mindbodygreen

The mindbodygreen Institute is the education arm of mindbodygreen, the wellness publisher and supplement brand. It sells online programs to three kinds of learner: people who want to change careers and work as health coaches, health and fitness professionals who need continuing education, and women and healthcare professionals who want to understand perimenopause and menopause. The institute says more than 113,000 online students have taken its programs, and describes them as comprehensive online training designed to transform a career, improve the lives of others and deepen personal knowledge. The parent site publishes articles, podcasts and newsletters on health, food, movement and beauty, which it says reach 1M+ newsletter subscribers, and it runs the mindbodygreen podcast and a supplement shop.

Health Coach Certification+

The flagship is Health Coach Certification+, a cohort program taught in live, interactive online classes twice a week over 20 weeks. The institute says it combines behavior change psychology with holistic well-being and is taught by its faculty of experts. Graduates are eligible to sit the certifying exam of the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), which leads to the National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach credential; the comparison table lists that credential as the program's certification. It is aimed, in the institute's words, at career switchers and entrepreneurs passionate about health and wellness.

The comparison table's feature list includes live classes, live coaching practice with feedback and 1:1 sessions with faculty, and it lists the program's additional content as an alumni program, a Coaching Business Education Package for graduates setting up a practice, and access to the two self-paced programs below, nutrition & longevity+ and peri/menopause+, so a health coach finishes with nutrition and menopause training as well as coaching skills.

nutrition & longevity+

nutrition & longevity+ is a self-paced, on-demand program on functional nutrition and the role of food in health. The institute lists it at 30+ hours of video lessons that can be watched any time, with 660+ pages of study guides. Completing it earns a mindbodygreen certificate in nutrition & longevity+, plus NASM and AFAA continuing education credits, which the institute positions as continuing education for professionals who already hold a fitness credential. Students can add peri/menopause+ at a discounted rate.

peri/menopause+

peri/menopause+ is also self-paced and on demand, at 15+ hours. Its stated aim is to help learners understand their own bodies, lead their own care and support others through perimenopause and menopause, and it is pitched at women and healthcare professionals. It leads to a mindbodygreen certificate in peri/menopause education, again with NASM and AFAA CEU credits, and students can add nutrition & longevity+ at a discounted rate.

The site also lists two bundles, one combining nutrition, longevity and peri/menopause+ and one pairing peri/menopause+ with functional nutrition+, and a life coaching+ program appears in the footer alongside the others. Across the programs, the comparison table lists study guides, quizzes and a final exam, lifetime access with ongoing updates, communications and communities, and the alumni program among the features on offer.

Faculty

The institute says it does not believe there is one sole authority on coaching, so it brings together experts from different disciplines. The faculty list is long and mostly made up of physicians, dietitians and certified coaches. It includes Mark Hyman, MD, a 14x NYT best-selling author and head of strategy and innovation of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine; Kelly LeVeque, CCN, a best-selling author and celebrity nutritionist; Vincent Pedre, MD, director of Pedre Integrative Health; Ana Kausel, MD, a board-certified endocrinologist and co-founder of Anzara Health; Robin Berzin, MD, founder and CEO of Parsley Health; Will Cole, DC, a functional medicine expert; Amy Shah, MD; JJ Virgin, CNS; Frank Lipman, MD; and Maya Feller, MS, RD, CDN, a nutrition expert and adjunct professor at NYU.

For the coaching side, the list includes Emily Marquis, MA, NBC-HWC, an ICF coach and yoga and mindfulness instructor; Liz Powitzy, an executive coach; Katrina Watson, RN, MSN, NBC-HWC, a certified clinical nurse educator; Darshi Shah, NBC-HWC; and Laura Demeri, NBC-HWC, an award-winning educator. Menopause, sleep and longevity specialists include OB-GYNs Dr. Jaime Seeman and Jila Senemar, a Menopause Society specialist; orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright; sleep psychologists Dr. Wendy Troxel and Michael Breus, PhD; and integrative dietitian Michelle Shapiro, RD. Holistic plastic surgeon Anthony Youn, MD, Taz Bhatia, MD, director of CentreSpringMD, functional medicine physician Darshan Shah, MD, neuroscientist Caroline Leaf and branding coach Jessica Zweig round out the list.

Accreditation and alumni

The institute says its programs are recognized and accredited by top certifying organizations, and the program details name the NBHWC for the health coach certification and NASM and AFAA for the continuing education credits. It presents that recognition as evidence of the quality of its programs and of the work it puts into making graduates well prepared and competitive in their careers, and says its faculty keeps the curriculum current and aligned with industry best practice.

After graduation, the alumni program offers professional development, help building a business, exclusive events with industry experts and a community the institute calls lifelong. Articles on the institute site include health coach Emily Marquis on trading a corporate job for a career in health, a piece by Jena Burton on how the health coaching program made her a better communicator, a guide to 40+ ways to use a health coach certification, and a comparison of life coaching and health coaching.

Enrolling

The institute runs free webinars, including The Health Coach Career Summit and a session titled Functional Nutrition Meets Perimenopause & Beyond. It also has pages aimed at nurses, fitness instructors and physical therapists, and an affiliate program. The institute pages show no tuition for any program; prospective students contact a program advisor by email for details.

Who it suits

Health Coach Certification+ suits a career changer who wants live teaching, coaching practice and a route to the NBHWC exam in a fixed 20-week schedule, with nutrition and menopause training included. The self-paced programs suit fitness professionals who need NASM or AFAA credits, and women or clinicians who want structured menopause education without committing to a coaching career. The approach leans toward functional and integrative medicine, which fits learners drawn to that perspective. The caveat for the flagship is the live format: classes run twice a week on a cohort calendar, so someone who needs to study entirely on their own schedule is better served by the on-demand programs.