Rachel Gersten is a New York City-based therapist and health and wellness coach with a passion for helping people lead their healthiest lives possible. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Arizona State University where she double majored in psychology and human development, then attended Teachers College Columbia University and earned two master's degrees (Ed.M., M.A.) in Psychological Counseling. Since then she has worked in a variety of settings providing mental health services and therapy to clients, and most recently co-founded Viva Wellness, a holistic wellness practice and company located in Brooklyn. When she's not working, you can find her running in Central Park and in every race possible, cheering on her sports teams, and planning the next time she's going to eat.
Being an entrepreneur often sounds a bit more glamorous than it actually is, so we set out to learn more about Rachel Gersten’s experience as Co-founder of Viva Wellness.
Reflecting on our question to discuss some of the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, Rachel explains, “Generally, we don’t share the struggle enough and that can lead to people having comparison issues, and especially with social media highlighting everything that looks pretty. But, no - we need to talk about the things that are hard too.
The biggest thing I think for me, that I was not expecting, when transitioning into being an entrepreneur, is that I was prepared for the increased workload, I was prepared for work on the weekends, and days that are crazy. And I knew it would be a balancing act in terms of scheduling, but what I was not prepared for was the emotional toll of it because you can’t leave work at work anymore, you are work.”
Joining us to share her story, Rachel talks about the connection between mental and physical wellness, using fitness as a tool for managing her chronic pain, lessons learned as an entrepreneur, and staying balanced by shifting the slices of the ‘pie’ that is life.
