After I first began Wellness Mama I couldn’t have imagined the place this journey would take me. All the analysis, connecting with you, and interviewing dozens of well being consultants. I nonetheless pinch myself that this has grow to be such a shared journey. It’s humbling, just a little surreal, and deeply significant to replicate on every little thing I’ve realized, modified, and nonetheless imagine in spite of everything these years.
The Begin of Wellness Mama
At its coronary heart, Wellness Mama was born from a single second. I used to be holding my very first new child on the physician’s workplace once I learn a line in {a magazine} that modified the course of my life. It mentioned that for the primary time in two centuries, our youngsters’s technology would have a shorter life expectancy than their mother and father.
That one sentence hit me like a tidal wave. I didn’t understand how, however I knew I wished to assist change that quantity. What began as a mom’s analysis challenge grew right into a mission, and ultimately a podcast, a enterprise, and a neighborhood I’m endlessly grateful for.
Over time, I’ve advanced proper alongside Wellness Mama. My infants aren’t so little anymore and my oldest, the one who impressed me to start out Wellness Mama, is already an grownup. I’ve healed from Hashimoto’s, realized extra about how the physique truly works, and found that the extra I be taught, the extra I understand how a lot I don’t know.
Over all of the years of interviews, analysis, and first hand classes, just a few truths have emerged.
The Most Frequent Skilled Recommendation (and Why It Nonetheless Issues)
Throughout a thousand interviews, one of many largest takeaways is that the easy issues matter most. Sure, biohacks may be enjoyable and dietary supplements are useful. Nonetheless, the recommendation that comes up time and again from the brightest minds in well being may be summed up in just a few superbly easy concepts.
Prioritize Sleep
Not a single professional has ever mentioned that sleep doesn’t matter. High quality sleep is foundational to every little thing else. It impacts our hormones, blood sugar, temper, and even how nicely we detox. Only one or two nights of disrupted sleep can throw off hormones like cortisol and insulin.
As a mother of 6 I’m no stranger to sleepless nights and disrupted sleep. The excellent news although is that our our bodies are clever and forgiving on the subject of us mother and father in sure seasons. We had been designed for resilience, and the physique appears to have protecting mechanisms throughout instances like these. I’ve written lots about sleep and how you can have higher sleep over time, and yow will discover all of that right here.
Gentle is Medication
This is without doubt one of the most underrated items of wellness knowledge I’ve realized. Gentle publicity impacts each system within the physique, from our circadian rhythm to our hormones and psychological well being. Getting daylight all through the day, avoiding blue gentle at evening, and watching the dawn are easy shifts that may profoundly change sleep, vitality, and even temper. Gentle, like sleep, is free, highly effective, and inconceivable to promote, which is perhaps why it’s typically ignored.
Minerals Matter
Through the years, I’ve come to see minerals because the unsung heroes of wellness. They’re the “spark plugs” that preserve our cells speaking and our our bodies conducting vitality effectively. We discuss rather a lot about electrolytes and hydration. Nonetheless, understanding the physique’s electrical nature has given me an entire new appreciation for a way minerals help every little thing from nervous system stability to vitality manufacturing.
Small Constant Steps
Early in my wellness journey, I chased perfection. From strict diets and elaborate complement protocols to inflexible routines. What I’ve realized by each private expertise and professional knowledge is that child steps win each time. Consistency builds momentum.
Tiny, sustainable adjustments are much more highly effective (and peaceable) than all-or-nothing overhauls. And the factor about all-or-nothing is that it could possibly shortly grow to be overwhelming. So we find yourself doing nothing or getting burnt out!
Motion is Extra Than Train
Train is a necessity, however I’ve realized to consider motion as one thing a lot greater. Strolling barefoot exterior, dancing with my children, or enjoying frisbee within the yard all depend. Motion nourishes the physique in refined methods. It helps fascia, lymph circulation, and even our mobile battery cost. As one visitor superbly mentioned, “Movement is lotion.” It’s not about punishing exercises however joyful motion that retains us fluid, robust, and related.
The Blue Zones all over the world are well-known for having the longest dwelling, healthiest individuals. So what’s their widespread denominator? It’s not simply what they eat, their location, or what number of dietary supplements they take. Longevity isn’t nearly eating regimen or health, it’s deeply tied to belonging and connection.
Folks in Blue Zones have robust communities and connections with others. We thrive once we really feel seen, supported, and beloved. This fact has formed my priorities a lot that I even opened a neighborhood wellness heart. Not only for the saunas and chilly plunges, however for the neighborhood these instruments create.
The Therapeutic Energy of Nature
The time period “nature deficit dysfunction” refers back to the silent epidemic of recent life. We had been meant to reside near the earth, barefoot on the bottom, and within the sunshine. Pure gentle, recent air, and time exterior regulate our hormones, soothe our nervous system, and actually recharge us at {an electrical} degree. Even a couple of minutes of daylight or grounding every day makes a distinction.
The extra disconnected we grow to be from nature, the extra disconnected we’re from our personal our bodies. And the excellent news is that the treatment is as straightforward as stepping exterior!
Your Major Healthcare Supplier
In any case these years, I’ve grow to be extra satisfied than ever that nobody is aware of your physique higher than you. Skilled steering is invaluable, however probably the most highly effective knowledge comes from your personal physique’s suggestions. Your vitality, temper, sleep, and instinct. Each professional I’ve spoken with, in their very own approach, factors again to that fact. I say it so many instances, however we’re every our personal major healthcare supplier.
What I’ve Modified My Thoughts About
Issues have actually modified rather a lot since I began Wellness Mama again in 2006! And I’ve modified rather a lot too. You will have seen this in case you’ve learn the weblog for any period of time. Listed below are a number of the largest methods I’ve realized and grown over time.
Meals Dogmas
Within the early years of my therapeutic journey, I approached meals with the mindset that there was one proper method to eat. After I was deep within the strategy of reversing Hashimoto’s, I relied closely on strict elimination diets. Each served its goal for a season and taught me rather a lot about how meals impacts issues like irritation and vitality.
However I additionally seen that the extra I restricted, the extra disconnected I felt from my physique’s pure cues. These diets helped me heal bodily at first, however it additionally created a refined concern round meals. Now, I see nourishment by a a lot softer and extra intuitive lens.
I nonetheless imagine in actual, complete meals, however I additionally imagine in flexibility. I eat seasonally, select meals grown near dwelling when doable, and take note of how I really feel after meals as a substitute of following strict guidelines. I’ve realized that true wellness isn’t about perfection or restriction, it’s about resilience. The healthiest individuals I do know are those who can journey, share a meal with pals, and luxuriate in meals with gratitude as a substitute of guilt. My present philosophy: meals ought to gas, heal, and produce pleasure, not concern.
Dietary supplements
At one level, I had a whole cupboard (and spreadsheet!) filled with dietary supplements. I believed I might optimize my well being by filling each doable dietary hole. Whereas a few of these instruments had been extremely useful at instances, I finally realized I used to be leaning too closely on exterior inputs and lacking the larger image. I used to be making an attempt to out-supplement way of life habits that couldn’t get replaced, like deep relaxation, mineral stability, and nervous system regulation.
In the present day, I take a way more minimalist and intentional strategy. My focus has shifted to supporting my physique’s innate intelligence relatively than making an attempt to micromanage it. As a substitute of dozens of tablets, I depend on high-quality minerals, magnesium, and occasional focused dietary supplements primarily based on lab work or life stage.
I take advantage of natural cures and tinctures when wanted and prioritize meals first. I’ve discovered that dietary supplements ought to help, not attempt to compensate for being undernourished or overstressed.
Train as Punishment
In my twenties, train was one thing I did to “earn” meals or to vary my physique. I pushed laborious with lengthy runs, intense HIIT exercises, and heavy coaching. It was about chasing a sure aesthetic (that by no means got here) relatively than listening to how my physique felt. Finally, that strategy led to burnout and hormonal imbalances. I noticed I used to be lacking the true goal of motion which is to construct capability, power, and pleasure.
Now, I transfer to really feel alive, to not punish myself. I nonetheless power practice a number of instances per week as a result of muscle actually is the “organ of longevity.” Nonetheless, I’ve additionally added issues that nourish my nervous system, like each day walks, dancing with my children, fascia launch, sauna periods, and time barefoot exterior.
Motion needs to be various and intuitive, a mixture of power, mobility, play, and relaxation. I consider it now as motion diet. Quite a lot of inputs that preserve the physique versatile, robust, and balanced for a concentrate on connection.
Parenting and Presence
When my children had been little I had a really completely different strategy. I believed good parenting meant doing every little thing “proper” from wholesome meals to completely managed feelings. However actual life shortly confirmed me that children don’t thrive on perfection, they thrive on presence. Making an attempt to manage every little thing created pointless stress for each them and me.
Through the years, I’ve realized to let go of the concept I can (or ought to) defend my children from each battle. As a substitute, I concentrate on connection and modeling emotional regulation. My aim now’s to lift youngsters who belief themselves, perceive their feelings, and know they’re beloved unconditionally.
Which means fewer lectures and extra listening, fewer guidelines and extra rhythm. I nonetheless set boundaries, however I attempt to do it with empathy and curiosity. This strategy has introduced a lot extra peace into our dwelling, and truthfully, extra pleasure into motherhood.
Concern vs. Belief
For a very long time, I noticed my physique as one thing fragile and even damaged, particularly after my Hashimoto’s analysis. I seen signs as issues to repair and spent years making an attempt to manage each doable variable. Wanting again, I understand I used to be working from concern. Concern of sickness, concern of ageing, concern of doing it improper.
However the extra I realized the extra I noticed how deeply our programs are designed for stability and therapeutic. My physique wasn’t betraying me, it was speaking with me. Now I see my physique as making an attempt to work for my profit and signs are lovely messages. As a substitute of making an attempt to micromanage my well being when one thing feels off, I get curious and attempt to pay attention. Calm and confidence are a number of the greatest therapeutic instruments at our physique’s disposal.
What I Nonetheless Imagine (Now Extra Than Ever)
Some beliefs have solely deepened with time:
- The physique is sensible. It’s not your enemy; it’s your ally. Each symptom is communication, not betrayal.
- The fundamentals matter most. Sleep, gentle, actual meals, motion, minerals, and connection are the true “biohacks.”
- Curiosity heals. Approaching well being with surprise as a substitute of concern adjustments every little thing.
- Nature is drugs. The solar, the soil, the ocean…they provide what no capsule can replicate.
- Group adjustments lives. The truest therapeutic doesn’t occur in isolation. We’d like one another.
- Progress beats perfection. At all times.
Life Classes and Understanding
At first, I chased wellness like a puzzle to resolve. One lab outcome, one complement, one new protocol at a time. However after years of analysis, experimentation, and hundreds of conversations, I’ve realized that wellness isn’t one thing we obtain. As a substitute, it’s one thing we align with.
Our our bodies are continually transferring towards stability. The perfect factor we will do is to assist create the circumstances the place it could possibly naturally unfold. Which means much less doing and extra listening. Much less concern, extra belief. Much less rigidity, extra rhythm.
As of late, my wellness routines are an entire lot extra intuitive than they as soon as had been. My each day non-negotiables embody issues like ingesting mineral-rich water, getting morning daylight, and pursuing peace. I’m aiming for connection, with myself and with others, and dealing with my physique as a substitute of making an attempt so laborious to manage it.
The Journey Forward
When you’ve been on this journey with me from the beginning, thanks. You’ve watched Wellness Mama develop from a mother’s late-night analysis challenge right into a shared exploration of what it means to reside nicely. When you’re new right here, welcome to this kitchen desk of curiosity. We’re all studying collectively.
I nonetheless imagine, as I did holding that tiny child all these years in the past, that we will change the story for the subsequent technology. We will increase youngsters who belief their our bodies, perceive nature, and know that actual well being is woven by connection, pleasure, and goal. Well being doesn’t should be difficult and it’s typically the only issues in life which might be probably the most impactful.
What are some methods you’ve modified and grown in your well being journey? I’d love to listen to about it within the feedback under!
