Personal trainer Erica Jones Woolley turned a back injury in 2019 into the opportunity to coach others in a new way.
“Right before the world changed, my world began to change,” she said, referring to the time before the COVID-19 pandemic. “As a person who moves for a living, I realized there was the possibility that I might not be able to move anymore. I needed and searched for the next right step, and it seemed like, my right leg that was causing me pain was saying, ‘look in this direction.'”
She earned her Certified Professional Coach license through the Pennsylvania-based program Leadership that Works two years ago.
As the founder of EJW Coaching. Woolley abides by optimistic realism to help guide her clients to a better future. She hopes that as the pandemic winds down, people become more attune to helping others and helping themselves.
“I am a realistic person but I also hold a spirit for optimism always,” she said. “I’d like to think that as more of us come out of [the pandemic], we realize self-reflection. We do more for we do more for each other, to be there for each other.”
Today, the pandemic has been a boon for her business. She typically attracts a female clientele; women who are looking to make a change in their lives.
“I have found that most of the people that I work with are women who are very busy and have lost themselves,” she said. “They have, and they do so much for everybody else that they have forgotten where they are.”
Woolley has found that people in general are seeking out her services as the pandemic rears its end.
“Some of them are coming out of the pandemic. feeling anxious,” she said. “It’s definitely moving forward and figuring out what our next steps are.”
Most of her sessions are held on Zoom. She starts out with what is known as a “discovery session” to get to know her new clients and their life goals. Afterwards, she hosts biweekly sessions for 45 minutes each.
All sessions at EJW Coaching are offered on a sliding scale to reflect different income levels.
Woolley also practices Reiki Meditation with her clients, creates healing jewelry pieces and offers personal training to members of Mike Arteaga’s Health and Fitness Centers in Poughkeepsie.
She believes that one of the positives of the pandemic is that it has allowed those who have been able to work from home to reflect on ourselves, and has allowed essential workers to try and move forward from a year of being overwhelmed.
“Those of us that have been able to use it as a time of reflection are going to be able to honor those that were always working and didn’t have time for that, and we’ll be able to to help them find their way also,” she said.
For more information on EJW Coaching, visit http://www.ericajoneswoolley.com
