Hi! My name is Oksana, or Oksi, as my friends call me. This newsletter is called OksiGen Health, and I want to tell you where that name came from. Oksi is short for Oksana. Gen comes from generate. Put them together and you get something close to oxygen, which felt right, because this name is ultimately about breath, fuel, energy, about what actually keeps a person running, and what quietly drains them without them noticing.
How it all started.
Do you remember the reappraisal of values that came in the wake of the 2020 pandemic? That moment when the world paused, and we were forced to ask what really matters? For me, it ignited something deep, a passion for mental and physical well-being that I just cannot ignore.
One day it simply struck me. Here was this virus no one fully understood, no clear cure in sight. And I thought: I may not control the world, but I can strengthen my body. I can support my immune system, and also I can take responsibility for what’s within my reach.
So, I began with daily yoga, meditation, and I completely revamped my nutrition. My kitchen turned into an experimental lab, full of new, vibrant recipes. I paid attention to sleep, to stress, to how I felt after certain foods, certain conversations, certain habits, and I never felt better.
At the same time, this reappraisal led me into the fascinating world of psychology. I read “Solve for Happy” by Mo Gawdat, and it shifted how I see the world. I also admire the powerful work of Alla Klymenko, and through her course, “Resilience for Ukrainians,” I was introduced to a truly wonderful expert, Neha Sangwan, I read her book “Powered by Me: From Burned Out to Fully Charged at Work and in Life,” and for the first time I encountered the concept of functional medicine.
The idea was simple but profound: instead of isolating symptoms and treating them one by one, look for the root cause. Ask why the imbalance is happening in the first place.
In the foreword, Mark Hyman, wrote about this systems-based, root-cause approach to health. I started following his work, listening to his podcasts, reading his books. And that’s when something clicked.
I realized that what I had been intuitively doing since 2020 (supporting my gut, regulating my nervous system, prioritizing sleep, reducing inflammation through food, examining stress patterns), this was the very essence of functional medicine. I just didn’t have the name for it yet.
What functional medicine and functional medicine health coaching actually mean.
If you have never heard the term before, here is the short version. Functional medicine looks for the root cause behind how you feel, rather than just managing the symptom. Fatigue, brain fog, and burnout are treated as information, not just inconveniences to push through. The question is never just what is wrong. It is why.
That single shift in framing changes almost everything about how you approach your own health. It turns your body from something you tolerate into something you get curious about.
Functional Medicine Health Coaching is the root-cause approach to human performance. Here is the typical scenario: someone tells you what to do, and then you try it, and then you stop, because nothing changes. Sound familiar?
Starting with the full system and gathering data, like sleep, energy, nutrition, movement, stress, history, and then finding the root cause, not the loudest symptom lies at the heart of functional medicine. After that, it helps to build a protocol specific to one’s architecture, not a one-size-fits-all patch, with motivational interviewing, positive psychology, and behavior change methodology.
A small thing to try this week.
I do not want this newsletter to just be ideas without action, so here is one small thing to try before the next issue. Tomorrow morning, before you open your laptop or check your phone, spend two minutes deeply breathing.
Try four seconds in, four seconds out, or the box breathing technique: inhale for four seconds, pause for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, pause for four seconds. Just you and your breath, and a few minutes of being a person before you become a professional for the day.
It sounds almost too small to matter. It is not. Our breath is powerful in anchoring us to the here and now and switching our nervous system into parasympathetic mode.
What is coming next.
A few weeks ago, I opened a handful of free 1:1 coaching sessions to test what this work could look like in practice. Every seat filled faster than I expected, and the conversations I have had since have only made me more certain that this is the work I am meant to be doing.
From here, two things are coming. I will be opening individual and group coaching sessions in September, and subscribers here will hear about it first, before I open it up more broadly. I am building something I am genuinely excited about, a safe space for professionals to talk more about rebuilding energy through the everyday factors that actually move the needle: sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress recovery. Built for curious people.
Before you go.
Thank you for being here for issue one. If any part of this resonated, I would love to hear which part in the comments.
And if you know someone else who is passionate about their health and wellness, who is curious about their own strengths, their vision for life, and their values, and who wants real steps to get there, feel free to share this with them too.
More soon, Oksi
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and nothing in this newsletter is medical advice or a diagnosis. This content is shared for educational purposes only, based on my own experience and ongoing training in functional medicine health coaching. Please consult your own healthcare provider before making changes to your care.