Sometimes when I’m away from home in the middle of nowhere and haven’t stepped on my yoga mat for a while, a thought pops into my head that “I need to get back to my yoga practice”. Then I smile and laugh because I am more in my yoga practice than ever in these moments! It doesn’t matter if there are no yoga poses, complicated breathwork practice or meditation cushion involved. For me yoga and travel naturally go together.
Being in tune with the seasons and cycles of nature and my body and connecting deeply with loved ones feels just as “yogic” as the formal practice. Actually it’s kind of a short cut to that relaxed, blissed out state. That’s not to say that the traditional elements of the yoga path aren’t important. They help us to stay grounded and connected to our spirit in the middle of otherwise chaotic lives. But neither do we have to limit ourselves to one strict path.
Even the yoga sutras offer many suggestions and leave it open to us to find out own path to enlightenment. For me nature plays a big role in my spiritual health. yoga and travel, spending time in nature is when I feel most grounded and connected to my true self. I try to travel as much as I can to experience the healing powers of nature!
Me and my gorgeous boyfriend and practicing my yogi toes on the beach
Incredible nature in Evia Greece
This weekend we visited one of my favourite places in the whole of Greece. The island of Evia which is just to the East of the mainland and connected by a bridge. It’s a stunning place with huge mountains, forests and gorgeous turquoise waters. Compared with other Greek islands, it has a less touristic and a much more local feel. Whenever I arrive there I take a big releasing exhale and feel my body, mind and spirit relax.
The beach at Limnionas is a combination of dark sand and pebbles with mountains and trees to provide much needed shade. Actually it is known for it’s burning sand which is impossible to step on in the middle of the day! The sea is perfect for swimming and gazing out at the seemingly endless horizon. I love just floating in the water letting my whole body relax and release tension. The sea has this magical capacity to cleanse and purify my whole being…
The beach at Limnionas, Evia
The area around the beach is calm and quiet with just a few cafes and taverns where you can find amazing local food. On the first evening we ate in Μανταλενας Ταβέρνα (Madalenas Taverna) which is a lovely outside terrace right at the beach. We tried all the locally grown salads and home cooked Greek specialities. Just when we thought it couldn’t get better, after the meal they brought us the juiciest, sweetest watermelon I’ve ever tasted!
The second night we drove up into the nearby village Μύλοι (Mili) to eat at a tavern recommended to us, Η Μαρδίτσα (E Marthitsa). The food was fantastic again and we even got a tour of the vegetable plot with heirloom tomatoes which had been in the family since the Ottoman Empire over 100 years ago. As we left the tavern, we saw a beautiful wild deer watching us from the trees. There was a moment of stillness were we watched each other before he galloped away into the forest. Such a magical moment!
At night we sat and enjoyed a beer on the terrace at the Lithoktiston Guest House where we stayed. It was still quite quiet as it’s early in the summer season but it was perfect. So peaceful with views across the whole bay and the mountains and the owners were so sweet. The temperature actually dropped quite a lot at night so we could sleep well without air conditioning. It definitely made a nice change for me as someone who will never get used to Greek summer weather…
Madelenas and Marthitsa tavernas near to Limnionas, Evia
Yoga and travel in Evia Greece
Usually when I go to Evia I fit in at least one yoga flow on the beach during the sunrise or the sunset. This time I felt like my body was asking for a complete rest. Instead I took some gentle walks on the beach and enjoyed lots of time reading and resting. Less formal practice but plenty of conscious deep breathing and a continuous mindfulness practice For me this is part of yoga, living in tune with the inner and outer seasons and becoming fully immersed in the present moment.
Meditation beach walks and a beautiful spot for reading, journaling and meditation
Saying that, I would love to organise a yoga and travel weekend in Limnionas as it really has the perfect atmosphere to drop in and go deep with the practice. If you would be interested in something like that, do let me know! There is something special and healing about this place and I’d love to share it with you. I hope you enjoyed this short insight into my yoga and travel adventures in Greece. For now, namaste.
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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To finish off week two of the Women’s Wellness Challenge, which is all about connection, I want to share the importance of connecting with nature for our wellbeing. Connecting with yourself, with others around you and with the natural environment are all essential elements of creating a healthy and balanced life. When we are feeling low or stuck in a rut, getting out into nature and remembering we are part of this greater whole can be just what we need to come back into alignment.
These days, it’s so easy to get caught up in the artificial environment we have created in cities and through technology. We can spend all day working in front of a computer and our leisure time on the phone or watching TV. If we aren’t careful, we can easily go a whole day without seeing the sun. Especially at this time of year in Northern Europe! However, making the effort to get out into nature, to feel the sun on our skin and breathe fresh air (i.e. life!) into our bodies is so important.
We are a part of nature
Despite being highly evolved beings, we are still a part of nature and our bodies are designed to operate within her cycles. We have our circadian rhythm which pushes us to be active during the day and sleep at night. We are also influenced by the lunar cycles, especially in the case of menstruating women who experience monthly cycles with phases which can align with the phases of the moon. Every year we experience several seasons that impact us in obvious and more subtle ways.
As much as we try to separate ourselves from nature and make our lives more convenient and predictable, we ultimate depend on it and remain part of it. We rely on natures’ eco-systems to provide the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. The energy from the suns’ rays brings life to our planet and to us humans too. Sunlight regulates our endocrine system and helps us to make vitamin D to keep our bones strong and preserve our immune system.
Nature represents the feminine energy that we all have within us that brings the qualities of surrender, flow and spontaneity. It reminds us not to take everything so seriously and to live in awe in the wonder that is our Earth. Not only that, but spending time in nature has been proven to improve our health by lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety and calming our nervous system. Distancing ourselves from our home, the natural environment, can leave us feeling lost and spiritually empty, whether we realise it or not.
Ways to connect with nature
The beautiful chaos of nature is the perfect antidote to the over-rational, linear lives that most of us live these days. If you feel like you need to connect with nature, here are a few simple ideas of how you can do so:
Watch the sun rise or set whenever you can
Ground your bare feet on the earth
Go walking in any natural environment you have access to such as the forest, mountain or beach
Watch out for wild animals in the area that you live
Take note of the changing phases of the moon
Go out on a clear night and look at the stars
Let go of artificial lights in the evening and try candles instead
Open the window and let in fresh air every morning
Try a weekend break in the countryside with no smartphones
Do a nature photoshoot in your local area
Plant a seed and watch it grow
If you have any other ways you like to connect with nature, please share in the comments below!
My natural world
I love going for daily walks in the local park and getting out to hike in the mountains or stroll along the beach whenever I can. With my partner we also like spending time with the garden and have been experimenting during the pandemic with growing our own food. There is nothing better than drinking fresh juice made with fruits you just picked from the tree. Or maybe building a salad with vegetables and herbs you watched grow from seeds. For me, it connects me to the magic of nature and makes me feel like a kid again
Today’s challenge: Get out into nature
Your challenge for today (and over the weekend as it is Friday!) is to pick at least one way to connect with nature and go out and do it. Even if it’s cold and rainy, get yourself out there and connect with Mother Earth. Pay attention to how you feel in the natural environment. Watch your breathing slow, your nerves soothe and a smile arrive on your face.
Over to you…
Comment: What is your favourite way to connect with nature?
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I can’t believe it is nearly the end of the year already! This year has passed so fast yet it feels like so much has happened. I can’t wait for the Christmas holidays to begin on Monday so that I can recharge and prepare for exciting new things in the new year. Like all of you, I am praying that this is the year that the pandemic will finally come to an end. It is so draining to be constantly waiting for new measures and to be missing out on the things we love. Birthday parties, face to face yoga classes and concerts all seem like a distant memory. But I am remaining optimistic!
Saying that, honestly, I am feeling quite tired and uninspired at the moment. The last few months have been very busy with work and travel and I have been slacking on some of my self-care routines. Even though I know that certain habits keep me feeling energised and happy. It can be so easy to forget or get lazy during the winter months when it starts to get cold and dark. But sometimes we just need to notice that things have started to slip and to get ourselves back on track That is when it is time for a health reboot!
Signs it is time for a health reboot
Know the feeling? Some signs that tell me it is time for a health reboot:
Having less energy throughout the day
Feeling less inspired and motivated
Falling into unhealthy behaviours or slacking on healthy habits
Spending excessive time watching TV or online
Generally feeling unenthusiastic and blah
Not bothering to make an effort with your appearance
Feeling more anxious or restless without reason
Not feeling empowered or good about yourself
Inner critic getting louder or moving out of it’s home in the pre-menstrual phase (for the ladies)
Feeling like you don’t know where you are spending your time
Less energy or desire to spend time with loved ones
Can you relate to any of these? Sure, we all experience these things from time to time. But if you start to notice several of these on a consistent basis, it might be time to sit down and check in with yourself. Which is what I am doing right now! Simply by noticing you aren’t feeling your best, you have already taken the first step towards getting back on track. It takes mindfulness and self-awareness to get to this point so you should be proud of yourself for that. Now is not the time for judgement or criticising yourself. Rather it is time to show yourself some love and care.
How do I do a health reboot?
Once you realise it is time to hit the reset button, it is time to get back to the basics. It is a good idea to have a few simple habits that you can come back to whenever you need to reconnect with yourself and increase your energy. Choose 1-3 actions which you can take on a daily basis which you know will lift your spirit. Then take these actions consistently for a week. This will start to get the momentum going and then you can start to add in other healthy habits or spend longer on your self-care habits.
Sometimes when we don’t feel like taking action, we have to push ourselves a little out of our comfort zone in the beginning. But trust me, it gets easier. Action creates the desire to act. Overcoming the initial stagnation and inertia is always the hardest part of creating change.
Some ideas of simple actions you can take when you need a health reboot:
Going outside in the morning
Taking a walk in nature
Listing to uplifting music
Writing in a journal
Practicing breathwork or meditation
Stretching and moving
Singing or chanting
Creating art or music
Preparing a healthy breakfast
Reading an inspiring book
Taking time for a mindful cuppa
Sitting outside in the sun (even if it’s cold)
What are some things that leave you feeling energised and inspired? Share your ideas in the comments below!
Avoid this common mistake!
One of the biggest mistakes I see with my health coaching clients (and with myself sometimes) is taking on too much. We can see the huge gap between where we are right now and where we want to be and decide that we will do all of the things right now. This is not a bad thing, it is great to feel motivated to create change. However, the problem is that trying to do too much too soon can either:
a) Lead us to procrastinate against taking action
b) Cause overwhelm after a few days so we end up giving up
It is much better to start small with 1-3 easy habits and then use the extra energy that these habits create to do more when the time feels right. To start with each habit should take a maximum of 10 minutes to do. This means spending up to half an hour a day to focus on your self-care. We all have half an hour right? If you feel like you don’t have that amount of time for yourself, you need to take a look at your lifestyle and find where you can create space. Whether that is delegating some tasks, getting up earlier or reducing screen time.. there is always a way!
Commit to yourself
Once you have decided on the simple actions you will take, it is time to make a serious commitment to yourself. Many of us find it very difficult to let other people down, yet we find it so easy to break our commitments to ourselves. Why is that? I am here to tell you that you are worth it. Remember that to give to others abundantly, you have to give to yourself first. Self-care is not selfish! It is simply taking the time to build your energy and fill up your cup so that you have more energy, love and compassion to share with others.
My suggestions for creating commitment to yourself
Schedule your self-care. Decide on how much time you can commit and find the space in your life where it fits. Whether it the same time daily or you change it up depending on the day. It could be first thing in the morning, when you finish work, last thing before bed or split throughout the day. Whenever it is, fit space and schedule it in. Add a reminder in your phone or your calendar if you need to. But be sure to schedule it in otherwise you will forget or it will be pushed down the priority list as soon as other things come up
Write down a commitment to yourself in a journal or somewhere you will be reminded of it daily. You can add inspiring images, quotes or anything else that will motivate you and come back to your commitment each day. You can even write a written contract with yourself and sign it. anything that helps you take this seriously. It might seem silly or unnecessary. But how many times have you said you will do something only to find yourself in the same place a month or two later? I will leave you with a Chinese proverb…
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”
Chinese proverb
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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In today’s post I want to share why self esteem is important for improving your health. As someone who has struggled with low self esteem most of my life, I have observed how it impacted my own health and wellbeing. Through my coaching practice I now want to help other women believe in themselves. As a result, they can finally make breakthroughs with their health and find the true wellness they are seeking.
What is self esteem?
Self esteem is defined as the worth or value someone places on themselves. Not necessarily for the things that they do or own, but simply for who they are as a person. Someone with a good level of self esteem is likely to have a strong sense of personal identity and belonging in social groups. It also means feeling competent and confident about your actions and ability to create the life circumstances you desire.
Someone with high self esteem will generally view themselves in an optimistic light. They have a mostly positive view of their physical image, personality traits and capabilities. This doesn’t mean they see themselves as perfect, but rather that they accept who they are and appreciate their strengths as well as their perceived weaknesses. In addition, they believe that others also view and respond to them in a positive way (1).
Feeling excessively self-conscious, anxious or afraid of failure
A sense of stuckness and inability to create change
Worrying too much about what others think about you
Not being aware of or able to express your needs and boundaries
Lack of confidence in your abilities
Inability to accept compliments from others
If you can relate to several of these points, keep reading to find out why self-esteem is important for improving your health!
Why self esteem is important for improving your health
There are several reasons why self esteem is important for improving your health:
Sense of worthiness
Having a good level of self esteem means that you feel deserving of improved health. You feel that you are worth the effort it takes to make positive behaviour change. You believe in yourself and you truly wish yourself health and happiness. This might sound strange but deep down, those with a low self esteem might not want this for themselves. They may not believe that they deserve to be happy and that doing things to improve their health is a waste of time, money or effort. In fact, they might even engage in self-sabotaging behaviours which negatively impact their health (2).
Confidence in your abilities
The second reason why esteem is important for improving your health is that it brings a sense of confidence in your abilities. In order to succeed in making lasting changes in your lifestyle, you need to believe that you can! You need to believe that you have what it takes to learn new skills, change your habits and stay motivated long term. You don’t need to know everything right away. Having the belief that you are competent and able to learn is key to making improvements to your health. Otherwise, you might give up before you start or the moment challenges arise.
Staying the course
Furthermore, having self esteem will help you to stay motivated on your health improvement journey. If you have low self esteem, you might interpret any setbacks as a personal failure and blame yourself or your lack of ability. Having a higher sense of self esteem means you are more likely to appreciate the many factors involved and understand that you are not personally to blame. This makes it much easier to let go of any “failures” and keep moving towards your goals. You can view the situation objectively and find ways to improve without attacking or criticising yourself.
Positive emotions
Self esteem is one of the foundations of mental health. At it’s worst, low self esteem can lead to depression like states of feeling useless, unworthy and unlovable. These types of negative thoughts set off a chemical cascade in your emotional body which can lead to a downwards spiral of negative feelings, thoughts and behaviours. On the other hand, higher self esteem results in more positive feelings about yourself and your life. A sense of happiness and optimism can be felt even in challenging situations. A good level of self esteem improves your overall sense of wellbeing (3).
Healthy relationships
One of the elements of holistic health and wellbeing is having healthy relationships. Having a supportive network of family, friends and/or professionals around you can be the thing that lifts you up and helps you to cope with the stresses of life. Low self esteem can lead to feelings of being unworthy of other people’s love or the belief that they see you negatively. This can result is social isolation and poor mental health outcomes. Therefore, developing self esteem helps you to connect with others and find balance and wellbeing in your life.
Realistic expectations
Finally, having a good level of self esteem helps to have realistic expectations for your health. Low self esteem often results in underestimating what you can achieve and procrastinating taking action to improve your health. On the other hand, excessively high self esteem can lead to overestimating your abilities and setting too high expectations. This perfectionism may cause later disappointment or giving up if you don’t reach your high standards. Finding balance is key! This means believing in yourself and setting challenging yet realistic and achievable goals for your health.
How to boost self esteem
I’m not going to lie, boosting self esteem can be difficult and take a long time. Often low self esteem develops in childhood and it can take a lot of self-reflection and/or therapy to discover the root cause and to move past it (4). It is important to break the cycle of negative thoughts about yourself which lead to painful feelings and drive unwanted behaviours (or inaction).
This takes mindfulness to become self-aware as well as the ability to challenge the thoughts associated with low self worth. This is why working with a therapist or coach can be helpful as they provide an unbiased, outside view and can reflect back to you this inner dialogue. Replacing negative thoughts with more positive or realistic ones can be helpful to reprogram your mind to see yourself in a better light.
I have written previously about the importance of having self-compassion on your path to health. Self-compassion is not the same as self-esteem but the two often go hand in hand. Having self-compassion in moments of low self esteem means to accept that you are not feeling good about yourself but to commit to speaking more kindly to yourself and accepting and forgiving yourself for your perceived flaws.
Self esteem vs. self efficacy
One of the ways to improve self esteem is by actually taking action and accomplishing things. It should not always be about the things we achieve. However, setting yourself goals and reaching them gives you a sense of pride in yourself and your abilities. Even if your goals are small, achieving them sends the signal that you are a capable human and you can do hard things.
The problem comes when not believing in yourself prevents you from taking action. As a result, you don’t experience success because you don’t believe in yourself enough. We then have a catch 22 situation! Taking action requires self-efficacy. This is not the same as self esteem but does overlap. Self efficacy is the confidence in your ability to take action and make change. Even if you don’t like yourself or see your worth yet, you can learn to see yourself as capable and from there begin to take action.
You can increase your self-efficacy by:
Setting and achieving goals (baby steps are best)
Taking the time to reflect on past successes and what you have learned
Understanding and accepting your strengths and weaknesses
Mastering new skills or behaviours (4)
These four steps don’t necessarily require you to feel good about yourself but they certainly help. And once the ball is rolling and you begin to take action, the benefits will be exponential! Instead of a downwards spiral you will be on the up. Taking action will boost your confidence in yourself which will in turn create more positive thoughts and emotions. Feeling better about yourself will make it easier to keep moving forward.
This process of setting goals, taking action and then reflecting on your successes is part of the AGAR method of health coaching I use with my clients:
So that is it for today. I really hope you found this post useful! Personally, improving my self esteem has helped me to make huge improvements in my health and my life. It is an ongoing journey and I still have my down days like everyone. But overall I am so happy with the progress I have made and it makes me happy to share what I am learning with others.
If this post helped you at all, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences and I always enjoy connecting with you. If you are interested in applying for health coaching with me, I will be opening up new client spaces from 6th December. Send me an email at lovemoonlife.mail@gmail.com to set up a free 15 minute call to find out if we are a good fit.
Have a lovely day and rest of the week!
References
(1) https://dictionary.apa.org/self-esteem (2) MacGee, R. and Williams, S., 2000. Does low self-esteem predict health compromising behaviours among adolescents? Journal of Adolescence. 23(5). Pp.569-582. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0344 (3) Paradise, Andrew W.; Kernis, Michael H. (2002). Self-esteem and Psychological Well-being: Implications of Fragile Self-esteem. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 21(4), 345–361. doi:10.1521/jscp.21.4.345.22598 (4) Well College Global, 2019. Personal Wellness Course notes (5) Baumgardner, A., 1990. To know oneself is to like oneself: Self-certainty and self-affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1062–1072.doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1062
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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In today’s post I want to share my top tips for staying healthy during autumn season. I am back in the UK after a year living in Greece and it is clear that autumn has arrived! Fresh mornings, mild, dry days and dark, cold nights are fast approaching. Actually, although I love the summer energy, the autumn season is probably my favourite. I love the beautiful colours and the feeling of cosiness that it brings.
Autumn is a season of transition, from the heat and activity of the summer into the cold and stillness of winter. It is also a season of celebration and harvest, when traditionally we give thanks for the earth’s abundance and gather our supplies. However, it’s also a season when it is easy to feel unwell if we don’t watch out. Our bodies need to adapt to rapid changes in temperature and humidity and this unpredictability can exaggerate imbalances already present.
In Aryuveda, it is said that autumn is the season of the vata dosha. Vata represents the element of air with it’s dry, cold and erratic qualities. Therefore, to stay healthy during autumn, you want to balance this out with warming and grounding routines. In this article I want to share top nutrition, exercise and self-care habits for a healthy autumn season.
What to eat to stay healthy in autumn
As the temperatures start to dip, keep your body warm from the inside by eating nourishing, hearty meals. It is natural to experience an increase in appetite and cravings for heavier, grounding meals in autumn. So don’t be afraid to listen to your body! Make sure to eat plenty of healthy oils and fats to keep your skin, hair and joints nourished and protected against the cold. Warming spices such as turmeric, chili, ginger and cumin are also great as they support your digestion and metabolism. Add them to soups and curries or make a herbal tea with a spoonful of local honey for a delicious, warming drink.
Autumn is also an amazing season for fresh produce. Make the most of autumn seasonal vegetables including beets, parsnips, squash, aubergine, broccoli and brussels sprouts to supply your body with a variety of vitamins and minerals from the soil. Vitamins C and B are especially important during autumn to boost your immune system and energy levels so eat up! In the northern hemisphere, you will start to see an abundance of seasonal fruits. Look out for apples, pears, grapes, plums and berries. Enjoy this bounty by eating fresh fruits daily as a dessert or snack. Or get creative and turn them into pies, puddings and jams.
Root vegetables, such as beets, parsnips and carrots, are especially nourishing foods for the autumn season. They are a great source of complex carbohydrates to keep you warm and energised. The name root vegetable comes from the fact that they are are grown underground. This gives them a grounding, satisfying quality which we need in the autumn months. Root vegetables are typically high in vitamins A, B and C and beets are also a plant-based source of iron. They are packed with fibre and have a natural sweetness that can help to curb cravings for processed sweets.
Try roasting a tray of chunky chopped vegetables to bring out this natural sweetness. Then blend the roasted vegetables with warming spices to create a delicious autumn vegetable soup. This butternut squash and red pepper soup is one of my autumn favourite healthy autumn recipes.
Exercise tips to stay healthy in autumn season
It’s natural to feel an energy dip after the summer, especially if you have been making the most of the long, sunny days. As autumn approaches, you might start to feel more lazy and crave a slower pace of life and home comforts. Again, don’t be afraid to listen to your body! Take rest when you need to and give yourself chance to recharge your batteries and restore your energy levels. This doesn’t mean to give up altogether on moving your body. It just means going a little bit easier on your self and allowing your body rather than your mind to dictate the pace.
Outdoor sports
One of my favourite ways to stay active in autumn is to go for hikes or walks out in nature. It feels amazing to wrap up warm and head out in the fresh air to see all of the beautiful colours. Especially as the green of summer transitions into the warm yellow, orange and red hues of the autumn season. Walking in the forest, mountains or in a park is a great way to ground yourself and connect with the earth. It’s so easy these days to live disconnected from nature when we are surrounded by artificial environments and technology. But getting outdoors and being mindful of the changes that each season brings is a great way to stay healthy during autumn. That is for your mind, body and spirit!
Getting natural sunlight on your skin is also important to maintain healthy vitamin D levels. Low levels of vitamin D can lead to low mood, fatigue and aches and pains. Supporting your body to continue producing vitamin D during autumn will mean you head into winter with higher stores. If you feel like you don’t get enough natural light where you live, consider taking a vitamin D supplement. The recommended daily amount for overall health is 400IU so look for a supplement with up to this amount to keep your levels topped up.
Yoga for autumn
Yoga is another perfect activity for the autumn season. Practicing yoga asana and pranayama keeps you fit, strong and flexible and also supports a healthy immune system and circulation. The cold and dry qualities of the vata dosha in autumn can bring with it respiratory problems, cold extremities and stiff muscles and joints. So incorporate movement into your healthy lifestyle to encourage heat and energy flow throughout your body. Practicing yoga sun salutations is a great way to start your day in the autumn season. It gets your blood flowing and creates heat in your body to keep you toasty on cold days!
Try out this 10 minute guided sun salutation practice first thing in the morning for 7 days and notice the change in your overall wellbeing.
Self-care ideas for a healthy autumn
As I mentioned earlier, autumn brings with it a sense of change and transition. If we are not cautious, this can catch us out and trigger anxiety, worry and restlessness. Especially if we are not eating a nourishing, grounding diet and incorporating self-care routines to help us feel more grounded and stable. This could look like keeping to a regular sleep schedule and creating space in the morning to breathe and be mindful at the start of your day. Take a look at my previous post morning routine checklist to boost your mood and energy for some ideas.
Journaling
Keeping a journal is a great way to stay organised during the autumn season. A journal practice helps you to manage any feelings that come up and to keep track of the healthy habits you want to incorporate to keep you feeling your best. You can use your journal as a space for reflection, to gather your thoughts and feelings and to explore any changes you might want to make in your life. In autumn, the leaves start to fall from the trees. With that we let go of the summer as well as anything else that doesn’t serve us. Autumn can be a time to re-evaluate and take stock of what is working in your life and what you would like to change.
Epsom salt baths
Finally, one of my favourite self-care routines for chilly autumn nights is to take an Epsom salt bath. Then afterwards to apply oil or moisturiser to my skin to keep it protected and hydrated. Epsom salts contain magnesium which is absorbed through the skin and helps to relax your muscles and release tension. If you don’t have a bath at home, try a mini Epsom salt foot spa instead. Warming your feet helps to warm and relax your whole body and you will still absorb the benefits. Make this a true autumn spa experience by lighting a candle scented with ginger, cinnamon, cedarwood or sage.
In summary
The autumn season is a time when you want to nourish yourself, stay warm and hydrated and to take care of your physical and mental wellbeing. A few simple changes to the food that you eat, how you move your body and nourish yourself with self-care will make a huge difference to how you feel during autumn. Don’t forget, everything is connected! Taking care of yourself during the autumn months will strengthen your immune system and set you up to stay healthy during the winter too!
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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This month I am back in the UK visiting my family after 1 year away living in Greece and it is clear that the autumn season has arrived. Fresh mornings, mild, dry days and dark, cold nights are fast approaching. Actually, although I love the summer energy, the autumn season is probably my favourite! I love the beautiful colours and the feeling of cosiness that it brings. Autumn is a season of transition, from the heat and activity of the summer into the cold and stillness of the winter months. It is also a season of celebration and harvest, when traditionally we give thanks for the earth’s abundance and gather our supplies.
However, it’s also a season when it is easy to feel unwell if we don’t watch out. With the rapid changes in temperature and humidity, our physical bodies need to adapt and this unpredictability can exaggerate imbalances already present. In Aryuveda, it is said that autumn is the season of the vata dosha which represents the element of air with it’s dry, cold and erratic qualities. To keep yourself well during autumn, you want to balance this out with warming and grounding routines as part of your healthy lifestyle. In this article I want to share my top tips on nutrition, exercise and self-care to stay healthy during the autumn months!
What to eat to stay healthy in autumn
As the temperatures start to dip, you want to keep your body warm from the inside by eating nourishing, hearty meals. It is natural to experience a slight increase in appetite and a craving for heavier, more grounding meals in autumn so don’t be afraid to listen to your body! Make sure to include plenty of healthy oils and fats in your diet to keep your skin, hair and joints nourished and protected against the cold. Warming spices such as turmeric, chili, ginger and cumin are also great as they support your digestion and metabolism. Add them to soups and curries or make a delicious warming herbal tea with a spoonful of local honey for a healthy and hydrating drink.
Autumn is also an amazing season for fresh produce so make the most of autumn seasonal vegetables including beets, parsnips, squash, carrots, aubergine, broccoli and brussels sprouts to supply your body with a variety of vitamins and minerals from the soil. Vitamin C and B complex are especially important during autumn to boost your immune system and energy levels so eat up! In the northern hemisphere, you will start to see an abundance of seasonal fruits including apples, pears, grapes, plums and berries. Enjoy this bounty by eating fresh fruits daily as a dessert or snack or get creative and turn them into pies, puddings and jams. BBC Good Food has some amazing autumn recipes, including this autumn fruit pudding and this apple and blackberry crumble.
Root vegetables, such as beets, parsnips and carrots, are especially nourishing foods for the autumn season as they are a great source of complex carbohydrates to keep you warm and energised. They are grown underground and this gives them a grounding, satisfying quality which we need in the autumn months. Root vegetables are typically high in vitamins A, B and C and beets are also a plant-based source of iron. They are packed with fibre and have a natural sweetness that can help to curb cravings for processed sweets. Try roasting a tray of chunky chopped vegetables to bring out this natural sweetness and blending them with warming spices to create a delicious autumn vegetable soup.
Exercise tips for the autumn season
It’s natural to feel an energy dip at the end of the summer, especially if you have been making the most of the sunny days and short nights. As autumn approaches, you might start to feel more lazy and crave a slower pace of life and the comfort of being warm and cosy at home. Again, don’t be afraid to listen to your body! Take rest when you need to and give yourself chance to recharge your batteries and restore your energy levels. This doesn’t mean to give up altogether on moving your body, it just means going a little bit easier on your self and allowing your body rather than your mind to dictate the pace.
One of my favourite ways to stay active in autumn is to go for hikes or walks out in nature. It feels amazing to wrap up warm and head out in the fresh air to see all of the beautiful colours as the green of summer transitions into the warm yellow, orange and red hues of the autumn season. Walking in the forest, mountains or in a park is a great way to ground yourself and connect with the earth during this time. It’s so easy these days to live disconnected from nature, surrounded by artificial environments and technology, but getting outdoors and being mindful of the changes that each season brings is a great way to stay healthy during autumn, for your mind, body and spirit.
Getting natural sunlight on your skin is also important to maintain healthy vitamin D levels. Low levels of vitamin D are common in the winter months and can lead to low mood, fatigue and aches and pains. Supporting your body to continue producing vitamin D during autumn will mean you head into winter with higher stores. If you feel like you don’t get enough natural light where you live, consider taking a vitamin D supplement throughout autumn and winter. The recommended daily amount for overall health is 400IU so look for a supplement with up to this amount to keep your levels topped up.
Yoga is another perfect activity for the autumn season as it keeps you fit, strong and flexible and also supports a healthy immune system and circulation. The cold and dry qualities of the vata dosha in autumn can bring with it respiratory problems, cold extremities and stiff muscles and joints so you want to incorporate movement into your healthy lifestyle to encourage heat and energy flow throughout your body. Practicing yoga sun salutations is a great way to start your day in the autumn season as it gets your blood flowing and warms up your body from the inside out to keep you toasty on cold days. Try out this 10 minute guided sun salutation practice by Yoga with Adriene first thing in the morning for 7 days and notice the change in your overall wellbeing.
Self-care ideas for the autumn
As I mentioned earlier, autumn brings with it a sense of change and transition. If we are not cautious, this can catch us out and trigger anxiety, worry and restlessness, especially if we are not eating a nourishing, grounding diet and incorporating self-care routines to help us feel more grounded and stable. This could look like keeping to a regular sleep schedule, that is going to bed and waking up at about the same time each day, and creating space in the morning to breathe and be mindful at the start of your day. Take a look at my previous post morning routine checklist to boost your mood and energy for some ideas.
Keeping a journal is a great way to stay organised during the autumn season, to manage any feelings that come up and to keep track of the healthy habits you want to incorporate to keep you feeling your best. You can also use your journal as a space for reflection, to gather your thoughts and feelings and to explore any changes you might want to make in your life. In autumn, the leaves start to fall from the trees and with that we let go of the summer as well as anything else that doesn’t serve us. Autumn is a time of new starts and can be a time to re-evaluate and take stock of what is working in your life and what you would like to change.
Finally one of my favourite self-care routines for chilly autumn nights is to take an Epsom salt bath and afterwards to apply oil or moisturiser to my skin to keep it protected and hydrated. Epsom salts contain magnesium which is absorbed through the skin and helps to relax your muscles and release tension. If you don’t have a bath at home or if baths aren’t your thing, try a mini Epsom salt foot spa instead. Warming your feet helps to warm and relax your whole body and you will still absorb the benefits of the salts. Make this a true autumn spa experience by lighting a candle scented with ginger, cinnamon, cedarwood or sage.
To summarise, the autumn season is a time when you want to nourish yourself, stay warm and hydrated and to take care of your physical and mental wellbeing. Just a few simple changes to the food that you eat, the way that you move your body and finding time for relaxing and nourishing self-care will make a huge difference to how you feel during autumn. And don’t forget, everything is connecting and taking care of yourself during the autumn months will strengthen your immune system and set you up to stay healthy during the winter months too!
Over to you…
I hope you enjoyed this post on keeping healthy during the autumn season. Please like and share this post to support my business and follow my blog for more useful posts on nutrition, yoga and holistic health.
If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability to transform your health and rediscover your natural energy and radiance, please contact me or check out the nutrition and health coaching packages I offer. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!
As a Women’s Wellness Coach, I love to support women to improve their overall health and wellbeing. I have come a long way in my own view of health and it has taken me many years to get to where I am now. I used to think health meant restricting your diet and exercising like crazy to maintain a low body weight. After my own health breakdown I learned that there was much more to health than that! Now I run a holistic health coaching practice where I help women to truly take care of their bodies.
What is holistic health coaching?
Holistic health coaching incorporates more than just the usual diet and exercise program that we associate with health coaching. It is about building all-round health which will leave you feeling confident, energised and enthusiastic about life again. A holistic health coach helps you to set goals and design a personalised program to help you reach them. The exact format depends on the education and training of the coach. In my holistic health coaching practice, I include nutrition and yoga as well as menstrual cycle awareness. I help women to let go of restrictive dieting and find true health, balanced hormones and natural fertility.
Holistic health coaching focuses on 6 main elements which I will explain in more detail in this post. At the end of the article I will provide a Holistic Wellbeing Assessment questionnaire. Download the file and carry out your own holistic health assessment at home! This is the same questionnaire that I use with my holistic health coaching clients in our initial session to help us set direction for our work together.
6 elements of holistic health coaching
Physical health
I fully believe that we are more than our bodies. Despite this, our physical bodies are the way we experience life therefore physical health is a foundation of holistic health coaching. This is not necessarily about being in a perfect state of physical health. Rather, it is important to maintain an adequate state of physical health to live the life you choose. Physical health includes:
Good functioning of your bodily systems
Healthy immune function and rapid healing
Normal metabolic markers such as blood sugar and blood pressure
Relatively free from disease and pain
Ability to participate in life including social and work activities
Holistic health coaching to improve physical health starts with creating a vision of what health means to you. This could simply be having an adequate level of health to work, play and enjoy life. It could mean healing from chronic disease or having health markers in the normal range. You might see physical health as making healthy lifestyle choices. For example, quitting smoking, not drinking alcohol in excess or drinking enough water. Or you might view physical health as a feeling.
Either way, in holistic health coaching, we work with approach based goals rather than outcome based goals. This means focusing on behaviours rather than a specific end result such as a weight goal. I help my clients to identify behaviours that are harming their health and replace them with supportive habits. Measurements and markers can be a helpful motivator but they are not at the centre of holistic health coaching. My women’s wellness practice is influenced by researchers such as Linda Bacon, Dr Ray Peat and Dr Sara Gottfried.
Sleep and energy
Anyone who has experienced poor sleep (calling all Mums and insomniacs out there!) will appreciate the importance of good sleep. It is a fact that you need to sleep well in order to function at your best and enjoy life. When we don’t sleep well we can feel like we are constantly dragging ourselves through the day. And even for those who sleep well, the stressful and busy lives we lead can lead to fatigue and low energy levels.
A holistic health coaching assessment of sleep first looks at the amount of sleep that you get. For adults, sleep experts recommend anywhere from 7-9 hours sleep per night for optimum health and wellbeing. It also look at the quality of that sleep and the energy that you experience. For example, do you wake feeling refreshed and rested? Or do you start the day already feeling exhausted and wondering how you will make it through to the evening? I typically use a sleep journal with my clients to help them to identify patterns and factors which influence their sleep.
Holistic health coaching includes working to create space for sleep and developing helpful sleep routines. We all know it is important to relax and wind down to ensure you get a good quality sleep. Often, we know what we need to do to improve our sleep. However, prioritising and staying accountable to these actions is the hard part. That is where holistic health coaching comes in! We also explore how you are using your energy throughout the day. We identify “energy drains” that might be zapping your life force and leaving you fatigued and unmotivated.
Dietary habits
Nourishing your body with a wholesome and varied diet is one of the cornerstones of holistic health coaching. We literally are what we eat as all of the substances we consume eventually become the building blocks for new cells. Our diet also provides the energy that we use to create our personal reality. In my practice, I don’t focus on counting calories or macro-nutrients. Rather I help clients to develop a positive relationship with food and understand the basics of a nutritious diet. From this foundation they are able to intuitively eat a balanced diet which is nourishing on both a physical and emotional level. I described in a recent post the key principles of a healthy diet which include: balance, variety, wholesomeness and individuality.
I work with holistic health coaching clients using a Non-Diet Approach to Coaching. This takes the focus away from dieting to lose weight or change your body towards an enjoyable and relaxed attitude towards nourishment. We work on tuning into hunger and fullness cues, accepting all foods and the diversity of body shapes and sizes. My clients learn how to eat nourishing food that supports their body without restricition, rules or deprivation. This includes diving into their history with dieting, unpacking beliefs around food and nutrition, using a food diary to identify unhelpful eating patterns and creating a pathway to overcome them.
For all my clients, I hope for them to feel liberated and empowered around food. I want them to feel able to make food choices that work for their unique body and life situation. No more obsessing over every bite, weighing and tracking every mouthful or living in fear of food. Instead, pure pleasure and nourishment from food on a daily basis!
Movement and physical activity
Moving your body is of course an important part of a healthy lifestyle. We know from many years of research that physical activity helps to maintain our physical health. It also protects us from disease and helps to maintain a sense of wellbeing. Unfortunately, for many people exercise has become either a chore to avoid or a way to punish our body. Either for over eating or for not being the perfect shape or size that we have learned is appropriate for society.
In holistic health coaching, we work together to dive into your beliefs and values around exercise and their physical body. We work together to discover activities that bring pleasure and joy back to movement. I encourage you to cultivate a sense of appreciation for your body and everything it allows you to do. Not only that, I help you to stay accountable to your goals and action plans around physical activity. Together we identify potential barriers and road blocks to physical activity. From there, we develop solutions to make movement a more natural and habitual part of your life.
I also work with clients on the opposite end of the spectrum. Those of you who exercise too much and suffer consequences such as fatigue or hormonal imbalances. In this case, we again dive deep into your beliefs around exercise and body image. We create a safe container for you to shift your attitudes towards your appearance and develop a positive self-image. This enables you to shift your perspective of movement to a more postive one. I help you to find the joy in moving your body once more and let go of all of the negative emotional baggage. After years of over-exercise and punishing your body, it is possible to find lightness and fun around movement again.
Stress management
Stress.. unfortunately in today’s world it is something that we all experience more than we would like. The simple fact is that the pace of modern life with all of it’s pressures and demands can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious and exhausted. Stress can be responsible for many of the health issues we experience from insomnia to high blood pressure. Cortisol, a major stress hormone, can affect all of our bodily symptoms wreaking havock on our digestion, metabolism and fertility. It can leave us feeling on edge, moody, tired and lacking spark.
Holistic health coaching does not claim to get rid of stress. Rather we look at your attitudes towards stress and coping mechanisms you have in place to deal with life’s stresses. You learn how to stay mindful of your stress level and strategies to prevent overwhelm and burnout. Working with clients on stress management is extremely rewarding. This is because with just a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle, you can often experience huge reductions in the amount of stress you feel. This greatly improves your life experience day to day and reduces symptoms caused by stress.
I help clients to identify the different types of stressors in their life and the effects they are experiencing. We then work to find ways to either eliminate the stressor, change the situation or adapt to cope with the stress for things that cannot be changed. You create positive daily routines to help you feel more organised and in control. I teach you yoga and meditation techniques which promote deep relaxation and restoration.
Life balance
The final element of holistic health coaching is your life balance. In other words, how you feel about your life and your place in the world. This element of holistic health focuses on you andhow you feel about yourself. As well as how you experience life and how you interact with others and the world around you. Life balance includes the often forgotten elements of wellbeing such as connection, compassion, wisdom and fulfilment. Sometimes we get so wrapped up with “fixing” ourselves or our problems that we forget life is to be lived and enjoyed. This can leave us feeling lost and at sea in life.
In holistic health coaching, we look at strengthening your connection to your self. This includes understanding who you are at your core and developing appreciation for your unique personality and skills. You will build your confidence so that you can show up as your best self and go for your goals. We also shine a light on your relationships with others. I encourage you to ensure that you have positive relationships in your life which support your wellbeing and personal development. You learn healthy communication strategies to help you voice your needs and boundaries in a positive way.
Holistic health coaching summary
Remember that all of the elements of holistic health overlap with each other. This means that implementing positive habits in one area will have a domino effect on the other areas of your wellbeing. For example, eating healthy, moving your body and managing stress will help to improve your sleep and energy levels. Getting better sleep makes it easier to make healthier food and exercise choices. We are moving away from this reductionist view of health as a set of behaviours or a particular appearance. Instead, we are heading towards a new paradigm of holistic health as wellbeing and thriving!
Holistic Wellbeing Assessment
Download the free Holistic Wellbeing Assessment questionnaire below to gain insight into your health and wellbeing. This is the exact one I use with my 1-2-1 holistic health coaching clients!
If you live in Athens and want to join me for yoga in Holargos or Filothei, you can check the schedule and book your space HERE.
Until next time, Namaste…
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
If you liked this post, follow my blog or subscribe by email to receive updates on new content
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for daily updates and inspiration
As a Nutritionist, Yoga Teacher and Women’s Wellness Coach, I love to support women to improve their overall health and wellbeing! Wellness coaching incorporates more than just the usual diet and exercise program that we associate with health coaching, it is about building holistic health which will leave you feeling confident, energised and enthusiastic about life again. Holistic health coaching focuses on 6 main elements which I will explain in more detail in this post as well as how I work with clients who are looking to make improvements in this area of their health.
At the end of the article I will provide a Wellbeing Assessment questionnaire so that you can carry out your own holistic health assessment at home. This is the exact same health assessment that I use with my health coaching clients in our initial session to help us set direction for our work together.
Physical health
Even though, I fully believe that we are more than our bodies, our physical bodies are the way we experience life and therefore it is a foundation of holistic health coaching. This is not necessarily about being in a perfect state of physical health but it is important for us to maintain an adequate state of physical health to live the life we choose. Physical health includes:
Good functioning of our bodily systems
Healthy immune function and rapid healing
Normal metabolic markers such as blood sugar and blood pressure
Relatively free from disease and pain
Ability to participate in life including social and work activities
Some clients who want to improve their physical health are under the supervision of a doctor and need support and accountability from a health coach to help them stick to their health management plan, for example quitting smoking, reducing alcohol consumption or a lifestyle program to manage diabetes or high blood pressure. Other clients prefer to focus on the other elements of holistic health and as a result see improvements in their physical health markers. Either way we work with approach based goals, concentrating on building positive habits for physical health rather than outcome based goals which focus on the end result such as weight.
Sleep and energy
Anyone who has experienced poor sleep (calling all Mums out there!) or suffered with insomnia, will appreciate the importance of good sleep and energy levels. We need to sleep well in order to function at our best and enjoy life rather than feeling like we are constantly dragging ourselves through the day. For adults, sleep experts recommend anywhere from 7-9 hours sleep per night for optimum health and wellbeing. A holistic health assessment of sleep looks at both the amount of sleep that you are able to get as well as the quality of that sleep and the energy that you experience. For example, do you wake feeling refreshed and rested or do you start the day already feeling exhausted and wondering how you will make it through to the evening?
For clients who focus on improving sleep and energy levels, we work on creating space in your life for sleep and developing helpful routines to help you relax and wind down to ensure you get a good quality sleep. Often, we know what we need to do to improve our sleep but prioritising and staying accountable to these actions is the hard part, that is where a health coach comes in! I typically use a sleep journal with my clients to help them to identify patterns and factors which influence the amount of quality of sleep they are able to get. We also explore how you are using your energy throughout the day and identify “energy drains” in your life that might be zapping your life force and leaving you feeling fatigued and unmotivated.
Dietary habits
Nourishing your body with a wholesome and varied diet is one of the cornerstones of holistic health. We literally are what we eat as all of the substances we consume eventually become the building blocks for new cells as well as the energy that we use to create our personal reality. In my practice, I don’t focus on counting calories or macro-nutrients but rather on helping clients to develop a positive relationship with food and the ability to intuitively eat a balanced diet which is nourishing on both a physical and emotional level. I described in a recent post the key principles of a healthy diet which include: balance, variety, wholesomeness and individuality.
I work with clients looking to improve their dietary habits using a Non-Diet Approach (read my post on NDA here) which takes the focus away from dieting to lose weight or change your body towards an enjoyable and relaxed attitude towards nourishment. We work on tuning into internal cues of hunger and fullness, accepting all foods and the diversity of body shapes and sizes. Our work focuses on developing your intuition and self-confidence so that you can eat the foods that support your body whilst still enjoying all of the pleasures that food has to offer. This can look like diving into your history with dieting, unpacking your beliefs around food and nutrition, using a food diary to identify unhelpful eating patterns and creating a pathway to overcome them.
For all my clients, I hope for them to feel liberated and empowered around food, able to make food choices that work for their unique body and life situation. No more obsessing over every bite, weighing and tracking every mouthful or living in fear of food. Instead, pure pleasure and nourishment from food on a daily basis!
Movement and physical activity
Moving your body is of course an important part of a healthy lifestyle. We know from many years of research that physical activity helps to maintain our physical health, protect us from disease and maintain a sense of wellbeing. Unfortunately, for many people exercise has become either a chore to avoid or a way to punish our body for over eating or for not being the perfect shape or size that we have learned is appropriate for society.
For clients who feel that they would like to be more physically active and improve their level of fitness, we work together to dive into their belief and values around exercise and their physical body. I work with you to discover activities that bring pleasure and joy back to movement and help you to cultivate a sense of gratitude and appreciate for your body and everything it allows us to do. I help you to stay accountable to your goals and action plans around physical activity and together we identify potential barriers and road blocks to physical activity and develop solutions to make movement a more natural and habitual part of your life.
For those clients on the opposite end of the spectrum who exercise too much and are suffering the consequences such as fatigue or hormonal imbalances, we again dive deep into our beliefs around exercise and body image. We create a safe container for you to shift your attitudes towards your appearance and develop a positive self-image that allows you to shift your perspective of movement. I will help you to find the joy in moving your body once more and let go of all of the negative emotional baggage after years of over-exercise and punishing your body to find lightness and fun around movement again.
Stress management
Stress.. unfortunately in today’s world it is something that we all experience more than we would like. The simple fact is that the pace of modern life with all of it’s pressures and demands can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious and exhausted. Stress can be responsible for many of the health issues we experience from insomnia to high blood pressure. Cortisol, a major stress hormone, can affect all of our bodily symptoms wreaking havok on our digestion, metabolism and fertility. It can leave us feeling on edge, moody, tired and lacking spark. Holistic health coaching does not claim to get rid of stress, rather we look at your attitudes towards stress and coping mechanisms you have in place to deal with life’s stresses and prevent overwhelm and burnout.
Working with clients on stress management is extremely rewarding because with just a few simple tweaks to your lifestyle, you can often experience huge reductions in the amount of stress you feel day to day and the symptoms that can go along with that. I help clients to identify the different types of stressors in their life and the effects they are experiencing. We then work to find ways to either eliminate the stressor, change the situation or adapt to cope with the stress for things that cannot be changed. We create positive daily routines to help you feel more organised and in control as well as prioritising activities such as yoga and meditation which promote deep relaxation and restoration.
Life balance
The final element of holistic health coaching is your life balance, that is how you feel about your life and your place in the world. This element of holistic health focuses on you, how you feel about yourself, how you experience life and how you interact with others and the world around you. Life balance includes the often forgotten elements of wellbeing such as connection, compassion, wisdom and fulfilment. Sometimes we get so wrapped up with “fixing” ourselves or our problems that we forget life is to be lived and enjoyed and this can leave us feeling lost and at sea in life.
With clients for whom shifting life balance is key to improving their holistic health, we might look at strengthening your connection to your self, understanding who you are at your core and developing appreciation for your unique personality and skills. I help you to build your confidence so that you can show up as your best self and go for your goals. We also shine a light on your relationships with others and I encourage you to ensure that you have positive relationships in your life which support your wellbeing and personal development as well as healthy communication strategies to help you communicate your needs and boundaries in a positive way as well as be more accepting and understanding of others.
As a final note, I want to highlight that as all of the elements of holistic health overlap with each other, implementing positive habits and routines in one area will likely have a domino effect on the other areas of your holistic health and wellbeing. For example, making changes to your dietary habits, physical activity and stress management can also help to improve sleep and energy levels or adjusting your life balance can help to dramatically reduce your stress. We are moving away from this reductionist view of health as a set of behaviours or a particular appearance towards a new paradigm of holistic health as wellbeing and thriving!
Over to you…
If you would like to gain insight into your holistic health and identify areas you might like to improve on, download the free wellbeing assessment below from Well College Global which is the exact one I use with my 1-2-1 clients! Please like and share this post to support my business and follow my blog for more useful posts on nutrition, yoga and holistic health.
If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on your holistic health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and health coaching packages I offer. My specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after chronic or restrictive dieting but I also help anyone who is looking to improve their overall health and find the perfect balance for their body. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!
This is a tricky subject but something that has been on my mind lately. As someone who has been in the health and wellness field for several years, I have seen this reoccurring pattern of almost a cult-like mentality around various diets. As a former vegan I have certainly fallen for this idea that there is “one diet to rule them all” and experienced this almost religious dedication to my diet dogma of choice. But this doesn’t only happen with veganism, I’ve also seen the same aggressive preaching, tunnel vision and exclusionary mentality amongst followers of the paleo, raw food, keto and carnivore diets as well as those who believe that gluten, dairy or sugar are the devil.
Why do we do this? Why does following particular way of eating give us this feeling of safety and superiority? Why do we cling onto the idea that a particular diet will save us, take away all of our suffering and lead us to an infinite nirvana of perfect health? I think advertising definitely plays a role as health, youth and beauty have become aspirational products that can be marketed and sold. This used to be a tactic adopted by food manufacturers to sell us products like diet coke and special k but now with social media, anyone can become a diet “guru” and make millions selling the new version of sermons and religious texts (aka recipe e-books and courses), sometimes without any qualifications to back up their claims, other than personal experience.
When we are struggling, either with a chronic health condition or with the belief that we aren’t good enough as we are and need to somehow improve ourselves, we become the perfect customer. These gurus become our idols and we are vulnerable to believing everything that we see and trusting what we are told. We see people sharing about how cutting out all carbs or adopting a raw vegan diet cured them of every symptom and disease and improved their life in every way and of course, we want a piece of that! But we always have to remember that we don’t see everything about people’s lives and especially when someone has a product to sell, they have an investment in promoting perfection and sweeping any issues under the rug.
We all know in theory that social media is a highlight reel and that people tend to share what is going well or their success stories in overcoming their problems, myself included! I’ve often shared stories of my past struggles and how I have managed to balance my hormones and fix my relationship to food and my body. I try to be transparent and also share the process when I am in the messy place of trying to figure something out but of course I don’t write about every single thing going on in my life. Partly because I don’t want to bore people but mostly because when you’re in the eye of the storm, you don’t have the clarity and understanding that comes with hindsight and enables you to write about your struggles. So I don’t believe that anyone does it on purpose but we all tend to show more of the positive and less of the negative aspects of ourselves. It’s human nature to want to show our best side but our shadows and struggles are what make us human.
There has been a trend over the last couple of years on social media, with vegan influencers coming out and sharing “why I’m no longer vegan” stories. Often these are people who spent years declaring to the world how good they felt, how energetic they were and how amazing their hair and skin had become on this diet, only to admit a few months later that they were struggling all along and didn’t feel able to talk about it because they felt trapped by the web they had weaved around themselves. Their online identity and professional reputation had become so tied up in their diet dogma that they found it so hard to change their diet for their health, never mind tell their audience that they were doing so. And the ones that did share this experience received so much backlash and abuse from the community for being selfish or hypocritical.
This public shaming behaviour was so shocking to me and made me realise just how far this moralising of food and diet <cult>ure has become. Food is no longer just fuel and nourishment for the body and soul but it is now a way for people to express their status as a good citizen. Yes it’s great that we are now becoming more aware of the ethical issues surrounding our food system, especially now the size of the global population is leaving our planet straining at the seams. Making more ethical choices is is a good thing and something I am totally on board with and often talk about on this blog. It’s amazing that companies are now looking at their supply chains, consumers are seeking out more sustainable, fair trade products and we want to see this trend continue. However, this is work in progress and all we can do is make the best choices where possible to meet our conflicting objectives.
A healthy diet isn’t always sustainable or ethical and a sustainable diet isn’t always healthy. And no food or diet is perfect. You eat meat and dairy and contribute to climate change and potentially animal cruelty and pollution. So you cut out animal products and instead end up eating vegan products that are shipped from all over the world, produced on farms that cause large scale eco system damage or exploit bonded labourers in developing countries. You try to eat all organic, local, plant-based food and end up with a myriad of health issues due to your overly restrictive diet. We all have a responsibility to make better choices where we can, even though with the way the food system operates right now some of this is out of our hands. But we certainly shouldn’t feel guilt or shame for our food choices when they are not perfect, or shame others who do not have access to or cannot afford to make these better choices, because let’s be honest, choosing high-quality, organic, local produce is often a privilege rather than the easy option.
Moving away from ethics and towards health and wellness, when it comes to the macro-nutrient wars of the HCLF (high carb low fat) vs. the LCFH (low carb high fat) communities, it just gets silly. Each camp has their own key pieces of research that they cite and doctors that they follow who claim that this way of eating is the perfect human diet. Each has their armies of followers with stories of healing and longevity who battle against each other in pointless debates and who circle in their own communities, brainwashing themselves and proving each other right. In reality how can we possibly know what the perfect human diet is? Humans developed all over the planet and survived on so many different diets: hunter gatherers, agricultural communities and now industrial societies like the ones most of us live in today. There is so much conflicting research out there that it’s possible to find evidence to back up almost any claim.
There is so much variety in our genetics, environment and physical health status that there’s no way there is one truth when it comes to food and diet. Plus, health is about so much more than what we eat. When we look at the blue zones (the places with the highest number of centenarians), they don’t all follow the same diet but one thing they have in common is their sense of community, slow pace of life and connection with the natural world. I think there comes a point when you have to accept that perfecting your diet can only get you so far and the simple act of trying can be a stress on the body that causes health issues to continue. It’s much better to eat food that makes you feel strong and energetic, keeps your metabolism functioning at it’s best but also brings you joy and connection with the community you live in than keeping yourself in an isolated bubble, trying to consume the optimal diet for humans.
I am saying this as much for my past self as I am for all of you out there. I have been through phases where I was so desperate to heal my body that I put all of my energy into eating what I believed was the best diet for my body as well as the planet and it only made things worse. Letting go of the diet dogma was what finally helped me to heal. Now I definitely make the effort to make ethical and healthy food choices. I buy from local markets when I can, experiment with growing my own food, eat lots of plant-based meals and choose organic, fair trade products where its available and affordable. But I’m refuse to obsess over it or feel anxious when I can’t make the ideal choice. I eat plenty of things that aren’t sustainable or health promoting just because they taste good. I also now eat animal products again as for me, veganism didn’t work out and I experienced health issues despite being very careful with my diet and supplementation (I’m sorry to any vegans reading this but this was my experience).
I would never recommend to a client that they should eat a certain way and exclude particular food groups or foods, unless they have their own ethical or medical reasons to do so. I am a strong believer in paying attention to your bodies’ response to certain foods and choosing a diet based on what makes you feel your best. One of the best ways to do this in my experience in using a food diary, not to restrict your intake but to record how you really feel, physically and mentally, after eating certain foods or meals. This way you are totally in control and rather than relying on external information, you can listen and respond to your own bodies’ signals which is what we are designed to do. And even when you do find something that works, remember that this can change! Our bodies are never stagnant, we are constantly aging and adapting to the changing seasons and environment so we can’t expect that what works for us today will work 10 or 20 years down the line.
Over to you…
Anyway, that’s enough of me ranting for one day! Please leave a comment below if you have any thoughts on this topic, I’d love to hear your opinions and have a discussion. If you found this article interesting, please like this post and follow my blog to be notified when I post something new.
If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on you health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and holistic health coaching packages I offer. I am a qualified Public Health Nutritionist and hatha yoga teacher and my specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after restrictive dieting. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!
Ladies, ever wondered why it seems so much easier for your boyfriend or husband to stick to a diet or fitness plan and get results? Why some weeks you are full of energy and others you hardly want to drag yourself out of bed? How you can go 2 weeks eating healthily then all of sudden all you want is chocolate and ice cream? If you’ve found yourself questioning whether you just have less motivation or your body just doesn’t function as well then you’re not alone. The answer is simple and something that we live every single day, often without even being aware of it. Can you guess?
IT’S
OUR
MENSTRUAL
CYCLE!
As women we are simply not the same from week to week. Our hormone levels are continuously shifting which has a huge impact on our energy levels, mood, cravings, sleep and so much more. This can make it hard for us to stick to a routine and often feel like a failure for being inconsistent. We can think of men as being like the sun and women more like the moon. The sun shines consistently day by day, sometimes there might be some clouds in the sky or even a huge storm that affects how brightly we see its rays but behind all of that it keeps on shining just the same. The moon however moves through it’s lunar cycle from the new or dark moon where the sky appears empty to the full moon where it shines big and bright.
The lunar cycle is such a good metaphor for our menstrual cycle. The new moon represents menstruation, the time of the month when we are much less energetic and physically need to rest. The full moon represents ovulation when our energy levels are at their peak and we are overflowing with creativity and physical energy. Don’t get me wrong though, just because the moon appears dark at the new moon, it doesn’t mean there is no light, the light is just on the other side so we don’t see it. This is the time when lots of inner work is being carried out including physical and mental healing and the seeds of inspiration for creative projects are being birthed.
Because for men, the hormonal shifts are much more subtle and occur mostly on a 24hr basis, they can more easily stick to a daily routine that works for them week in week out whereas us women have both our daily and monthly rhythms to take into account. Our bodies are also more sensitive to stress from working out or not eating enough food as they are constantly trying to maintain hormonal balance and fertility. We can choose to see this as a weakness or we can see it as a super power that we can work with. There are times of the month when our strength and stamina can feel unlimited and we can surprise ourselves with what we can achieve and there are other times when we can push ourselves through a grueling workout and actually cause ourselves more harm than good because our bodies have to rely on stress hormones and adrenal reserves to make it through.
Of course we all know this on some level but we often think of it as something we have to work against rather than work with. Often we feel like we are “normal” for a couple of weeks and then BAM our hormones come along to ruin everything and we fall off the wagon. But what if we became more aware of how our bodies change throughout the month and actually build this into our health and fitness plan? What a game changer that would be! No more beating yourself up because you got so hungry before your period that you ate a large bar of chocolate every day. No more dragging yourself through intense workouts on your bleeding says when your body is crying out for rest. Instead using self-awareness and self-compassion to create a health plan that truly works for you.
What could this cyclical approach to health and fitness look like? When it comes to nutrition, this would be truly trusting your body and allowing yourself to eat intuitively. This doesn’t mean allowing yourself to eat a large bar of chocolate every day because, “PMS”, but it does mean loosening up on the diet rules, understanding why those cravings might be there and making sure that you are well fed and nourished during the day. The quantities and types of foods you crave will likely change throughout your cycle and this is ok, in fact it is essential. Your metabolic rate and nutrient requirements shift with your hormones and so the foods that will support your body also change week to week.
The simple overall guideline for a healthy diet of eating mostly whole, unprocessed foods applies throughout the cycle but the amount of energy, macro-nutrients and the ratio of raw vs. cooked foods can definitely change. It’s much better to tune into your body to find what works for you, but if you’re struggling with getting started I did write a series of posts on how to eat for each of the phases of your menstrual cycle.
With fitness and exercise, again it is very individual. Some women need to fully rest during their period otherwise they will feel like they are dragging throughout the month ahead. Others, me included, need a bit of easy movement to help manage painful cramps. I’m sure there are some women who can exercise intensely during their period without any issues but I think this is the exception rather than the rule. If you do workout during your period, ask yourself whether you are doing it because you feel like you should or whether it is what your body is genuinely asking for. In general, during your period and the few days before it’s a good idea to at least slow down, decrease the intensity of your workouts and create space for some more restorative activities like yoga, stretching and gentle walking to help your body recover and restore energy.
On the other hand, the rising energy and stamina in the couple of weeks after your period (the follicular and ovulatory phases) are a great time to really get out there and move your body. This is a good time for more intense cardio workouts as you can get all of the benefits of getting your heart rate up and sweating without feeling totally drained. Movement can also be a great way to boost your mood and reduce PMS symptoms as you approach your period, but our energy levels tend to start to drop off towards the end of the pre-menstrual phase so it’s good to be aware of this and be prepared to take it easier without feeling guilty for not performing at your best.
In general it’s about understanding and accepting that as women we are not the same everyday and we can’t expect ourselves to show up, robot-like, in the same way every day. That is a recipe for disappointment, hormonal imbalance and burn out as I’ve learned the hard way!
Over to you
I hope you found this post interesting and it gives you a new perspective and understanding of why a traditional approach to health and fitness might not work perfectly for you as a woman. If you have any questions or want to share your experiences, let me know in the comments below! If you’re interested in health and wellness for women, follow along with my blog and please share to support my business!
If you are looking for guidance, support and accountability on your holistic health journey, please contact me or check out the nutrition and health coaching packages I offer. My specialty is helping women to balance their hormones and heal their body and metabolism after chronic or restrictive dieting but I also help anyone who is looking to improve their overall health and find the perfect balance for their body. I would love to work together with you to move past any health blocks and get you feeling your best again!
Moon Life 