Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabella Montalban.
Hi Isabella, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was raised in New York by my Spanish immigrant grandparents and a single mother. As the oldest of three and in our family dynamic, I was responsible for helping around the house a lot, looking after my siblings, helping with errands, etc. When I was seven, we moved to New Jersey and bounced between towns until finally settling in Woodbridge, NJ. That’s where I found stability, graduated high school, and formed lifelong friendships that still are in my life today.
I became the first in my immediate family to attend college — a huge milestone — and after graduation, I entered the corporate world, also a first in my family which was scary and exciting to walk that new path. By 25, I bought my first home, traveled the world when I could, all while building a portfolio of clients for my sales company. But despite all the successes and milestones, something still didn’t feel right.
For years, I struggled with gut issues and chronic stress. I was constantly pushing, constantly producing, but rarely slowing down. I knew deep down that I wasn’t meant to stay in the corporate world and I was going to work for myself one day. I wanted more than survival — I wanted alignment, vitality, and purpose.
In January of 2024, I enrolled in a 1 year holistic health coaching program (Institute of Integrative Nutrition) while working, I hired an energy/business coach to help me with my exit plan, I paid off all my debts, and in December 2024, I officially left corporate life.
Right after quitting, I gave myself space. I traveled to Europe for two months — trained for a fitness competition with friends and visited extended family in the mountains of Spain. That time reconnected me to my roots and my body. When I returned home, I gave myself a month to settle and start building the foundation for my business — integrating everything I had learned and lived through.
Then, in May, I traveled to Bali for a month to complete my Somatic Dance Facilitator certification. That experience cracked me open. I released years of pent-up emotions, connected to my body in ways I never had before, and let go of so much emotional and energetic weight I had been carrying. I danced, I cried, I healed — and I came home to myself.
Now, as I prepare to return home, I feel more clear, grounded, and inspired than ever. I’m building a holistic health coaching business rooted in everything I’ve lived and learned — guiding others through gut detoxes, 1:1 coaching containers, and plan to host somatic dance events that help people reconnect with their bodies and heal from the inside out.
This journey hasn’t been linear — it’s been layered, alive, and deeply personal. But every step, every struggle, every release has led me right here. And I’m ready to serve!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many challenges. Growing up, we didn’t have much. My family worked incredibly hard to raise us and just get by. That shaped me — it gave me grit, but also a deep sense of responsibility that I carried into adulthood, sometimes to my own detriment.
In my corporate years, I looked successful on paper, but internally I was struggling. Chronic gut issues, burnout, and a sense of disconnection from myself were constant. It took years of unlearning — and a lot of courage — to finally give myself permission to walk away from a stable career and pursue a path that felt aligned with my soul.
Another big challenge was identity — letting go of who I thought I “should” be. For a long time, I attached my worth to productivity and financial security. Choosing a nontraditional path — holistic health, somatic dance, entrepreneurship — brought up and still do bring up fears of failure, fears of not being understood, and sometimes imposter syndrome.
There was also the challenge of starting over. Quitting my job in December 2024 meant rebuilding everything — structure, income, identity. There were moments of deep fear, uncertainty, and doubt. But I trust my body. I trust the vision. And I keep showing up, step by step.
Traveling alone has helped heal old emotional wounds, sitting with myself in silence, and facing what I used to avoid — those moments were hard, but necessary. And they’ve made me stronger, more compassionate, and more embodied than ever before.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but it’s been deeply meaningful. Every challenge has become a chapter in the story I now want to help others write for themselves — one of reconnection, courage, and coming home to who they really are.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a certified Holistic Health Coach and a Somatic Dance Facilitator. I create gut detoxes for people to connect with their bodies and soul and feel more alive and aligned!
I also just got certified to be Somatic dance facilitator in Bali, and I plan on hosting somatic dance events and weaving this into my 1:1 containers to help people connect to their bodies.
I also am in the middle of building a signature program later this year that will contain holistic health, life coaching, and the somatic dance along with personal training.
I am most proud of my courage. To step out of the mold, to continue to pave the way for myself and others to live a truly authentic life to them, to inspire others and myself to do what they love. To keep going every single day. And be proud of following what is true for them.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I’d say I am big risk taker. I took a risk in going to college. I remember my grandmother telling me we can’t afford college and to enlist in the army. I remember thinking she was crazy and knew I could go to college and graduate. So I went to the guidance counselors office everyday to learn the college application process and ultimately graduated from Montclair State University with a Psychology Major and Business Minor.
I took a risk in studying abroad. I studied abroad in Spain my junior year of college. It was my first time ever leaving the country and living with a host family. I worked for a year to save up for the program and to complete all the paperwork. It was one of the best decisions of my life and opened my world to travel.
I took a risk buying my home in 2020. I had only $11k saved up and needed to ask my grandfather for a loan just to show the mortgage company I had enough money saved. Closed on my condo in 2020, was house poor, and started hustling hard at work and that is when I started seeing my financial growth. Buying my home made me level up for sure because I knew it was all on me to keep my home and how important it was to me.
I took a risk on quitting my corporate job, I made really great money, could travel, buy whatever I wanted, and had some flexibility. But I still knew it was really not right for me. And decided to get out.
I think taking risks put us outside of our comfort zone, they make us level up, they get us to embrace the unknown, and a lot of the biggest risks I have taken in my life have played out WAY better than I ever imagined. It has opened doors I never knew were even possible. It has brought me my life today which I truly love.
If you feel nervous and excited at the same time, that’s the sweet spot for GROWTH!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: izzymontanaaa
