with what she feels called to do. So, Kim, thank you so much for joining me. It’s just wonderful to have you here for this chat.

Kim: Absolutely. I’m really happy to be here as well. So, thanks, Jess.

Jess: Of course. It’s my pleasure. All right. So, Kim, would you like to start with telling me maybe what you were doing before you came to FMCA?

Kim: Sure. So, I have been an executive coach for actually coming up on 30 years now. I am a leadership development advisor. I put on custom as well as general public retreats. I do keynote speaking, and I do workshops. So, that’s really what I’ve been doing for most of my professional career.

Jess: Mh-mm. Mh-mm. And then so what brought you to functional medicine and ultimately into functional medicine health coaching?

Kim: Well, you know, honestly… So, I think like many folks in the program, I had a lot of health challenges early in my career, and it was for sure brought on by the extreme stress that I find in corporate America. And when I say corporate America, by the way, it’s not just in business. I work with folks in legal profession, healthcare, education, government, state, local, federal government, that sort of thing. So, anybody with a career.

But what I found was I started developing all kinds of health problems. And back then because this was… When all that started, that was, like, 20 years ago or even maybe a little bit more. But functional medicine wasn’t a thing. Integrative medicine wasn’t a thing. And every doctor I’d go to had no idea what was really going on with me. Now, people are probably just nodding their heads, but now people know so much more. And now that functional medicine and integrative medicine is really a thing, it’s a different deal. But back then, I had to study and figure out all this stuff.

So, what ended up happening was I just became extremely passionate about health and wellness and all the nuances of what it takes to keep us healthy and vibrant so that we can pursue our goals, and passions, and stuff like that. But that’s actually how I ended up kind of on this path. And I was only doing it for me. And for a long, long time, I wasn’t doing any kind of wellness coaching with my clients. I was doing classic executive coaching, all career and corporate stuff. And then I decided, I thought, “You know, I should make my knowledge part of my profession instead of just a passion,” because I had so much information, so much experience again through my own journey. I could see my clients suffering on lots of different levels.

And so I did a ton of research. And I found FMCA and it was absolutely the right program. And I’m not just saying that. I’m saying it was right. I wouldn’t have done it. It was the right program. It was super rigorous, had all the stuff that I really wanted because I didn’t want it to feel like, you know, “Oh, I got a six-week certificate.” I didn’t want that. I wanted a solid something I was super, super proud of and something that instead of telling my clients, you know, “I’m really passionate about health and wellness. And if you want to add some of that in, we can.” Then instead I was able to say, “I am also a functional medicine certified professional coach. If you want to add these things into the work we’re doing together…” And it just felt amazing. So, that’s a long story, but that’s how I ended up coming to the program and why I decided to incorporate it in my work.

Jess: Yes, that’s wonderful. And it really sounds like that alignment further supported you, one, in helping others show up in the world the way that they’re meant to, right, through their health and wellness. And having that functional medicine certified health coach piece that you said you were very passionate about and it felt really good to you, that adds that additional professional layer. So, it was very in line with what you were doing. You’re adding more of that professional certification on top of the the offer you’re bringing. Yeah.

Kim: Yeah.

Jess: That’s really wonderful, Kim. And so now that you… Once you accomplished that and you got that health coaching certification and you brought that on board, can you tell me a little bit more about how that health coaching certification is helping you make more of an impact in the space and how it’s enhanced your work?

Kim: Yeah, totally. So, I mean, gosh, there’s so many ways, but I’ll narrow it down to a few. So, one, I do keynotes, and I do workshops, and I do retreats. All of that now is infused with health and wellness. So, in fact, again, I used to only work really in that, you know, career and leadership and professional corporate space, helping individuals be more successful and build their careers, helping leaders and managers and execs be better at what they do, etc. But ever since I got my certification, now I’ve added this entire second half. In fact, frankly, the Zen Within is really… It’s the combining of the two halves. My first coaching, speaking, etc. business was called The Taylored Approach. And that, again, was really just focused in all that professional stuff. And then a couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to add all of this other side because we are individuals as well as professionals, right? We’re people and professionals. And if we don’t integrate those elements and align, then we just can’t do what we’re trying to do. And if we do, if we manage to slog our way through without that fundamental lifestyle health and wellness, then my experience is inevitably people land in what I call the BOE Zone—burnout, overwhelm, and exhaustion. So, now all of that is infused in the way that I work with people. It’s added so much to my retreats. In fact, even I’m writing a book and there’s a whole section just on this lifestyle stuff because in my mind, it is one of the most critical things. Again, it doesn’t matter what you’re trying to accomplish in life. And we all know this, right? If you don’t have your wellness, if you don’t have your energy, you don’t have clarity, forget it. You can’t. You just can’t do it. And life kind of becomes this sort of trudge, and you’re just trying to do it, but you don’t have your baseline that you need. So, yeah, it’s been fundamental, and the impact has been significant for me and for my clients.

Jess: That’s wonderful.

Kim: Yeah.

Jess: That’s wonderful. That personal impact, the professional impact, and, you know, we can’t separate the parts of ourselves. We’re all one. The wellness, it brings it all together, and that’s so inspiring, Kim. It’s really, really inspiring. Thank you for sharing that. So, I’m curious a little bit in the industry, in this corporate wellness space with executive…you mentioned executives and leadership, could you just give a very brief breakdown of, you know, some of what defines that space and some of the areas that you work in or maybe that students considering this career path might think about working in?

Kim: Yeah. So, again, there’s so many options, but I guess I just kind of think about it, like, in these layers. So, certainly there’s the individual, right? One on one coaching, just anybody, whoever they are. Then you’ve got teams, and it’s the same thing. If people are exhausted, they’re burned out, they’re not getting enough sleep, they’re not eating right, they’re sitting in a meeting, you know, munching on a bag of whatever and drinking some chemical-laden drink, they don’t have what they need. So, what you’re starting to see is companies are taking a lot more time, putting more resources towards health and wellness programming.

So, one of the companies that I worked with, they decided to do an experiment. They were doing a pilot. And I’m trying to think… I think that… So, overall, there was 300 people in this pilot, and then they broke it out into different segments. And so they gave 50…it was about 50 people, a health and wellness coach because they were trying to see what’s going to work in this space. What do we need to do for our people and what will work? So, my point in saying all this is companies are looking at… Sometimes it’s only going to be through the individual, somebody that’s reaching out on their own that wants something. But a lot of times, they don’t know what they need exactly. They don’t know what will work. They don’t know… I mean, they provide benefits. Sometimes you get discounts to gyms and things like that and, you know, there’s insurance benefits.

But, I mean, the numbers are still completely sideways in terms of workplace health and wellness. And, again, burnout is a huge part of that. And, again, that comes down to what is the state of their physicality and, you know, what fuel are they putting into their bodies and brains.

So, companies are looking for ways to support that. Sometimes you can come in as a contractor, right, whether you have your own business or you join a company that brings wellness into the workspace. Other times, there’s staff positions where specifically your role is to develop health and wellness programming just like companies have leadership development departments and, you know, folks that are tasked with bringing leadership development at all the different levels. Well, they do the same thing in the health and wellness space.

So, it continues to grow. Some companies are doing a lot. Other companies aren’t doing a single thing, which to me means lots of opportunity because, again, it’s one of the biggest challenges in business is the state of wellness of employees. And it’s not getting any better because of what I was saying about the burnout, overwhelm, and exhaustion.

Jess: Yeah. Yeah. It’s wonderful that there’s such an opportunity to make an impact in this space.

Kim: Yeah.

Jess: Yeah. So, I noticed you have all this professional energy, personal energy that you bring to this work. And I’m just curious what keeps you going. What inspires you?

Kim: Oh, goodness. Well, you know, I guess a couple of things. One is I do feel like I’ve got a mission on this planet. And when I don’t feel great, and I’m not fueling right, and I’m not meditating and just doing the self-care things that I do, I’m not capable of doing it. I don’t have this energy. It’s a hundred million million percent tied to my lifestyle. There’s no two ways about it whatsoever. So, that’s, like, probably my biggest motivator is I’ve got so many things I want to do in this world and contribute and, you know, just all of it. And so I know how important it is for that.

I think the other thing is, you know, I… So, I started in corporate America in January of ’97. And the company I joined was amazing. It wasn’t the company, but it was just classic, you know, Dilbert Cubeville, whatever. And I remember looking around and, I mean, it took two weeks… Not even probably that. I feel like it was more like two hours, but I was just looking around and everybody looked like zombies. People were miserable. You could see it and feel it. And I thought to myself, “This is absolutely untenable for human life. It’s unsustainable. Who would ever want to do this?” And it’s just not right because this is your life. And people were so in such a state again of, you know, mental and physical burnout and overwhelm and exhaustion and all of that. And I thought this is like a tragedy in the making, and it’s not necessary.

So, I am ridiculously motivated to help people find their way out of this space that keeps them from being able to truly and literally create the life that they want to live because… And it’s rampant. I mean, again, right, we’re almost at 30 years ago, and it’s not changed. Nothing’s changed. Everywhere I go, I see the same thing everywhere. People are… On the outside, they’ll smile and they’re kind of happy and they’re trying to bring it, but it doesn’t take long at all. You can only kind of hold that for the first little bit of a conversation, and reality starts to really seep in and they settle back into who they are. And you can absolutely see the lack of well-being. So, I’m super motivated to help people find their way out of this space.

Jess: Yes, I can feel that. That’s really powerful. I can feel that, and I think that our audience can feel that too. Your mission is radiating through the world. It’s beautiful.

Kim: Yay.

Jess: Yeah. So, can we bring it back to your experience as an FMCA student? So, I’d love to hear thinking back to the program, what did you enjoy most about it?

Kim: Gosh. What didn’t I enjoy is the easier question, but I will tell you. So, I gobbled up all of the materials, the articles, the books, the videos, the interviews because, again, this is what I was wanting, and I didn’t want to feel like I had missed anything or… Again, it’s a long program, right? It was truly an investment of time and money, and I wanted every single bit that I could get because I wanted to walk out feeling like, “Yeah, I’ve got so many more tools and things that I can reach.” So, I loved loved that. I loved the format. So, I love the once a week with the Zoom call and all of us together because people’s questions were helpful. Watching others coach was helpful. And by the way, even though I’ve been a coach forever, I literally thought I was like, “Okay, well, that part won’t be that important to me, right? But all this functional medicine stuff will be amazing, but the coaching, whatever.” And I was wrong. I learned new techniques. I learned new things. And that was helpful too. In fact, there’s so many things.

One of the things that I will say that I probably use most often of all the stuff in the new coaching techniques is the question about what is the impact this is having on you and the rating scale of how important is this to you. So, I would ask questions that were in that zone, but we specifically, just the way we were talking about it, it really helped me dial it in super tightly for my clients so that, one, we both got a better understanding of what level are you now and how important is this. But then also that impact statement of really sitting in that space, that’s where things begin to change. So, that was another thing that I found super helpful. And then there’s a couple of folks from the program that I’m still very close. They will truly be friends for life.

Jess: I love it.

Kim: Yeah. It was great.

Jess: And that happens to to so many students who join us. We hear that a lot. It’s just so wonderful. We all have these invisible threads that connect us now, you know, as students, as alumni. It’s just truly a beautiful community, and I’m so happy to hear that it’s impacted you so greatly. Thank you for sharing that. So, did you have any fears or maybe barriers before enrolling in the program? Kind of taking that leap and taking that step into the program?

Kim: I don’t think so. Let me just think about that. No, I really didn’t. I mean, I was so excited. I could not wait for it to start. Like I said, I gobbled it up. But, again, because the whole thing was so darn important to me, and again, I wanted to shift from passion to profession. And so I was just super all in. So, no, I really didn’t.

Jess: That’s big. Yeah. When something feels good, you just know.

Kim: Yeah. Yeah.

Jess: Kim, what would you say to someone who is considering embarking on the journey to become a functional medicine certified health coach?

Kim: Well, I would say it’s one of the best things that I’ve ever done. And, again, I say that with all honesty, right? I’ve got lots of stuff I do in my business world, and this was such a great addition. So, I think if somebody wants to work really fully in the health and wellness space, this is the certification to get, right? Functional medicine, we know this, is absolutely where health and wellness is going to come from. It’s not going to come from classic traditional Western medicine, right? That’s great for repair, but functional medicine is a whole different deal about let’s prevent and let’s get everything kind of aligned.

So, if you want to work in this space, no two ways about it. In my opinion, this is a critical certification. If you don’t, like me, I don’t really work in this space, but it’s such a beautiful adjunct to the other work that I do. Like you said at the beginning, it adds a whole distinct level of credibility so that, again, you’re not talking, “Well, here’s kind of my opinion.” I read a lot of articles kind of a thing. You’re allowed then to step into it fully and have the credibility, and authority, and confidence to speak to what you know. So, to me, it doesn’t matter if you’re interested in this field, by the way, and just for your own personal well-being. So, even if for some reason somebody did this and then they’re like, “You know what? I don’t know if I necessarily want to be a coach,” that’s fine too. But to me, it serves no matter what way you take your career. It just adds such a layer of knowledge, and understanding, and compassion. So, that’s what I would say.

Jess: There’s no limit to your impact. Yeah. Yep. It really…

Kim: I mean, yeah. There’s just not.

Jess: Yeah. Yeah. That’s wonderful. Kim, as we’re coming to a close here, I so appreciate this conversation, and I know that our audience will too. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

Kim: You know, I guess I would just say it’s important to allow yourself to lean into things like this, right? So, if you’re feeling it and it feels right, it’s not something that you need to make happen. For me, everything is about allowing, right? Just allowing your curiosity, allowing your passion, allowing the things that you’re looking for in your life, allowing you to step into those spaces. So, you know, my thing is go for it. Pick a time that you know really is going to work for you so that it’s never a stressor because you need to be able to pour yourself, right, into whatever class segment you choose. You need to pour yourself fully into it. And if you kind of stick it in the middle of the day or God forbid at the end of the day on a Friday, right, when most people are usually exhausted, it might feel a little bit like a burden or like a challenge or like things are pulling on you and you’re trying to keep everything out of the space so that you can just have this moment. So, pick according to that. Let yourself… This is your moment. This is your two hours and let it be amazing without the world pulling, or tugging, or demanding anything of you.

Jess: So well said. Thank you so much for sharing that, Kim. It’s a pleasure to talk to you, and I really appreciate your time and joining me.

Kim: Thank you so much. Thanks for asking, and I enjoyed our conversation.

Jess: Of course, Kim. You’re welcome. All right. Bye, everyone.