The wellness world is bursting at the seams with what you ‘should’ be doing, and ‘how’ you should be doing it e.g., perfectly, or not perfectly. There can often be a lot of noise, and far less balance.
YOUR BODY, YOUR CHOICE
Since 2020, I have heard ‘my body my choice’ preached thousands of times, and yes, I wholeheartedly absolutely 100% stand by that. I stand by that being relevant in individuals daily wellness decisions. Whether we are talking about vaccinations, or whether we are talking about what food someone wants to eat, what herbal supplement they want to take, what exercise they want to do.
People are all in different situations and stages in their lives, and there may be some ways of doing things that support the body, more than another, but who am I to judge? Who is anyone to judge? My role as a Health Coach, is to educate, empower, and support individuals always with kindness. And that rolls over in private life too.
ELEMENTS OF A MODERN 2022 WELLNESS JOURNEY
Some elements that can fall within the modern 2022 wellness journey can include:
- Nutrition and the 1000000 diets out there
- Different ways of exercising
- All the different kinds of internal emotional healing
- Devices and other modalities
- Herbs
- Supplements
- Sacking all that off and simply putting your faith in God, and praying on the fact that he has already healed you
BUT WHICH ONE?!
Which one should we do? Not do? Ignore? Write off as rubbish? Do all of them? None of them? It’s up to you! And that’s the wonderful thing. The biggest thing we were given in this life is FREEDOM. Freedom to make our own choices. And the freedom to make a choice that fits our individual situation, and possible protocol if we are experiencing a health challenge.
WHEN YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START
Of course, some people don’t know where to start, and they don’t understand what would support their whole-body health. As a Health Coach, I help you navigate those decisions, I empower you to make decisions that help move you forward to wherever you want to be heading.
YOUR JOURNEY STARTS WITH BUILDING FOUNDATIONS
I am passionate about supporting individuals to do the foundational work. To build resilience in the body. Resilience that not only can increase your energy, help you feel vibrant again, but also create that clarity and strength to make informed, and balanced decisions in the future once our time working together has come to an end.
IT MAY SEEM COMPLICATED, BUT THERE IS HELP HERE FOR YOU
For some, even the foundational work can seem complicated when going it alone without any help. Where do you start?! Which path should you take on this wellness journey? For some, the foundational nutrition and lifestyle work can seem complicated. There is a lot of guidance out there on the internet, but boy can that get overwhelming. I am confident in my path now, but before my education and experience in the health field, I eventually realised I had no idea, no direction, so I do get it.
And when you tie your improvements to that overwhelming information all over the internet, you can end up thinking, ‘did I do it right?!’ Do you know what? Don’t worry about it.
- Didn’t get enough minerals today? Don’t worry about it.
- Didn’t eat enough protein today? Don’t worry about it.
- Didn’t lift weights today? Don’t worry about it.
- Didn’t go to bed on time? Don’t worry about it.
- Didn’t use that expensive wellness device you bought and promised yourself you’d use every day? Don’t worry about it.
THE STRESS CAN CREATE MORE PROBLEMS THAN WHAT YOUR NOT ACTUALLY DOING
Don’t get me wrong, it is important to create new healthy habits, if dis-ease preventing wellbeing is your goal, and that’s what Health Coaching is all about. But, don’t worry about it. Because the stress that the worry causes? Could end up negatively affecting your body more than the ‘thing’ you didn’t quite do perfectly.
I am passionate about good food, good sleep, moving the body, and getting into nature, and that’s what I hope to instil in my clients. We live in a world so different to what it was many years ago, and there are so many physical, emotional, and environmental stressors. We are all living different lives, having different experiences. Some people may spend a lot of their time enjoying life, yet a lot of people have high stress jobs in emotionally and physically toxic environments that right now they cannot get out of. Which means maybe that wellbeing device you purchased that induces relaxation or supports you on a cellular level, or that mushroom supplement you purchased to help your immune system, may actually help you, until you can make the life things a little better. And that's ok. Stay in your own lane, and hopefully others will stay in theirs.
THE NEXT BIG THING
Just don’t get roped into the next big thing just because. Ask yourself, am I making this decision out of fear? Or from a safe and calm thought process, and that purchase or decision will actually help me at this point in my life? Does it feel good to me? Does that wellbeing device, acupressure mat, sauna, or whatever it is, offer me an element of relaxation? If it does? Great! My advice would be just don’t make a purchasing decision out of fear. That may cost you a lot of money! Make a decision from a calm, safe place in your life, and if it feels good to you, it is your prerogative to simply go for it. Or not.
IT'S YOUR CHOICE!
- If you want to just want to focus on nutrition, that’s your choice.
- If you want to do the emotional work, or not, that’s your choice (this can often be the hardest to do, so it can often be the missing piece of the big puzzle for many on their healing journey)
- If you want to take that supplement, that your choice
- If you want to purchase that wellbeing tool, that’s your choice
Just make sure they are informed choices, and they feel good to you.
THE CLIENT-COACH RELATIONSHIP
Health professionals offer a lot of advice. Are they advising someone to do the inner work? Advising someone to lift more weights? Advising someone to eat more protein? Advising someone not to buy into the current popular ‘thing’. Advising that’s what they ‘should’ be doing? Then the client says I have already done that’. Who are we to gaslight and judge them, believing that they haven’t? Our role is to guide, advise, and support. A lot of people get into a career in health and wellbeing because they have been on a huge journey themselves, and they are immensely passionate about helping people on theirs. Passion can sometimes take over, and I often see and hear about that dogma attitude dripping into the wellbeing professional world. And I am just so glad I didn’t start this career in my vegan days! I am much more level-headed these days. Thankfully! I have no doubt that passion, turned dogma, is coming from a good place, but this career is a responsibility.
THE CLIENT JOURNEY
Individuals may be exploring different healing paths. I always stand by foundations first. Beyond foundations, I can advise all day long, but each person’s journey is individual. What stage of life are people in? What are they going through? Is there a reason for that extra wellness practice that is maybe frowned upon by other professionals? Those extra intense detox modalities? The expensive device? (Expensive means different things to different people). It’s just an example but there is so much nuance in everything. As professionals, listening and taking an individual approach is always important.
ARE PEOPLE EVER 100% SPOT ON?
And as for the more dogmatic side of things, nobody should ever say they are 100% right about a subject. There is always more to learn. Hey, I learnt that after many years preaching the benefits of plant-based veganism, and how it is the answer to everyone’s health problems, it’s going to save all the animals and change the world. Then I gained more information, detached from veganism being my identity, and ended up eating my words. Because I changed my mind. My outlook is now far more balanced. I believe plants have their place. And I believe animal foods have their place. Balance is the goal, but depending on an individual’s situation, they may need to steer more in one direction than another. For example, is an individual on an integrative cancer healing journey? Protocols can vary, but those integrative doctors can make great things happen. More and more information, science, research, and results of individual case studies are coming to light each and every day. Who knows what we will know 100 years from now? I think it is hugely naive to think we know it all because we absolutely don’t. What we do know, is what feels right for us, and the results us health professionals are currently seeing in our individual clients, with the work they have put in, up until now. I think what I am trying to say is, open mind. Keep an open mind. Something I try to remind myself of.
THE BEAUTIFUL THING IN LIFE, IS THAT YOU GET TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE RIGHT FOR YOU
We often hear ‘you know your body better than anyone else’, but dogma can often take over. 'Buying into’ something or making a decision that someone feels is right for them, may, actually be, the right thing for them. As an individual, the likes of us health coaches are here to guide you, but the beautiful thing in life, is that you get to make decisions that feel good to you.
Beyond the foundations, I often get to see two different approaches, both getting results. You do what you resonate with, and what feels good to you. As a health coach my job is to support you on the journey YOU want to take, and the choices YOU want to make, with relevant guidance and advice included along the way. I can present information, education, and knowledge to you, but ultimately, the choice is yours. And nobody should judge you on that. That doesn’t help anyone.
THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR EVERYONE TO DO BETTER
And guys. As I write this, I am checking myself too. There is always room to do better, but I feel I currently do a pretty good job with myself, and clients, and I am happy with the way I work with focusing on balanced nutrition, movement, good sleep, taking advantage of what nature provides, and lowering the physical, emotional, and environmental toxic load. I now live and work in a much more balanced way. For health professionals and individuals, checking ourselves and having a think about our decisions and where we are going is a good thing. It can keep us on track. It's about growth. If you are an individual on a health journey, remind yourself that YOUR BEST IS MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH. Ignore any judgement, if that's what you hear, and remember that your body is your body, and your decisions are absolutely your choice. This is why I love Health Coaching. It is about empowerment and is a client-led process. Of course, I have the knowledge if the clients needs or wants it. but ultimately, it is about teaching the client to fish, not handing them the fish. And that, is how we create a lifetime of positive change.
If improving your wellbeing is something that you wish to do, start with working on the foundations of health, and from there, do what feels good to you.
Balance is key, in work, and in life.
Love Sian
Comentarios