Stress is one of the leading health issues that increases your risk of chronic illness, plus decreases your enjoyment of the wonderful things around you. So! To help you learn about stress management, here's a handy infographic by the lovely people at Casper, creators of the mattress that lets you sleep cooler, on how naps can help decrease your stress levels.
To learn more about how stress can make you age faster and impact your health, click here.
The other night I went to an incredible workshops with Dr Libby Weaver, biochemist extraordinaire and wellness advocate. Much like Aprivé Wellness, Dr Libby blends scientific evidence with fun stories and meaningful wellbeing tips to help women live their best lives.
Last night's workshop focused around women in particular, and featured everything from the importance of liver health to the danger of oestrogen dominance. Most interestingly, Dr Libby answered her own question:
"Why do we do what we do when we know what we know?"
I learned the answer during the workshop, and here are other things I learned.
Dr Libby points out food (whole, real food that is) is just food, it's your choices that determine health. She's also keen to remind everyone that junk food isn't food. It's just junk.
To convert one chemical into another, which the body can use, we need nutrients. Nutrients are what we get from real food. Take broccoli for example: Broccoli is broken down into a special kind of medium, which also helps your liver process oestrogen. Without broccoli, this reaction is stalled. Why don't you want to much oestrogen? Read on....
Liver cleansing and beetroot juices have been around for ages, but apart from helping recover from a champagne binge, no one is really sure why livers need cleansing.
In the old days, alcohol was the main reason livers developed fatty liver disease. Now though, it's occurring in many women, even children. What does this mean?
It means there is less viable liver able to process the incoming fats, cholesterol, oestrogen and alcohol, so it's working at lower capacity and is overloaded. Uh oh...
First up, think of the liver as a 2-phase funnel. Dr Libby uses her arm to depict a liver. Imagine your forearm is the input, where trans-fats, alcohol, cholesterol and oestrogen come in. At the wrist is phase one, where every substance undergoes a change, call it A1. After A1, imagine your palm is phase 2, where the changed substance A1 chooses a pathway down one of your fingertips, one of 5 different pathways.
Nodding our heads at the workshop, Dr Libby went on, explaining what happens when the liver is backed up. After a substance comes into the liver and undergoes a change (becomes A1) sometimes there's too much traffic for it to filter down one of the five pathways. So! It sneaks out a trap door and gets back into the blood stream.
Our body isn't skilled at processing these altered substances (A1) and a good example is oestrogen. After it become altered, if it is forced to sneak out the trapdoor, the altered oestrogen enters the blood stream. Unfortunately it can't be processed, and has been linked to oestrogen-dominant cancers like some breast cancers. Not good.
You need to free up the traffic that's blocking those five pathways.
1. Decrease cholesterol, alcohol and trans fats to slow down the flow of substances coming into the liver.
2. Decrease your oestrogen levels. How? Decrease your stress levels; this helps increase your progesterone levels which is your body's anti-anxiety hormone. When progesterone levels increase, oestrogen decreases and they level out. This means there's less oestrogen flooding into the liver, and none has to sneak out the trap door!
Thinking of the info I learned from Dr Libby!
Dr Libby has a green juice every morning, and finds it the easiest way to increase her veggie intake.
Seeing hundreds of women every year at her Beautiful You Weekends, Dr Libby encounters so many women who feel overwhelmed, flustered and stressed, but who wear a mask of serenity to hide it all. Her antidote is to get you to say 'no' more often. Not a guilty no, where you beat yourself up for not being able to help a friend, attend a seminar or walk someone's dog, but a content, strong 'NO!' Give it a try.
For the first time, Dr Libby shared her own personal story in this seminar about a battle with gluten intolerance where she lost excessive weight, and was very ill. She says she didn't go to the doctor for four whole months, but if she'd listened to her body, she would have gone earlier. Libby wants you to listen to your body, and trust your intuition as it is almost always right about what you need to look after yourself.
This was the most profound part of the workshop for me. As a wellness consultant, I chat with women about habit change and many do incredibly well. But this fact is absolutely true, and I had never thought of it so clearly.
Everyone knows what they should to do look after themselves, so why don't they do it? Because they don't think they deserve to be their best selves. If you truly believe you are precious, and valuable, and special, you're more likely to treat yourself to the best gift - health. If you're not sure how to start valuing yourself, come to one of our retreats. It's the perfect place to start!
Dr Libby is a truly brilliant speaker, and the other night's workshops was no exception. She truly listens to women, and looks at what she can do to help you have more energy and be your best self. I feel so privileged to have attended this event for Aprivé Wellness and our Health & Wellness blog for Queenstown.com. Thank you Dr Libby! Amazing as always.
I'm always eager to learn from the best in the wellness industry, so I chatted to Sonja Sorich, founder and mastermind behind Spa Wellness Australia. I've been so lucky to be invited to be a Holistic Wellness Coach for this brand, and I'm just so thrilled to share the wonderful knowledge Sonja has learned after many years in the wellness industry.
I was always naturally athletic and active so that came easily, but so did my big appetite for rich european food which was readily available at home.
Due to being on the heavier side I became interested in nutrition and exercise. Whilst this was a hobby and a large part of my reading I then began working as an office manager in a wellness clinic that offered chiropractic, massage and rehabilitation. The clinic was located within the fitness centre I used to work out and attend classes. Whilst in this role I completed my Cert 4 in personal training and group fitness and I also trained in 3 Les Mills programs. I then went to India to study yoga and it was here that a different perspective on health was gained.
As you know I began as an office manager and then I stepped into teaching classes and personal training, whilst also having a role as a group fitness coordinator in one of Sydney's premier health clubs. After some time here I went aboard a cruise ship as the fitness instructor and then progressed into spa management.
I always sought to weave wellness into each spa I worked with and was also still teaching yoga on the side. I managed 5 star spas from cruise ships to the Maldives, Dubai, Whitsundays and then finally Australia's largest spa at Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat on the Gold Coast. I also managed the 3 day retreat programs there.
After leaving Gwinganna I was asked to manage the pre-opening project for One&Only on Hayman Island and from there I set up my own business 'Spa Wellness Consulting' and now work for myself as a spa, wellness and retreat consultant.
Ive been involved in a number of projects now and I love the width and breadth of learning and career opportunities I have had in this industry.
Spa Wellness' beautiful branding
Life is getting faster.
The way we live is more stressful and toxic and due to stress and lifestyle diseases being prevalent people can no longer ignore that they need to look after themselves.
I also believe that the media promotes youthfulness and anti ageing and a large part of seeking wellness is motivated by the desire to look and feel younger for longer. It is also becoming increasingly popular and trendy to be healthy.
Sonja loves yoga!
The Beauty Chef
Synthesis Organics
Perfect Potion
Organic Spa
Breathe Deeply
Drink Water
Commit to Moving the Body Everyday (even if just for 20 minutes)
Spa Wellness' Beautiful Marketing Imagery
So there you have it! The best health and wellness tips, plus an insight into a true innovator of the wellness industry.
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