PhD, CFSP, RYT
Creative. Visionary, Spiritual.
Deanna has the uniqueness of being an out-of-the-box nutrition professional who sees more to eating than just calories. As artist and scientist, her world of eating and living is felt through the essence of color, vibration, and frequency. In her teachings and books, she connects the energetic signatures and resonance of foods to health and vitality. Dr. Minich has the foundation of a strong science background with her Master’s and Doctorate degrees, and a lifelong study of nutrition with her first indoctrination at the age of 9 when her mother shifted the family’s faith and food in seemingly radical, yet transformative ways. She has experienced the “spectrum” of activities within the health field, with everything from clinical practice to working in food, lifestyle medicine, and dietary supplement companies, to teaching at universities and health institutes. A true seeker of truth, Deanna began to study ancient traditions at the age of 18 when she took her first yoga class. She deepened her knowledge by training with medical intuitive, Patrice Connelly, and Lakota Shaman, Char Sundust. She began to realize through her personal journey that science and spirituality can be interwoven to optimize healing, and wrote four books on healing, food, and spirituality. There are not many people who can be expert at straddling the science and spirituality of food and health. She integrated the two into a system called Food & Spirit (www.foodandspirit.com) – to radically shift people’s relationship with food, eating, and living, and the Certified Food & Spirit Practitioner Program (www.foodandspiritprofessional.com) – to equip practitioners with a structured framework for bringing together the rainbow-colored seven aspects of the self in the therapeutic encounter for optimal healing.
“The swirl of my decades of experience has culminated in what I call Food & Spirit – connecting the staple of sustenance (food) with the soul of the individual (spirit), or allowing for the essence of eating and living to coalesce through a unique interface that is based in the seven aspects of self. I didn’t make up these “seven aspects” – rather, they have been long recognized in spiritual traditions as the body, emotions, ego, heart, expression, mind, and spirit. I believe that we need more integration of these personalized facets within modern medicine – otherwise, we are missing out.” – Deanna Minich, PhD, CFSP, RYT
What motivates you?
- Love
- Feeling like I’m making a difference
- Creativity
- Feeling a sense of purpose
Describe a difficult situation you were in and how you overcame it?
I think that one of the most challenging times in my life was living in Europe for four years while I worked on my Doctorate. I was there alone, starting from scratch with everything: learning a new language, beginning a PhD program, and being far away from family and friends. While there were countless times I wanted to just pack up and go home, I stayed the course. I didn’t give up. My intuition was strong that I needed to stay, and now, years later, I’m so glad I did. Looking back, I realized that I had allowed myself to be enriched and stretched in deep soulful ways through these experiences. It gave me the opportunity to immerse myself not just in scientific experiments, but in creativity, human relationships, and meditation/spiritual practices. At the end, when I was graduating, I felt a sense of accomplishment, not only for the degree, but because I braved the journey and became more of who I am.
What are your goals for the future?
My calling is to be part of a collective to usher in a revolution and evolution of health and healing. My goals include being a conduit of change, a bridge between the worlds of left-brained, logical science and right-brained, creativity and spirituality. I am open to serve by being a teacher, writer, and healer.
What’s your favorite snack?
Dark chocolate (80% cocoa) and a cup of green tea
What is your favorite quote?
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
