I’ve had a few questions about studying with The Institute for Integrative Nutrition – IIN since I published my blog posts on the first six months of the course, and my full year review.

I wanted to answer some of the more frequently asked questions, and hopefully help you to decide if the course is right for you!

How is the course structured?

You can study over a six or twelve month period, I chose to do the full year course. The content is exactly the same – the full year course has one module of study per week, and the six month course has two. Two years after graduating, I’m really glad I did the full year course – taking it slower definitely helped the information to stick, and I look back on the experience as part of a really fun and exciting year where I also qualified as a yoga teacher and started teaching.

The course is 90% self study so you need to make sure you are keeping up with the modules, towards the end of the course there are live coaching circle calls over a six week period which you’ll need to attend and prepare for. It works best if you can commit to a fixed time to attend these calls with the same group of students. I really enjoyed this element of the course but also loved that the majority of content was pre-recorded as it meant I could work at my own pace and at times which suited me.

You will probably enjoy this course more if you are self-motivated – it really helped me when planning my week in advance (Virgo here) to schedule in study time, much as I would schedule in a yoga class or appointment and then to stick to these commitments. If you’re someone who struggles with motivation or with sticking to plans, then an online course where most of the content is pre-recorded is probably going to be a struggle, no matter what the content is.

One thing I would say is that I did this course in 2019 – long before we have all been required to spend multiple hours on Zoom! I think pros and cons here – for some an online course may appeal less if a large amount of work, social time and other aspects of your life are now online. For those who were previously less comfortable with online life and had never considered an online course, I think that 2020 may have changed your mind and made something like this seem a lot more accessible.

How much time do I need to study?

For the full year course, around 3-4 hours per week. Some weeks the lectures and assignments will take longer, other weeks they’ll take less time. For the assignments and further reading, you can take as much time as you like on these – of course, some topics will interest you more than others and you’ll find that you’ll spend more time on the topics which resonate the most.

I would definitely try to make sure you complete each module in the assigned weeks and try not to fall behind. There are a couple of weeks built in with no new modules to allow you to catch-up and consolidate your knowledge. For me this wasn’t a struggle as I like to plan ahead and have always been a “turning in my essay way before the deadline” sort of person!

Personally, I found the time commitment required was more than I first expected, especially if I wanted to read more widely around a topic  – another reason why I would recommend doing the full year course.

What will I learn?

The course packs in a LOT of content but assumes no prior knowledge. You’ll learn the building blocks of nutrition, cover different dietary theories, learn about just why so many people are suffering with health issues as a result of modern diets and modern lifestyles, delve into spirituality, learn how to set up a business and create a website, and learn how to manage finances.

The course is based around IIN’s circle of life, a really great tool for both assessing your own balance and one you can use with clients to help them figure out which areas of life are going well and which need more intentional work.

Some of my now-daily practices, like seed cycling, are ones i learned about with IIN. I really enjoyed the balance between the scientific underpinnings of nutrition and also learning about traditional practices like Ayurveda. There were also topics and theories covered which I personally did not resonate with, for example, raw food and juice diets, but it was still interesting to learn about the huge range of approaches to nutrition and that what may not work for me (or sound downright unappealing) make may someone else feel amazing.

You can find an overview of the course here, and a guide to the curriculum here.

How much does it cost?

It’s hard to say as IIN offers various discounts throughout the year on the the tuition fees. You can mention me when you apply to receive a further discount*. I actually signed up with a discount from another ambassador myself, so it’s nice to be able to return the favour! The investment is much cheaper than an in-person course but it isn’t a trivial amount so it’s even more important that you consider all the factors – hence this post!

Payment plans are available too, to space your tuition fees out over the year of half-year of the course.

What did I enjoy the most / least?

The most:

~ the group coaching calls where I really felt like I connected so much with my wonderful group – I still love to see the Facebook updates from my fellow students, some of whom now have their own thriving wellness businesses
~ learning more about women’s health which tied in really nicely with my yoga teacher training and my own journey in embracing cyclical wisdom
~ the modules on finances and budgeting were ones I surprisingly enjoyed and have helped me to feel less worried about finances despite the challenges of 2020
~ the engaging guest speakers, some of whose lectures resulted in my going down some very interesting rabbit holes of my own reading and research
~ being able to combine the knowledge from the course and reinforce this through my further yoga teacher trainings – particularly my prenatal and restorative yoga teacher trainings where much of the theory was already familiar to me

The least:

~ the overall tone of the course and the business modules were very US-centric so if you are not based in the US you’ll need to do your own research if and when you come to setting up a company
~ if you already have a blog/website and already use social media then these modules will be very basic (but on my coaching calls, social media was actually the area that other students were the most nervous about so I’m sure many find it helpful)
~ as someone who likes a challenge, the tests were very easy and the graduation requirements are not hard to meet, it’s really up to you to cement, embed and integrate your knowledge 
~ a “health coach” isn’t a protected team and anyone can call themselves a “life coach” or “health coach” but the course will give you knowledge, confidence and is very clear on the boundaries of what you can and cannot do as a health coach

What can you do after graduation?

While a big focus of the course is on 1:1 coaching, there are so many options as to how you can use your learnings. Many of my fellow students in my coaching calls were looking to learn for themselves and their families and not to necessarily start a coaching business.

There are also really helpful modules on how to set up and run a business which would apply to any business in the wellness space. 1:1 coaching is not the only option after you graduate, I know IIN grads who have written e-books and set up healthy meal plan companies, who host retreats and hold women’s circles – and some who do have successful coaching practices. 

To support graduates, the modules are accessible for two years after you graduate (so three years in total) which is really helpful if you want to go over a topic again. The reference library and business toolkit are accessible forever so you can use these resources while you build and pivot your business. IIN also offers options for further study – I haven’t taken any of these personally but have heard that the gut health course is great!

What have I done since graduating?

I graduated right before the pandemic which somewhat disrupted my 2020 plans! During and since my course, I have connected with fellow students past and present, and likeminded people in Dubai which has led me to meeting some of my private yoga clients, joining a women’s circle and connecting with some really wonderful people I would not have otherwise met.

I’ve grown my clientele as a teacher and I’ve spoken to networking organisations and corporates on the benefits of yoga and on how to create a healthier lifestyle – I used to find public speaking really awful but it turns out that when I am interested in the topic, I really enjoy it! I spent six months working for a UAE-born wellness company and having the knowledge from the course meant that I was able to easily answer customer queries and feel confident in exploring wellness concepts, bio-hacking, supplementation and cold exposure therapy.

I didn’t do the course with the aim to do 1:1 coaching but I have still found that the skills I learned on how to coach have been really helpful in my day-to-day communication and in giving me some great ideas for online content creation and making my blog and Instagram posts helpful to others.

The message of bio-individuality is also one which has stayed with me and as time as passed and my needs change, I’m able to more easily make changes and adapt. I used to be really set on being a strict vegan, and feeling like this was the only way to be healthy, but that’s something which no longer seems right for me and I’m more easily able to separate out what could or should work and what actually works for me.

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I would love to chat more about this course with you, please drop me a message or connect with me on Instagram and I’ll be happy to answer any other questions and help you work out if this course if right for you.

*IIN Ambassador affiliate program – I receive a small commission if you sign up with my discount  

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