CCNH (Clayton College of Natural Health) Graduate Spotlight

Paula Owens, Master of Science in Holistic Nutrition

A passion to live a life of integrity, a belief in actively taking control of your own life, and the desire to help other people are admirable qualities in a person and great ideals to try and live up to. CCNH graduate Paula Owens embodies these qualities and carries them out on a daily basis.

If one’s character determines his or her success in life, then it is not surprising that Owens has graduated from CCNH’s holistic nutrition program with highest honors, authored a book, developed a Web site, and mentored others who want to learn more about natural health.

Her belief that you must be responsible for your own life has meant, for her, earning a bachelor of science as well as a master of science in holistic nutrition. A reputation for having quality programs is what drew Owens to the school. “I selected CCNH because of their reputation as a quality college,” she explains.

Being able to study at her own pace to accommodate her schedule and meet the needs of her daily life was another one of the school’s compelling qualities. She says, “I loved the fact that I could study at a pace comfortable for my own life and schedule.”

Once she received her degree, she was able to enlarge her sphere of influence and draw an abundance of opportunities into her life. “Obtaining my bachelors and masters degree in holistic nutrition from Clayton College evolved my career in the health, nutrition, and fitness business, expanding opportunities and attracting more clients throughout the United States and abroad,” she shares.

She has demonstrated that her desire to help people is sincere by mentoring others. “I have been a mentor to individuals who I now view as my colleagues — Maria Huntsman specifically comes to mind. She is currently pursuing her degree in holistic nutrition through CCNH.”

Owens uses other teaching tools in addition to mentoring. She is a health and wellness coach, nutritionist, fitness expert, keynote speaker, and seminar presenter. But an essential part of how she shares her natural health knowledge is through the use of the written word. She has a blog, thepowerof4-paula.blogspot.com, she is a columnist for various magazines, and she has written a book called The Power of 4 — Your Ultimate Guide Guaranteed to Change Your Body and Transform Your Life, which is available on her Web site, www.PaulaOwens.com, and at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble stores as well as other booksellers.

In her book, she addresses integrating all the components of wellness — mind, body, and spirit — into your life for achieving holistic health. According to Owens, holistic nutrition, lifestyle, exercise and supplements are the four powers you can tap into for transforming your state of health.

She believes you must be responsible for your own health. She shares, “Holistic health is a lifestyle that requires you to be an active participant taking control and responsibility of various aspects of your life such as: a sensible exercise program; eating wholesome, organic foods; emotional and mental well-being; hormonal balance; optimal digestion; peace of mind and happiness; positive thoughts; quality relationships; restful sleep; spiritual connection and awareness; and stress management, relaxation, meditation and breathing.”

She embodies one of these aspects, positive thoughts, when she enthusiastically relates, “I live a holistic life and feel fabulous!”

Besides writing her own book, she has been influenced by the works of other natural health authors. Jonny Bowden, Ann Louise Gittleman, Carol Tuttle, Mary Enig, Carolyn Myss, Bruce Lipton, Elson Haas, and Diane Schwarzbein are just a few of the authors she has read. “I admire all of these authors as they are all so informative, sharing their passion and knowledge,” she says.

Other people not only figure into her reading material, they also figure into her dream career, which is “working in an environment with like-minded professionals who have a passion for holistic health and alternative medicine and truly helping people obtain health and healing of the mind, body, and soul naturally.”

But living a holistic life, practicing what she preaches by integrating mind, body, and spirit is not the only mission she believes is worthwhile. Owens says, “Living a life of integrity is one of the greatest missions we can undertake.”

CLAYTON COLLEGE OF NATURAL HEALTH