Category: holistic health

why am I still binge eating in HA recovery 2

Why am I still binge eating in HA recovery?

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This post is inspired by someone I spoke to yesterday but I’ve been asked similar questions many times before. Often it comes from women in recovery from Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA) who are on the journey of recovering their natural menstrual cycles. They have changed their diet, cut back on exercise and gained healthy weight. But still they experience binge eating episodes which impact their physical and mental health. They are left wondering “why am I still binge eating?” when they thought they were doing everything right.

“Characteristics of a binge eating episode can include eating much faster than normal, eating until feeling uncomfortably full, eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry, eating alone through embarrassment at the amount being eaten, and feelings of disgust, shame or guilt during or after the binge.”

This dysregulated eating pattern can certainly play a role in the hormonal imbalances which lead to HA and other menstrual cycle issues.

Binge eating due to physical hunger

The only element from this definition I would remove when talking about women with HA is the part about not being physically hungry. Often, in those who binge as a result of restriction (current or historical), physical hunger does play a major role in triggering binge eating episodes. It can be that beginning eating in response to an initial physical hunger signal leads to eating unusual amounts of food, continuing long after the physical hunger has passed.

For many women in recovery, there is an initial period of extreme hunger where their appetite appears to be insatiable. The physical hunger may not be what a “normal eater” experiences day to day. However it’s definitely driven by a deep hunger signal from the physical body. Usually once the nutritional rehabilitation is complete and the body is truly satisfied, the binge eating stops naturally. However, this may take longer than many women expect or hope for.

why am I still binge eating in HA recovery
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why am I still binge eating in HA recovery 2
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Why am I binge eating in HA recovery?

If you are in HA recovery and you still experience binge eating you might be wondering why. Especially if you have been providing your body with enough food for a while. Or if you have reached or even surpassed a healthy weight for your body. You might be waiting patiently for your menstrual cycle to return. Or maybe you have already had a few recovery periods. Perhaps you are in quasi-recovery where you have made progress but are still not quite where you want to be..

In my experience, there are a few common causes of binge eating in HA recovery. These are the same reasons why someone might experience binge eating before recovery too. If your body is giving you regular signals to eat unusual amounts of food and you find yourself asking “why am I still binge eating?” long into HA recovery, it’s a sign something isn’t right. Some of the common “binge foods” are:

  • Whole jars of nut butter
  • Boxes of cereal
  • Packets of biscuits or crackers
  • High calorie fruits such as dates
  • Sweets, crisps or chocolate

These are all foods that the body understands to be quick and dense sources of calories. This gives us a hint as to why someone might still be binge eating.

Why am I still binge eating? Reason 1: Not enough calories or nutrients

This one might seem obvious and yet at the same time, it’s elusive. You might feel you are eating enough and the right types of foods but are you really? But what are you basing your ideas of “enough” and “right” on? Many women with HA don’t trust their own bodies and so often they outsource this knowledge. They rely on calculators or follow specific diets which tell them how much and what to eat. This creates a feeling of safety and control. Everything will be ok if I just follow X, Y and Z rule.

I see women who recover from HA by increasing their calorie intake whilst following restrictive diets. For example, vegan, keto, paleo, gluten-free, sugar-free, whole 30 just to name a few. It’s definitely possible to recover your period on any of these restrictive diets. But it’s a fine line between holding onto mental restriction and food rules vs. following a diet because it truly supports your optimal health.

Thinking about the list of common binge foods above, some are higher in fat and others in carbohydrates. The go-to usually depends in some cases on what the body is missing or in others what you consider acceptable based on the current dietary rules. For example, someone following a keto diet could find themselves binge eating foods high in carbohydrates. OR they might consume large amounts of high fat foods in an unsuccessful attempt to satisfy their bodies’ need for carbohydrates. Hopefully that makes sense!

I find that any diet which is too strict usually causes an issue at some point. I’m all for having some general dietary principles to guide us. In fact I think it’s necessary for each of us to find a sustainable lifestyle philosophy that works for us. However, when rules become too binding and we feel like we are doing something wrong when we break them, it’s not ok. There is simply no right or wrong way to eat and buying into any dietary dogma and food fear never works in the long-term.

Why am I still binge eating? Reason 2: Over exercising

Over-exercising is another trigger for binge eating that I see commonly in clients. It was an issue for me too at the start of my recovery from HA. After taking a complete break from intense exercise and getting three recovery periods, I decided it was time to get fit again. I jumped back into a workout routine and BAM my period disappeared. I also started to experience binge eating episodes again when previously my appetite had balanced out completely.

This was a major red flag for me and luckily I was committed enough to the journey to do something about it. I knew that long term health and balance was my goal. So I was prepared to accept being patient for a little longer. I stopped exercising and went back to my recovery routine of walking and yoga. My appetite quickly stabilised, I stopped having urges to binge eat and the following month I got my period again. I see this exact same pattern with women I work with time and time again.

There appears to be a sweet spot for exercise intensity for women. Up to a point, exercise helps to suppress appetite and has many health benefits. However, high intensity exercise leads to increased appetite. Interestingly, this is not the same for men! In women with HA, I see that returning to high intensity exercise often leads to binge eating episodes with energy intake way above that burned via the exercise. I know, it might not seem fair. But if you want to train like an athlete you need to fuel, rest and reduce stressors like an athlete would too.

Why am I still binge eating? Reason 3: Emotional dysregulation

Finally, another trigger of binge eating episodes is emotional dysregulation. For many women with HA, binge eating becomes a way to relieve uncomfortable emotions, particularly stress and anxiety. Eating large amounts of food in one sitting has a numbing, soothing effect. It helps to calm down the nerves, and is a distraction from racing thoughts. Unfortunately, this usually only lasts for a short while until the shame and guilt of over-eating kick in. Then anxiety can rise even higher and the cycle continues.

HA recovery is an emotional rollercoaster in itself. For many women it’s an unravelling, a time when their whole identity and belief system is called into question. Who are you now you are no longer the “fit one” or the “health freak”? How do you move around the world in this new recovery body? Is everyone thinking that you’ve let yourself go? These questions are often swimming around on the surface or deep within the sub-conscious of women with HA.

So for some, binge eating can become a way to self-regulate through this difficult time. Especially when there aren’t adequate emotional-management tools and support systems in place. Even in women who are nourishing their body and taking plenty of rest, binge eating can come an emotional crutch. However, it’s a double edged sword as the effects of binge eating on the metabolism, hormonal balance and also self-esteem tend to out-weight the benefits. It can easily become a catch 22 situation.

So what’s going on with you?

So if you find that you are still binge eating in HA recovery, I hope that this post gives you some ideas as to why. It could be one of these, a combination of all three or something else entirely! Only you know the truth for you. In coaching I help woman to drop into their internal wisdom system and find the answers. It’s up to them to then go and put this into practice consistently.

The same reasons apply if you are still on the fence about starting recovery and you are experiencing restriction and binge eating cycles. Each of you are individuals with a unique history and physical constitution. So your HA recovery will not look like anyone else’s. If you are committed though I believe it is possible for every woman to recover her natural cycles and find that sustainable, balanced lifestyle that she is longing for.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me 1-2-1 to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We will create a plan tailored to your individual needs and vision for your health. I will then be there for support, guidance and accountability as you work towards your goals!

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Client success! Elise’s period recovery story

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To celebrate 50k views at Moon Life, I wanted to share something special with you all that I don’t usually do. Today I will share the recovery story of one of my lovely clients, Elise. This beautiful soul came to me last year because she wanted to recover her missing period which had disappeared after falling into restrictive eating patterns. She was ready to heal her relationship with food and her body and get her period back.

I know that these period recovery stories are inspiring and great motivation for anyone on this path. So I asked Elise if she would be kind enough to share her story here on my blog. She is also incredibly insightful and has a way her experiences and emotions through her writing. I hope her recovery story speaks to you and offers you a glimmer of light if you are finding this journey tough or you feel that it’s not going as perfectly as it “should”.

Elise’s recovery story: The Nature of Recovery

“It’s like you have a shield in front of you. Imagine if you let down that shield.”

The eating disorder was my shield. It was like a protector from everything I could not control in my life. If I felt like my work was not perfect, then I tried to make my food perfect. The smaller I got, the more obsessed I became with feeling like I could control something and that I could achieve something. The achievement of being smaller was a way to isolate myself from the world, to not have to confront the uncertainty of life.

My eating disorder became my preoccupation. People became bodies to compare myself with and the voices inside of my head grew noisier and noisier. What was I going to eat later? Was the food I was eating too much? How would I reject food if someone offered it to me? Holding onto these thoughts and behaviors were painful and each night when I told myself I would do better, I still chose to make the same decisions the next day.

Recovery is not a linear process, but it starts when you decide to make a change and act on it. At one point, I went to Italy with a friend, and she saw that I was struggling. She told me she had been there and that she promised it wouldn’t be like this forever. Hearing her say that and seeing how she recovered made me believe that I could too. Moreso, it was a moment where I realized that this was not how I wanted my life to be.

I woke up each morning feeling like I had been run over by a truck and even with no energy in me, I got on my yoga mat and did pilates. My spine hurt when I rolled, my knees felt sharp pains in them, and it felt like sometimes my bones were popping out of their socket when I walked. Getting ready in the morning meant checking the flatness of my stomach and wrapping my hands around my arms or my thighs to see if they were thin enough.

My camera roll became photos of salads, comprised of lettuce, beans, and avocado. The photos became another thing to stare at for hours, wondering if it was too much. My body was crying for help. I had dug myself into a hole and I was trying to get out but the hole was deep, a culmination of years of negative childhood impressions around food, a desire for self-perfection, and a strong obsessive mentality that was fixated on food, exercise, and remaining thin.

How dark does life need to get before you seek help? The “I’m not sick enough”
mentality constantly permeated in my mind. The state of my body was not in its equilibrium. It did not feel safe and so it stopped my periods to help keep me warm, even though I was always freezing. It stopped my periods to help me think, even though most times I could hardly think clearly. It stopped my periods to help keep me alive.

Not having my period made me think a lot about what it means to have a period and to be a woman. It made me reflect a lot on how much I wanted children and how much I wanted to be a good role model for them one day. Not having my period made realize that my body was shutting down and so was my life. At one point, I remember saying I have had enough. I need to make a change. I tried to get myself out of the hole I had dug, but some holes are too deep and you need someone to throw you down a rope to help you climb out.

Over a year had passed without a period before I decided to get help. Journaling became a big part of my recovery. Hearing the way I talked to myself and changing the narrative became a big part of recovery. Self compassion and perseverance became another really big part. I never stopped trying to do better for myself. After four months of recovery with myself and Amy, I got my period. I got it three months in a row, and it was exciting to see how far I had come.

While now it has been over two months since I have had one, I know recovery is not a linear process. It takes time and patience for your period and your mind to feel normal again. Now, when I see myself slipping, the hole I fall into is less deep. I know as long as I keep reminding myself that I can be healthy, have a healthy relationship with food, and love my body, that sooner or later when I slip, I won’t fall into a hole but I will be there to catch myself before I fall.

Life is about becoming the best versions of ourselves. I have learned it’s okay to let down the shield. Feel the fear and do it anyways.

My thoughts

Can you hear yourself in her words? Maybe your story is different but can you recognise something? What I can say is that after working with many women desiring to recover their periods, is that this idea of perfection is nearly always involved. It played a big part in my story too. Wanting everything to be perfect and organised and never feeling like we measure up to the standards we set for ourselves.

This idea of perfection can then creep into recovery too. We feel that we are not doing well enough if we don’t do recovery “right” or if our period isn’t perfectly regular every month once it comes back. Or we can even feel that we aren’t “perfectly sick enough” to deserve to begin this healing journey. But there can be no perfect recovery story. Or more like, every story is perfect and plays out exactly as it should for us to learn the lessons we need to learn.

Elise’s story is not unusual. She is a great example of the results you can have if you really commit to this work. What is possible when you are open to reflecting on your beliefs, thoughts and behaviours mindfully and witnessing your own patterns without self-blame and judgement. So many of the stories we tell ourselves and the thought patterns we fall into don’t belong to us or simply aren’t true. But they stick and as time passes we become more and more attached to them.

Unravelling these messy entanglements doesn’t happen overnight. But it does happen slowly and surely. One step at a time. And eventually years later you look back and see just how far you have come. I still do this today, many years after I considered my personal recovery story to be over. Some days I reflect on who and where I was before and the journey I’ve been on and I’m still amazed.

So thank you Elise for sharing your recovery story. I’m so proud of you and excited for what’s to come!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me 1-2-1 to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We will create a plan tailored to your individual needs and vision for your health. I will then be there for support, guidance and accountability as you work towards your goals, whether that is recovering your period, healing your relationship with food and your body, overcoming hormonal imbalances or increasing your fertility naturally.

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How can I get my period back quickly and easily?

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One of the questions I get asked the most by women is how can I get my period back? I get it, missing periods can be worrying. Even if you are not trying to get pregnant, irregular menstrual cycles are a sign that something is not quite right with your health. It’s always a good idea to visit your doctor first if your cycles have been missing for 3 months or more. They may carry out an ultra-sound scan or check the levels of hormones in your blood. This will allow them to see if there is any medical condition which could be causing your missing periods.

In many cases, missing periods (aka amenorrhea) is functional and a temporary state. Functional amenorrhea can be caused by:

  • Under nutrition i.e. not eating enough or the right things
  • Over exercise or not fueling your body adequately for your exercise level
  • Losing a lot of weight quickly or being underweight for your body type
  • Short or long term stress
  • Being on or just coming off birth control

So how can I get my period back?

In this post I will share the basics of how to get your period back in a holistic way by looking at 3 elements: diet, exercise and stress management. In my experience, these basics are enough to support 90% of women with functional amenorrhea to get their periods back.

#1 Diet

Nutrition plays a key role in your overall health and ability to produce the right amount of hormones. If you are trying to get your period back, it is so important to make sure you are eating enough energy and macro nutrients on a consistent basis. This means regular meals and snacks at least every 3-4 hours containing a balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein.

The exact amount of energy you need will depend on your height, weight, body type and your activity level. You may also need to eat more than you usually would in order to heal your body and to get your period back. Now is not the ideal time for low-fat, low-carb, keto or vegan diets. If you want to recover your missing periods as quickly as possible it is best to let go of all food rules and restrictions while you heal.

Eating a wide variety of foods will also help you to cover your vitamin and mineral requirements. These are important for correct hormone production but also help your cells to produce energy and for your body to grow healthy hair, skin and nails. Some of the common nutrient deficiencies I see in women with missing periods are copper, zinc, B vitamins, vitamin D, calcium and magnesium.

If you need support with nutrition to get your period back, I have created a Period Recovery e-book. This guide to getting your period back includes 27 recipes and a 7 day meal plan designed to meet your nutritional needs and support hormonal balance. I also offer personalised meal plans and eating recovery coaching via my 1-2-1 programs if you need more individual attention and support on your period recovery journey.

#2 Exercise

The second key element in the journey to getting your period back is to address your exercise. Are you working out too much or too hard? We are made to believe as women that we must be super lean and that we should be in the gym every day if we want to be healthy. Unfortunately, often this goes too far and women are exercising like crazy without providing their body with enough fuel to balance it out.

Many of the women who come to me with missing periods are doing lots of cardio, HIIT workouts or exercising in the morning before breakfast. What they don’t realise is that exercise is a stress on the body, especially when it is high intensity or long duration. If you are working out regularly, you need to take extra care to support recovery with adequate fuel and rest. Yes, moderate exercise has many benefits for our physical and mental health. But when taken too far it can create additional stress which can lead to missing periods.

Do I need to give up exercise to get my period back? Usually the answer is no but if you are exercising at a high level you will likely need to reduce the intensity and frequency of your workouts until your period returns. Walking, yoga, pilates, dance and leisurely biking are all great ways to move your body while you are healing your hormones. These lower intensity workouts combined with plenty of rest and relaxation are ideal to help you get your period back.

exercise-during-ha-recovery
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#3 Stress management

Finally, but no less important to getting your period back is stress management. Stress can be a tricky one to cover as often we feel like our stress levels are out of our control. It is true that sometimes external stressors are present which we cannot change. For example, illness in the family, moving house, the loss of a job or the end of a relationship. In these moments, all we can do is do our best and find ways to manage the stressful emotions we feel.

Yoga, meditation, journaling, art, music and time in nature are all great ways to reconnect with your spirit during stressful times. Incorporating stress management tools such as these as well as traditional tools such as therapy and counselling are just as important as your diet and exercise if you want to get your period back. They can help to reduce the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone which can cause disruption to your entire hormonal system if it is too high for too long.

As well as external stressors, you also have internal stressors which can effect your sense of wellbeing. This includes the way you speak to yourself and the story you tell yourself about the things that are happening in your life. An over active inner critic, a victim mentality and the tendency to over work, rush or pressure yourself are just a few examples of internal stressors which can contribute to high stress levels and missing periods.

get my period back

In my 3 and 6 month Total Nourishment coaching programs, I provide you with tools such as restorative yoga, guided meditation and journaling activities to support you in reducing your stress and tackling some of the mental and emotional challenges that you may face on your period recovery journey.

How long will it take to get my period back?

I am adding this as it’s another question I get asked so often. Unfortunately it’s so hard to say! How long it will take to get your period back depends on many factors including your health history and how consistent you are with your recovery efforts. What I will say is that for clients who are ready to go “all in”, the typical recovery time is 3-6 months. Sometimes it can be faster than this, others need longer to heal. Back in 2017 when I was recovering my own period, it took 4 months to get my period back from the day that I finally discovered the right path to heal. I hope this offers you some encouragement if you are currently on or about the embark on this journey!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me 1-2-1 to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We will create a plan tailored to your individual needs and vision for your health. I will then be there for support, guidance and accountability as you work towards your goals!

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HA recovery: All you need to know!

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Recently I updated my website and it changed the way my blog posts show up. I realised it might be difficult for those of you looking for information on HA recovery as most of the post were written a while back now. So I wanted to put together a quick summary of my posts about Hypothalamic Amenorrhea and how to get your period back.

I haven’t written as much about HA recovery lately but I intend to revise these old posts and create new ones for you too. There’s so much that I couldn’t put into words back then that I want to express. It’s also been over 5 years since I got my period back after 8 years of Hypothalamic Amenorrhea. So much has changed about the way I live and think since then. I think it’s about time for an update!

andros island batsi beach
batsi andros island sunset

One of the biggest changes is that I am now a qualified Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher and Women’s Wellness Coach. All of this suffering and growth I went through had to mean something. I realised that my purpose in life was to share and support other women and going through HA recovery to heal and get their life back as well as their periods.

As well as HA recovery coaching, I also help women with other hormonal imbalances such as irregular periods, PMS, PCOS and unexplained fertility. I practice fertility yoga, menstrual cycle awareness and pro-metabolic Ayurvedic inspired nutrition. My teachers and inspirations include Uma Dinsmore Tuli, Ana Davis, Bobby Clennell, Nicola Rinaldi and Ray Peat.

HA recovery blog archives

Here are quick links to all my blog posts on HA recovery. As I post new ones they will also show up here so save this page to stay updated! If you have any questions relating to HA recovery that you would like answering or you would like to hear my thoughts on please drop me a message. I am here to guide and support you with love where ever you are in this journey!

HA recovery coaching

I welcome women who are looking to recover their periods into my nutrition and wellness coaching programs. The journey to HA recovery is not just about food. It’s about learning to nourish yourself on all levels: body mind and spirit. In coaching I am there to listen to your story and your deepest fears and support your on your path to true wellbeing.

As some one who lived through years of restrictive dieting, over exercise, binge eating, weight control and anxiety, I understand how scary it can be to make changes. But I am also there to mirror to you what is possible after HA recovery. Food freedom, joyful movement, meaningful work and relationships and body acceptance are all waiting for you as well as regular menstrual cycles!

Yes there are some hurdles along the way. Deeply held beliefs about your worthiness and what you are allowed to receive in this life. Fears of not being loved, accepted or successful if you “let yourself go”. Confusion about how to live without tightly holding onto control, although this control is an illusion anyway. But overcoming these hurdles opens the way for more beautiful things to drop into your life – I promise!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. I support women through HA recovery and other hormonal issues. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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How to get your period back? 3 simple steps

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I started my first blog back in 2016 when I was going through a healing journey to recover my missing periods. Little did I know that this would be the trigger to transforming my whole life. Since then, I went back to school to study nutrition and trained as a yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. Now I help women overcome hormonal issues and rediscover their natural health and vitality. Today I want to share how to get your period back in 3 simple steps.

This is for those of you who have lost your periods due to Hypothalamic Amenorrhea. If you had regular periods and then your cycles stopped due to dieting, weight loss, intense exercise or stress then this post will explain how to get your period back.

How to get your period back after dieting

One of the main reasons that women lose their period is due to restrictive dieting. This can be either a sudden and dramatic decrease in calorie intake i.e. a crash diet. It can also happen after a long term smaller energy deficit, especially if you lose a lot of weight. When your body perceives that there is not enough energy coming in to meet it’s needs, it starts to panic. It doesn’t know that you are on a diet to lose weight for the summer or for your friend’s wedding. The poor thing thinks you are in a famine and wants to do everything it can to help you survive.

how to get your period back diet
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Your Hypothalamus is the master controller gland in your brain. It controls all of your metabolic processes by sending orders to other glands throughout your body. To conserve energy, your Hypothalamus tells your metabolism to down-regulate or shut down unnecessary processes. This can mean your core body temperature drops so you waste less energy as heat, leading to feeling cold all of the time. Your capacity to reproduce is not important during a famine when you need to survive. You stop sending the hormonal signals which produce your menstrual cycle.

So how to get your period back after dieting? The simple answer is to eat more! If you have been cutting calories, gradually increase your food intake to maintenance or higher. Your body cannot sustain a long period of intense dieting. If you are underweight or towards the lower end of the BMI scale, your body may not be happy and fertile at this weight. Or if you do have weight to lose, it’s better to diet in a cyclical way to help your body feel safe. Do you need help understanding how get your period back with food? Check out my period recovery meal plan where I have done all of the hard work for you.

How to get your period back after over exercise

Another common reason for women to lose their periods is due to over exercise. We are made to believe by the media and fitness industry that fit equals healthy. This is simply not true! You can be fit and unhealthy or equally healthy but unfit to a certain degree. Six pack abs, low body weight and endurance exercise all receive gold stars. However, women need a certain amount of body fat to be healthy and fertile. Female athletes often have a very low body fat percentage and many lose their periods as a result.

REDS (relative energy deficiency in sport) is when female athletes do not take in enough energy to meet their needs. Physical activity burns a lot of calories and so it is important for athletes to eat enough to fuel their sport. There is a lot of pressure for female athletes to stay thin either for practical reasons e.g. runners or aesthetic reasons e.g. ballerinas. This can lead to under eating over a long period of time. It is not only professional athletes that can experience this but also women who go to the gym regularly or participate in amateur sports.

how to get your period back exercise
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So how to get your period back after over-exercise? You guessed it! Take a break from exercise and make sure you are fueling your body. It really is as simple as that. The amount of time your body needs to rest will depend on many factors. A months’ break from intense exercise is probably the minimum, although some women need several months to heal. Low intensity activities such as walking in nature and yoga can be helpful to maintain fitness during this time. Why not join my online yoga class and join a like minded community focusing on true health over aesthetics.

Often clients ask me how to get their period back whilst still exercising. It’s true that some women are able to get their period back when switching from cardio to more strength based training. The worst culprit seems to be endurance training such as long distance running. It varies from woman to woman so the best thing is to listen to your body. Rather than being afraid of losing fitness, see it as a holistic healing retreat and chance for your body to heal any injuries or damage to come back even stronger!

How to get your period back after stress

The final reason for losing your menstrual cycle can be due to stress. Again this can be either a short period of intense stress such as a traumatic event, losing a loved one or physical injury. It can also be a longer period of lower level stress such as an intense job, family issues or mental health struggles. Too much stress from any source can affect your nervous system and trigger your periods to stop.

How to get your period ack after stress? Often what’s needed is patience. It’s first important to reduce the stresses in your life. You can do this my removing yourself from the stressful situation, finding resources to help you deal with the problem or by changing your perspective and mindset. Start by making a list of all the things you feel are stressful in your life. Then one by one decide whether you can do something about it or not.

For those you cannot change, ensure that you have enough support either from family or professionals such as a therapist or counselor. You can also use personal tools such as meditation, journaling, breathwork or spending time in nature to reduce stress. Sometimes our reaction to a situation can be more stressful than the event itself. For example, if we get ourselves worked up about starting a new job. Or if we let our self care slide following a period of change or uncertainty (ahem – the pandemic). So be sure to check in on your mindset and thinking patterns regularly.

My experience with missing periods

Personally, I lost my periods for 8 years due to a combination of all of these things. I was under-eating, over-exercising and putting too much pressure on myself to perform in school and work. I was a classic Type A personality and I wanted to be the best. Needing to be the thinnest, the smartest and the most successful led to A LOT of anxiety and mental strain.

Luckily, I discovered feminine energy yoga and resources for self-therapy. Over a few years I was able to let go of old limiting beliefs and unhealthy habits. Once I truly committed and went “all in” to the healing journey, I recovered my period after 4 months. It has been somewhat regular for the 5 years since. Tracking my cycles has helped me to see the impact of my lifestyle habits and external stress on my hormones. It’s so fascinating to me now – our bodies truly are amazing!

Summary

To recap: how to get your period back in 3 simple steps:

  1. Stop all restrictive dieting, eat enough for your body and nutritious food
  2. Take a break from intense exercise, especially endurance exercise such as running
  3. Reduce the stresses in your life and find tools to help you manage stress you can’t change

I hope this was helpful for those of you currently trying to get your period back. It can be a challenging time but also a beautiful period of transformation. I promise, the freedom you experience on the other side is so worth it!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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Powerful Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs to look out for

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It’s been over 5 years since I recovered my natural cycles after 8 years of missing periods aka Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (I explained what that is in this post). I remember feeling like I was doing all the right things to recover and just waiting for my period to return. It can be a long wait full of uncertainty and sometimes you just want a sign you are on the right track. So today I want to share a few Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs that indicate your body is healing and your period may be about to arrive!

Physical Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs

Part of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery process is reconnecting with your body. With all of my clients, not just women who want to recover their periods, body awareness meditations play a key role. It’s so easy to become disconnected from our bodies and their needs. This can happen due to working in front of a computer all day leading to numbness. We can also experience disconnection when we deny our bodies’ needs for too long e.g. chronic dieting or pushing through fatigue. One of the key Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs is feeling reconnected with your body and it’s sensations.

In general, this can mean knowing absolutely when you are hungry, thirsty or tired and exactly what you need. This might sound obvious to some but I am sure many of you understand how it feels to “lose touch” with your body. During Hypothalamic Amenorrhea you can feel so unsure and no longer trust the signals your body is sending you. Especially if you start the recovery process and feel that your appetite is out of control or you need to sleep all of the time. Building this trust with your body and accepting everything is so important to recovering your periods.

More specifically, experiencing sensations in the area of your womb is one of the most powerful Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs. If you are connected through this part of your body (e.g. through practicing regular womb meditations and breathwork) you will feel when the energy of your womb and sacral chakra come back online before your first period arrives. This can feel like tingling, warmth, heaviness or any other subtle sensation. It’s a deep inner knowing that comes via the physical body and makes you realise what a powerful energetic being you are!

woman suffering from a stomach pain
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Emotional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs

As well as physical changes, you will also likely experience emotional changes during the recovery process. Again there are two facets to this. Generally, one of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs is feeling more emotionally stable day to day. Recovery can be a bumpy road where you experience a rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes you can feel worse than before you started and that’s ok. Deciding to recover your period can bring up a lot of “stuff” as you face fears and challenge your beliefs.

What I experienced personally and see in other women is that once our hormones start to balance out and our period is due to arrive, some of this instability settles down. Partially this is due to a calming of the nervous system once you are well nourished and energy balance is restored. Less mental chatter around food and body weight fears will mean you experience less anxiety and feel calmer overall as you progress through your recovery. Your body and mind reach an equilibrium and it can be such a relief.

a person sitting on wooden planks across the lake scenery
Photo by S Migaj on Pexels.com

That said, another of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs is experiencing pre-menstrual symptoms. You might notice some long forgotten signs of feeling moody or irritable and wonder why. This can be particularly surprising if you have started to feel much better emotionally during recovery. It’s important to watch out for a period of feeling not yourself as this could be a sign that your period is about to arrive. Often, we don’t realise until afterwards that it was hormonal changes leading to us feeling off. But as a positive, cyclical mood changes can be a sign that your body is gearing up to menstruate again.

Measurable Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs

Finally, for those of you who like to track and measure things, one of the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs which is measurable is Basal Body Temperature (BBT). Often during Hypothalamic Amenorrhea, your metabolic rate is lower. Your hypothalamus detects that not enough energy is coming in and turns down the metabolic dials. This is what causes your reproductive hormones to shut down but your metabolic rate also decreases so that you waste less energy as heat.

This can mean that your core body temperature drops from the usual 36.6°C to less than 36°C. I explained more about this in a previous post about signs of a low metabolism. So tracking your BBT under the arm or tongue a few times a week can be a good way to keep an eye on your healing process. Ideally, you want your BBT to reach 36.6°C first thing in the morning before eating anything. If you are resting and eating enough food to restore your hormones, this should happen naturally over time.

Another interesting pattern to watch out for is a sudden rise in BBT. All ovulating women experience this temperature shift each cycle. After ovulation the body temperature can rise by around 0.5°C and remain there until menstruation. This is how the fertility awareness method works to identify ovulation and therefore fertile windows. Towards the end of my recovery process I downloaded a menstrual cycle tracking app to record by BBT. Before my first period I noticed this sudden and sustained shift in temperature and I got so excited as I knew I was on the right track and my first followed 2 weeks later!

Summary

I hope that understanding these Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery signs gives you confidence in your recovery process. I know how hard it can be to trust your body and wait but I promise you can heal. Your body is a powerful healing machine that it is designed to find balance once it has the right conditions. Keep listening and responding again and again. Build that connection with yourself and your physical body and wait for the miracle to occur. I promise it will be worth it!

Not sure what to eat to recover your period? Check out my period recovery meal plan!

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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The simple path towards better health in all areas

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When you start out on the journey to better heath it can be difficult to know where to start. Should you focus on eating a more nutritious diet or try moving your body? Maybe start a meditation practice or develop your personal relationships? These are all great ways to improve your health which can lead to more energy, happier outlook and greater life satisfaction. But what if I told you that there is one thing which can lead you to better health in all areas?

In my experience the practice of self-study or Svadhyaya (svad-ee-ya-ya) is the foundational practice which can help you to make positive changes and “level up” your life experience.

What is Svadhyaya?

Svadhyaya is one of the niyamas intoduced in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. They are the duties or observances described in the eight-limbed path of ashtanga yoga. Svadhyaya is the practice of self-study or self-reflection, sometimes with the help of spiritual books. Practicing self-study means to observe yourself from an outside, non-judgmental seat. You start to witness your habitual thoughts, feelings and behaviours. With consistent, dedicated practice you eventually start to understand the true nature of your being.

How can self-study lead to better health?

Through self-study you start to see the stories you tell yourself on a daily basis. We all have our stories that have arrived as a result of past experiences and our emotional reactions to them. These stories can loop around our minds and affect our choices and actions. They create energy blockages in our body-mind system where our attention is partially distracted at all times.

When energy is tied up in these blockages, it is not available to direct towards other areas of your life. This can lead to unsatisfying relationships, work, hobbies and self-image. You don’t feel good about yourself and you are not fully present to make the most of your experiences.

Energy blockages can also prevent you from taking action to improve your health. You have a limited amount of energy available to use and some of it is leaking away by keeping these stories alive. This leaves less energy for healthy lifestyle habits such as preparing healthy food, moving your body and nurturing your interests and relationships.

In many cases our stories can keep us stuck in habits that are not serving us. No matter what are intentions are, our habits are what shape the actions we take and the outcomes we see. Witnessing our stories and releasing ourselves from their ties can liberate us to make choices that are aligned with our goals and values.

Release your stories to find better health

Identifying the stories which are holding you back can help you to make lasting changes and better health in all areas by changing the way you think, feel and show up in the world every day. Some examples of stories which can prevent you from finding better health:

You hold the story that you are boring and unlikeable. In your interactions with others you will be partially distracted worrying about what they think of you. Instead of being yourself and interacting authentically there will seem to be a barrier between yourself and others.

You hold the story that you’re not physically attractive. When you present yourself you will be constantly distracted by worrying about how you look. This will be reflected in your posture and the energy you give out and will dim your natural beauty and attractiveness.

You hold the story that exercise must be intense and no pain no gain. When you exercise you will be tense and stressed and end up pushing yourself too hard. You will be unable to enjoy the process and reap the benefits for your mental wellbeing. Eventually you will burn out and give up altogether.

You hold the story that thin = healthy. You will make choices that focus on losing weight believing this is what it takes to be healthy. In doing so you might neglect other areas of your health such as skipping workouts when your body needs to rest and enjoying tasty but less healthy food with loved ones.

These are just a few simple examples. Take time to reflect on the stories YOU tell yourself and feel free to share with the community in the comments below.

My experience

Personally, the practice of self-study is the one thing that finally helped me to move into a place of true wellbeing. In the past I thought that restrictive dieting, intense exercise and pushing myself to succeed was the way to better health. On the outside I might have looked fit and healthy but inside I experienced intense fear around food, chronic insomnia and anxiety, zero energy, poor digestion, failing relationships because I focused on my obsessive healthy lifestyle over socialising with friends.

I held multiple stories that all led down the same path – that I wasn’t good enough as I was. That I had to try harder, be better, do more. In the end none of this ever led to true health. The situation got worse and worse until I eventually hit the breaking point. And this was when yoga arrived in my life to save the day! Since then, regular practice of self-study, along with the other elements of the yogic path, I’ve found a deeper acceptance of myself and better health in all areas of my life. I never expected that by letting go, freeing myself of these stories and allowing myself to go with the flow would have such an impact but it did!

So what are the stories that you are telling yourself every day and what habits are they leading to? Are there stories that are keeping you from true acceptance and love for yourself? Are there stories which are preventing you from taking action that could lead you to better health? Taking the time to reflect on this will help to you realise what you truly need and how to get there.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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low cortisol causes

Low cortisol causes and how to feel better

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High cortisol gets all the limelight because of its reputation as a stress hormone. But when our cortisol levels fall too low or when they are low at the wrong times of day (i.e. in the morning when we need it to wake up) then it can be just as debilitating. Low cortisol causes us to feel tired, weak and unmotivated.

  • Fatigue and weakness
  • Low blood pressure
  • Blood sugar irregularity
  • Low mood and irritability
  • Electrolyte imbalances
  • Often sick

Basically we can feel in a zombie state because our body needs a certain amount of cortisol to get up and go.

Low cortisol causes

How can we end up with low cortisol? It can happen due to organic problems with organs such as the adrenal glands which produce cortisol or the pituitary gland which sends the signal to stimulate cortisol production. In this case there are dectectable inflammation or damage to the tissues which can be measured with medical tests. Low cortisol causes can also be functional conditions where there is no visible problem with the tissue but it is not functioning as it should be.

There are several causes of low cortisol including:

  • Addison’s disease (adrenal)
  • Congenital hyperplasia (adrenal)
  • Pituitary gland failure e.g. brain injury or tumour
  • Chronic stress

The first three low cortisol causes are conditions you need to work with a medical professional. Today I will focus on the final one – stress. Low cortisol can occur after a long period of stress (high cortisol) when we reach what is commonly known as the burnout state.

low cortisol causes

In this case, cortisol levels will be unlikely to fall to levels that your doctor would consider a “medical emergency” but still low enough to affect the way you feel and function in your life.

The mechanism of low cortisol in the burnout state is not fully understood even within functional medicine. One theory is that either the adrenal glands which produce cortisol and other hormones can’t keep up and eventually fail to produce enough. This is known as adrenal fatigue in the alternative health world.

The other theory is that you continue to produce cortisol but after a while our cells become resistant to its effects. You might be left with that “tired but wired” feeling or feel like every minor stressor sends you into a meltdown. Without adequate cortisol to give us that warrior mentality we become much less resilient and more sensitive to stress.

What to do if you have low cortisol

Whatever the cause of low cortisol, it’s not a fun state to be in! If you think you might have low cortisol, you can consider a saliva based test. Forth offer these as postal tests for any of you living in the UK, I like the phrase “test don’t guess” and it can be helpful to have a baseline measurement before implementing any changes. That way you can more easily see what is working and what isn’t.

However there are some helpful lifestyle changes you can make to help raise cortisol naturally. These are generally low risk so you can try them even if you aren’t sure if you have low cortisol. The most important thing to do if you are experiencing low cortisol (besides speaking to your doctor) is to reduce your stress levels as much as possible. You can also support your body with good nutrition and nourishing practices such as restorative yoga and yoga nidra.

For nutrition I recommend the same protocol as for high cortisol to restore the nutrients lost through stress – check out this post for more info. Eating regularly to support blood sugar balance is also especially important when dealing with low cortisol. By this I mean balanced meals and snacks every 3 hours, making sure to combine carbs with fat or protein (or both) every time you eat. Making sure to incorporate adequate electrolytes too and by that I mean don’t be afraid to salt your food!

Some other lifestyle tips for boosting low cortisol:

  • Dance or zumba to raise energy levels and cortisol
  • Get enough sunlight especially in the morning hours
  • Relaxation and gentle yoga before bed to improve sleep
  • Breathwork practices focusing on the inhale to boost energy

Supplements for low cortisol causes

My favourite 2 supplements for adrenal health are Ashwaganda and Shilajit. Ashwaganda or Indian ginseng is an adapagenic herb which is used in Ayurveda to support the body during times of stress. It may help to reduce anxiety, improve sleep and balance cortisol levels. Shilajit is an amazing natural supplement for remineralising after periods of stress. It contains the full spectrum of natural elements plus fulvic acid which supports delivery of nutrients to the cell.

I really don’t recommend taking a lot of supplements as it can overburden the liver. It’s much better to take one or 2 high quality supplements targeted to your needs. I found a great supplement from a UK company called Nature Provides which includes both Ashwanganda and Shilajit and it’s now my go to. The recommended serving is 2 capsules but 1 gives 500mg of Shilajit which is already enough and means this bottle lasts 3 months.

Another great supplement for low blood pressure related to low cortisol is licorice. This can be taken as licorice tea or in tablet form if you don’t like the taste. These could be very useful for any of you dealing with stress, adrenal fatigue or chronic fatigue but make sure to do your research and check with your doctor before adding any new supplements into your routine. Especially licorice it’s important to make sure you don’t have high blood pressure already before taking this supplement.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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How to lower levels of cortisol to elevate your health

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Today’s post is a summary of my recent social media posts on how to lower levels of cortisol through nutrition and yoga. In my nutrition and wellness coaching practice, I help women who are struggling with hormonal imbalances expressing as missing periods, unexplained infertility, PCOS, PMS or hypothyroid symptoms. These are all caused by levels of hormones which are either higher or lower than they should normally be.

As all hormones interact within the body, when one is off this can cause a cascade effect throughout the whole system. One of the main root causes of all of the hormonal conditions above is an imbalance in cortisol. In particular, high cortisol can impact levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and thyroid hormones through the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. This hormonal system has impacts on our metabolic, reproductive and immune systems just to name a few!

What is the problem with cortisol?

Cortisol is well known as the stress hormone but it actually does an important job keeping us alive. It helps us to manage the stresses of daily life by raising blood sugar and blood pressure to get energy and oxygen to our cells and by modulating inflammation. We are designed to experience a peak of cortisol to wake us up in the morning as well as surges whenever we need to respond to an emergency. Towards the end of the day or once the stressor has passed, cortisol levels should drop allowing us to relax and sleep well.

The problem is when we experience high levels of physical or mental stress over a long period of time, our cortisol levels can remain chronically high. Our body remains in an alarm state and is hyper-vigilant, ready to respond to any attack or urgent situation. We feel agitated and anxious, we can’t sleep and our mood, energy, digestion, libido and fertility can all suffer as a result. We can also experience blood sugar instability, high blood pressure and accelerated aging – eek!

Signs of high cortisol

So how do we know when we might want to focus on ways to lower cortisol levels? Some of the most common signs of high cortisol levels are a rapid pulse, racing thoughts or a sense of restlessness and urgency. However, high cortisol can manifest a huge variety of physical, energetic and psychological symptoms including disturbances to your digestion, mood and sleep.

lower levels of cortisol signs

You can test your cortisol levels through a saliva test. But if you experience 5 or more of the signs above then it wouldn’t do any harm to focus on ways to reduce stress and lower levels of cortisol, regardless of whether you test or not.

Causes of high cortisol

As I mentioned earlier, cortisol is a stress hormone. It is released by our adrenal glands when they receive the signal that there is an emergency and we need to be on high alert. We usually relate stress to psychological factors such as work pressure, family issues, moving house or other worries. But stress can also be caused by other lifestyle factors, especially how we move, eat, think and breathe. Some of the top “sneaky stressors” that I see in my clients are:

  1. Eating inadequate energy (calories) to support their activities
  2. Restrictive dieting e.g. cutting out food groups, low fat, low carb, vegan
  3. Not eating regularly e.g. intermittent fasting or having long gaps between meals
  4. Excessive exercise especially cardio e.g. running, cycling
  5. Shallow or mouth breathing
  6. An overly active inner critic

Sometimes simple changes can really make a difference to our bodies’ experience of stress and help to reduce cortisol levels. Especially making sure we are eating enough nutritious food and OFTEN as well as moving, thinking and breathing in a way that keeps us out of fight or flight stress mode as much as possible.

Diet to lower levels of cortisol

When it comes to eating to support lower levels of cortisol, it is important to focus on lowering physical stress by nourishing your body as best as you can. This means letting go of strict diet rules, eating enough calories and making sure to support your body with the macro and micro-nutrients it needs to thrive. When we are under a lot of stress, our bodies burn though energy and specific nutrients faster than usual so it is important to make sure we are fueling and replenishing regularly.

Some of the key nutritional strategies I recommend to my clients for reducing stress are:

  • Consuming plenty of carbohydrates from natural sources e.g. fruits and roots
  • Making sure to eat magnesium rich foods or supplement with epsom salt baths or transdermal magnesium
  • Eating foods rich in B vitamins, particularly B5 and B6
  • Consuming oily fish such as sardines or salmon or adding in a high quality fish oil supplement

If you are following a low carb diet – forget it! Including plenty of natural carbohydrates and especially sugars from fruits, roots and honey will support your higher energy requirements during a stressful period and help to reduce physiological stress on your body from lack of energy. Giving your body the calories and carbohydrates it needs will help to lower cortisol levels and will also help to reduce cravings and over eating due to stress. Your body is smart and it sends those signals for a reason!

Adding in foods containing magnesium and B vitamins is also helpful as we burn through these important nutrients much faster when under stress. Foods containing magnesium include dark chocolate, sesame seeds and dark leafy greens. B vitamins can be found in dairy, legumes, meat and wholegrains. Cod liver oil is a good all round supplement that can reduce stress related inflammation and support mental health.

Yoga to lower levels of cortisol

Yoga and meditation are amazing ways to lower cortisol levels naturally. Moving and breathing in a way that reduces activity in the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system and activates the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system will lower stress in your body and mind. Below is a simple 20 minute sequence you can use daily in the evening after a stressful day or before bed to wind down and get a healing night’s sleep.


From left to right:

  1. Extended child’s pose – hold for 3 mins with forehead resting on the mat or a block or pillow

2/3 Cow pose/Cat pose – flow between these 2 poses for 1 min syncing with the breath

4. Legs up the wall – 5 mins with legs resting against the wall if possible

5. Reclining twist – 3 mins per side option to place a pillow under the knee for support

6. Savasana – 5 mins focusing on deep belly breathing

Practice this simple sequence regularly, focusing on slowing down and being present, to reduce cortisol levels naturally.

Lifestyle to lower cortisol

Implementing the simple strategies in this post is an amazing first step if you are experiencing any of the symptoms of high cortisol above. Other supportive activities for lowering cortisol include gentle walks in nature, listening to music, journaling, creative work or any other way you like to slow down, let go of busyness and be present.

It’s so easy in today’s world to get swept up in work, tasks, social media and to be constantly doing, learning and taking in more and more information. But our bodies were designed for a much slower pace of life and we have to honour that from time to time. This doesn’t mean that we have to abandon everything and go and live in the mountains far away from civilisation. It just means that we need to become aware of our bodies’ signals of stress and find small ways to ground ourselves and connect within daily.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

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Signs of spiritual awakening and personal growth

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We have finally reached the final post of the Women’s Wellness Challenge 2022! So far we have covered nourishment of the layers of your being, connection to yourself, others and the world around you and cultivating compassion and wisdom. Today’s final post in the series is about signs of spiritual awakening, personal growth and self-actualisation.

What is self-actualisation?

Self-actualisation is defined as reaching your full potential as a human. I understand it to mean realising your purpose in life and then walking that path with confidence and humility. Once we have taken care of ourselves via all of the other steps I have shared in this challenge, we will feel nourished, energised, connected, compassionate and wise – ready to be of service to the world and reach our full potential.

One of the signs of spiritual awakening is realising our true self, connection with the divine and reaching our full potential. Self actualisation is at the very top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the final stage of development we can reach after we have satisfied our needs to:

  1. Physical wellbeing i.e. food, water, sleep and warmth
  2. Feel safe and secure
  3. Feel connected and that we belong
  4. Experience self-esteem, status and achievement

I love this simple diagram from Simply Psychology which shows the different needs. I consider each layer as steps toward spiritual growth.

When can we see signs of spiritual awakening?

We can start to see signs of spiritual awakening at any of the layers. But is is harder to focus on “higher” aspects of life when we are struggling to meet our basic needs. If we are stuck in striving patterns because we don’t have enough food, money or security to feel safe, we are going to see the effects in our relationships and other endevours. I know I have certainly experienced this myself!

Self-actualisation is not something that is easily obtained but it is for sure something we can all aspire to. It’s so easy to become trapped by poor physical health, anxieties and fears that hold us back or stress-filled life situations which don’t leave time or energy for exploring our potential. Sometimes the best we can do is to try to create a nourishing life for ourselves and to make the most of each day.

Of course it’s important to acknowledge that many people in the world simply cannot meet even their basic needs. When we are living in a crisis (and it seems like there is one after the other across the world these days), we are simply in survival and reaction mode. But imagine how the world would be if everyone had access to good food, shelter, security and connection and could reach their highest potential!

What it means to grow spiritually

Depending who you speak to, growing spiritually can mean different things. To me, the first signs of spiritual awakening are starting to become aware and attuned to our inner world and our connection to the world around us. Spiritual growth also looks like moving beyond the mundane, ordinary aspects of life and starting to see the magic and beauty around us. Living spiritually means living with purpose rather than on auto pilot and finding meaning in the things that we do.

As we say in yoga, spiritual awakening or enlightenment is realising that “we are the awareness in which everything is arising”. This means we are not our bodies, our thoughts, feelings or our life circumstances but we are the witness to all of that as we experience in deep meditation when we move beyond the ego mind. Those who have chosen a particular religious path might see signs of spiritual awakening as becoming close to God, Christ or another religious figure.

Everything that I have shared in this series so far is a step along the way to becoming more awakened and growing spiritually. I think this is a path we are all walking in life whether we realise it or not. Some might walk faster and others prefer to take their time. There are some slight detours we might choose to take that lead us along slightly different routes but at the end of the day, the destination is the same: realising who we are deep inside and becoming stronger, more content and of service to the world in the process.

Signs of spiritual awakening

In their personal wellness course which inspired this challenge, Well College Global shared some signs that you may be awakening or growing spiritually.

  • Experiencing a shift or deepening into your values
  • Feel like you are living your life with intention and purpose
  • The desire to support others in some way
  • Stronger connection to nature or a higher power
  • Noticing synchronicities and symbols
  • Listening and trusting your intuition
  • Being drawn towards nourishing practices and lifestyles
  • Expressing gratitude and curiosity
  • Dreaming more vividly
  • Cultivating nourishing healthy relationships

Remember though, these are just ideas. Spiritual growth can of course look different and depends entirely on your beliefs and the path you choose to take.

Final note

So that is the end of the Women’s Wellness Challenge 2022! What I had originally intended to be a 5 week challenge has ended up as 2 months but I am glad that I gave it the extra time it needed. I hope you have enjoyed following along with this journey. If you did please like and share your favourite posts with friends and family who might benefit from them.

If you got something out of this series and you are interested in going deeper, I would love to support you! I offer nutrition consultations and health coaching services, both online and face to face here in Athens, Greece. My passion is to guide women like you to nourish your body and take care of your self to find true health, abundant energy and balanced hormones which I believe is the root of feeling well in our female bodies.

I use a combination of western nutrition, coaching psychology, Ayurveda and yoga to support you in connecting to your self and becoming the best version of you. These are the tools I used to heal myself from chronic anxiety, digestive issues and missing periods and I believe whole heartedly in the power of a healthy lifestyle. You can also read testimonials from my lovely clients.

Over to you…

If you would like to work with me to balance your hormones and improve your health, contact me to set up a free 15 minute discovery call. I am a nutritionist, yoga teacher and women’s wellness coach. We work together using a combination of modalities to support your individual needs and help you to feel your best.

  • Please like this post and share to support my business
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