Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Walton

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

How many years do you have?!

All joking aside, I have always been focused on giving back and especially in terms of my Christian faith.

My late father , an ex-POW, ran an outreach ministry for our church, and he started us small town kids doing “Trick or Treat for UNICEF,” educating us on the countries that were served and how. My faith has driven me in my career choices, from teaching public school and junior college to raising monies that support programs for underserved people, my Christian faith has been my compass.

I developed a love of fitness in college–a shock, I am sure, to my grade school classmates, and I have been committed to my health and fitness for over four decades. My late husband owned a couple gyms in the southeastern US and was a professional bodybuilder, and he educated me so much about the body. While I LOVE my power walks and gym sessions, I also LOVE yoga and am a Registered Yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance and a certified Holy Yoga instructor. I also hold certifications in yin yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga, and yoga for disordered eating. One of my primary goals as an instructor is to help my students create a deep awareness of gather bodies and breath and to love their bodies as they are, making changes from a place of radical self-love.

As a credentialed coach, I largely focus on life coaching and grief coaching, but will be moving more into grief coaching in 2025. That, along with yoga, can really help people in loss to heal in a healthy way.

I used to be a very Type A personality that had bouts with anxiety. In this chapter of my life, I consider myself a recovering Type A, and anxiety is typically a thing of the past… unless I am getting a routine medical screening… haven’t quite conquered that anxiety yet!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Oh, wow… it would be all too easy to say my journey as a single mother of two boys. I lost my husband at sea when my boys were 8 and 3, and I raised them by myself. Sure, there were challenges, but mostly, it was a joy-filled journey!

Leaving my job at an art museum where I was an educator then director of development sort of left me in a bit of a depression for a short while. I’d been accustomed to working with LOTS of people and then… as a coach, I was mainly a Lone Ranger. Starting to teach classes for Employee Assistance Programs and yoga helped lift me from that fog.

Honestly? My biggest struggle comes from not having a partner physically beside me to push me and walk by my side. My late husband was GREAT in that role. We were a good team. While I have had that at times in my life since losing him, it’s not what I was accustomed to, and it’s been challenging. Thank God–literally–for great friends, a really special man, and my sons who encourage me!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?

I am a creative soul!

I love to write, and I have published for many years, writing cover stories and other articles and blogs for various publications and sites. I actually published a Lenten devotion book last spring and am looking to write more in 2025.

Working in an art museum for nearly 14 years taught me how to really think outside the box and to look for solutions one may not consider.

I’ve carried this trait over into my coaching relationships, as I love brainstorming with clients about their options.

I love to create courses and am planning to create a couple in 2025 that people can purchase and work at their own pace.
I created the first public speaking course for the Adult Learning Center of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, and it was really joy to teach that, along with a few other classes I created for the ALC.

Working for myself DOES feed my creativity, from brainstorming with coaching clients to coming up with themes for my yoga classes and retreats, and of course, writing.

What sets me apart for others?

Well, I have a bachelors and masters degree in education, along with numerous coaching and yoga certifications, but I think the biggest thing that sets me apart from many coaches is that I am not “glitz and sparkles.” My website is pretty but not flashy. I don’t post on social media a million times a day, and I don’t promise dazzling results–that’s really up to the client. I keep it real! My clients know I am not perfect nor do I profess to be, but I seek to help change lives for the better, not to be lauded for having 50k followers or some flashy website.

What matters most to you?

Tough question!

Being in harmony with the people I love (family, friends, SO) and taking care of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Leaving a legacy of love and positive encouragement is important to me as well. I have fallen miserably many times in my life, but I do hope that when my last breath is taken, God looks at me and says, “Well done, they good and faith servant.”

I have some work to do!

Pricing:

• Coaching (four 1.5 hour sessions)-$500
• Private Yoga and meditation, online and in person–$75
• Growing Through Your Grief (four one-hour sessions)- $75
• Sacred Spaces conversations- $60

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.holygrounding.com
• Instagram: @holygrounding
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amywaltoncoaching1/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amywalton317/
• Youtube: @amywalton-holygrounding

Image Credits

Jody Cooper Otterson

Roger M. Richards

Echard Wheeler

Esmel Meeks

Brandi Zenzel

Rhett Walton