Meet Christina Becker

Christina Becker, MPH, RDN, is a registered dietitian, public health nutritionist, and integrative wellness coach. She has worked with people from all walks of life, helping them achieve optimal health and well-being through individual coaching sessions, group lectures, and hands-on nutrition workshops.

Christina was born and raised in Germany. Her parents instilled a healthy lifestyle at an early age. Family outings revolved around hikes by the river and in the forest, bicycle tours, skiing trips and the tennis club. Her mother and grandparents gardened; home-grown produce, herbal teas and home remedies were common fare. While her family members were avid tennis players, Christina’s passion was dance. Before she could walk, she was dancing and singing and found her home at the dance studio. Following graduation, she moved to the Netherlands to pursue her BA as a dance instructor. The vigorous training was physically and mentally demanding and taught Christina valuable self-care practices which later would guide her to a career as a nutritionist and wellness coach. After graduating from the Theater School in Amsterdam, Christina fulfilled her dream and went to NYC, the mecca for dance. She continued training at various dance studios, but the strain of years of training produced injuries she couldn’t ignore.

Contemplating other career options, Christina looked for a way to combine her passion for teaching and conveying her knowledge to others. She found her new calling in the health and nutrition field. Christina went back to school, completed her undergraduate studies in nutrition sciences, became a registered dietitian and earned her Master of Public Health degree from Hunter College. Her new career started at Cabrini Medical Center, where she acquired solid clinical skills. Following that position, she worked as an outpatient nutritionist for a non-profit organization where she deepened her counseling skills and learned to work with a diverse population.

After working with ill patients for many years, Christina’s focus was shifting more towards prevention and wellness. “Many of the most debilitating diseases today are preventable. Helping people adopt healthier lifestyles to avoid illness later in life has become my main driving force.” Christina’s core philosophy is to empower people to achieve their wellness goals by providing them with the fundamental knowledge and tools while guiding their journey with an integrative, wholesome approach. “Quick fixes and drastic changes hardly work long term. Life-style habits are deeply engrained and permanent results can only come from permanent changes in lifestyle.”

In 2012, Christina joined the wellness team at Bloomberg LP in NYC and found her true calling: coaching. Working in work-site wellness allowed her to support a culture of wellness, with a strong emphasis on prevention. She was able to support her clients through the challenges that come with gradual behavior change.

A few years ago, Christina was introduced to meditation and yoga philosophy through the Sivananda Vedanta organization. She spent time at the organization’s ashrams and immersed herself in various spiritual teachings and her sadhana (spiritual practice). In 2014, she travelled to India to become a certified Hatha yoga teacher and practiced karma yoga (selfless service) at the Sivananda ashram in France.

Earlier that year, Christina graduated from the inaugural class of the Integrative Health & Lifestyle program (IHeLp) at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. The foundation of the training, self-care, helped Christina connect with her own life values and wellness vision. Participation inspired her so profoundly that she decided to leave NYC in search for a new home that would better align with her vision of a balanced life. She embarked on a solo road trip through California and knew instantly that she wanted to live here.

Christina is grateful to have joined the BeWell team at Stanford, as it aligns with her vision of joining a wellness-focused community. Here, she hopes to merge her diverse experiences in order to impact people’s lives in a positive way. Believing in the innate healing capacity of her clients, Christina seeks to connect them with this inner wisdom in order to promote balance. “I am passionate about expanding the concept of wellness and shifting the focus to a more holistic and healing view and approach which addresses all aspects of a person.”