Michael and Coloma Cox opened their new business Whole Life Priorities (WLP), a holistic approach to family wellness and therapy, on January 7 of this year in Austin.
Coloma is an educator and health coach. Michael is a licensed professional counselor and level II restoration therapist. The couple’s mission is to help their clients make life changes that lead to better physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Michael and Coloma know what’s possible because they have made these changes themselves.
The Coxes’ journey began when Coloma’s doctor suggested she have a third surgery on her sinuses. With three small children, a husband, and a job that was sometimes stressful, being down for a couple of weeks while she recovered wasn’t ideal. With no reason to believe this operation would be any more of a cure than the others, she looked for a better way to treat her condition.
I started doing more holistic care with a chiropractor and adjusting what I put in my body
“I started doing more holistic care with a chiropractor and adjusting what I put in my body,” Coloma said. She cut out dairy and sugar and limited her intake of what she considered a healthy snack – chips and salsa. Within three months Coloma noticed a difference, not only in her health but also her demeanor.
What does it look like to be healthy, to be whole, as a family?
One of the things that made lifestyle changes sustainable was making them a family project. “It started out with us being our own guinea pigs,” Michael said. “We had a conversation: What does it look like to be healthy, to be whole, as a family? I bet we could sustain it if we all did it together.”
That meant taking on the almost herculean task of getting three little boys to like vegetables. Rather than rid the house of less nutritious options all at once, Coloma said the family added healthy alternatives over time and made it clear that the children and adults would eat the same meals.
Their sons help with weekly meal planning, which turned out to be a good teaching opportunity. “We talk throughout,” Michael said, “it’s okay to have a snack here, it’s okay to have this food there, but our diet can’t only be those things.”
The Coxes, who have been married for almost 18 years, not only changed their diet and increased their exercise, but they also grew closer as husband and wife. Coloma said they developed us-ness and describes it as “a better way to communicate as a couple, a coming together as a team that loves and serves the Lord.” The Coxes offer other couples a chance to discover their own us-ness through Whole Life Priorities-led marriage retreats.
In many ways, the Coxes aren’t just the brains of Whole Life Priorities, they were their own first clients and can attest, from personal experience to the benefits of a healthy, loving, whole family. “We’re not worried about so many things that people worry about,” Michael said, “because our physical health, our finances are just at the place where we can enjoy life.”
With Whole Life Priorities, the Coxes mission is to share that joy through teaching, coaching, and helping their clients find the resources they need. “We try to live what we’re preaching and what we’re practicing,” Michael said. “We really want to walk alongside people in a better way of living.”
The Coxes are currently taking new patients for their therapy practice located in north Austin at4131 Spicewood Springs Road. For information go to Whole Life Priorities.
