Hi! It's been a while. But we're back this week with an interview I did with the amazing Sarah. We chatted about the work she does through life and health coaching to help her clients to heal their lives, some of her favourite mental health practices, some of her favourite daily rituals and so much more. Sarah has really answered every question with such thoughtfulness, care, and insight and I truly believe there is something to be learnt from Sarah's knowledge for everyone. I hope you enjoy this one! xx
1. Firstly, Introduce yourself! Who are you, what do you do, and what are your passions?
Hello! My name is Sarah, I’m 25 years old from Melbourne, Australia and I’m a Health and Life Coach! I’m so passionate in helping people, it lights me up so much to know I can bring value to someone’s life and help them step into their personal power to heal themselves. I adore living a progressive, healthy lifestyle that’s around nutrition, movement, supporting gut health and nurturing all aspects of my mind and body.
2. What sparked your interest and love for all things health and wellbeing?
Since 2018, I gained interest in getting myself to become fitter and up-levelling my nutrition. I adored eating more whole foods, having more energy and creating balance, but I didn’t have a healthy relationship with my body, nor did I address my stress levels. The real spark came from 2020 when I was faced with ongoing anxiety and gut issues, as it made me turn inwards to learn a new world of health, self-care and vitality.
3. Tell us a bit about what your work and page is all about. How do you work with your clients through healing their gut, mind and body, and what results do you aim to achieve for your clients?
I motivate women to utilise their personal power to realign their mental, physical and emotional selves. Everything I share comes from personal experience, knowledge and education which helps me connect, relate and help others heal themselves.
My main focus is around stress, anxiety and the power it has on how you feel in your gut and body, and how it impacts your quality of life. I bring them into a place of ease and clarity, so they can know how to manage their day-to-day life and develop a better quality of living!
4. How did you discover the world of health and wellness, and what inspired you to make it your career?
My own suffering and awakening of my health opened my eyes to shift how I lived my life. As I mentioned previously, I desired to better myself through fitness and nutrition but it wasn’t on a deeper, soulful level of actually creating harmony within my mind-body. Going through crippling gut issues like SIBO, paired with severe anxiety was my soul’s wake-up call. I felt like my body was broken and I was so misunderstood by family and friends, it felt so lonely and overwhelming.
Through my suffering, I took my health into my own hands and made the steps forward to heal myself! It was emotionally rough but as I ventured through to find the answers I needed to heal – it ultimately shifted how I saw myself and lived my life. From this, it brought me into an empowered state and compassion to help others in what they go through. This was true purpose for me.
5. What kind of issues do you help your clients work through, and why do you think healing holistically from the inside out is an effective way of doing so?
My focus areas are around calming their mind, balancing their body and ultimately helping them live a life that’s true to them. I guide them to step into their power to manage stress, anxiety and their emotions. I help them shift limiting beliefs and thoughts holding them back, reframe how they speak to themselves and give them my toolbox of ways to support their digestion, nervous system and overall health. They leave knowing how to manage their everyday life to live with ease, clarity and knowledge, knowing exactly what to do when needed!
Healing holistically is the missing link in our world today when it comes to living and being our best selves. There are more root causes which we are so unaware of and it isn’t taught to us! Health issues, chronic stress, anxiety, depression have deeper root causes, it’s much more than just a pill or supplement to take. Through my personal experience and seeing how others have healed their lives, it shows me how ALL areas of life impact how we feel and heal. It’s who we hang around, what we watch, what we eat, our stress levels, our sleep, how we talk to ourselves, our home environment, our lifestyle - they ALL play a part in becoming your best, healthiest self!
6. What are some general holistic methods of healing that you recommend to your clients who are struggling with mental health issues?
When we’re really struggling to cope emotionally and mentally, it can be overwhelming when we don’t know what we can do about it to help ourselves. I know for me, through my anxious or negative ruts, I’d be kept in it for longer than I wanted to because I didn’t know how to support myself.
Now, I’ve learnt and adapted ways to support my mind and body through those times and I’m here to share these calming tools with you, so you can implement these into your life:
Vagus Nerve activation: This is your bodies built in stress reliever, it’s incredible!
Hip Flexor exercises: This helps to release anxiety and suppressed emotions out of your body.
FEELING your emotions: Suppressing them only makes them stay around longer.
Self-acceptance: Acknowledge and accept it’s okay to experience lows in your life, it’s a part of human experience and it will always pass. Be gentle with yourself, your emotions will always teach you lessons in life!
Gratitude: Amongst the anxious mind or days where you feel low, acknowledge even just 1 part of your day that you’re so thankful to have and experience. Maybe it’s a sunny morning, your favourite breakfast or even something you give a go, will create more happy chemicals!
7. What does the average day on your food plate look like?
I like to generally keep to an anti-inflammatory diet, supporting my gut health along the way.
Breakfast: This always alternates! Some mornings I’ll have scrambled eggs, avocado on GF or sprouted bread, topped with sauerkraut. Or I’ll opt for a smoothie bowl or my fave choc banana buckwheat pancakes with a quick homemade blueberry chia jam!
Lunch: It’s either leftovers from the night before or I’ll most likely make something that’s minimal prep like zucchini and carrot fritters, tuna rice salad or I’ll grill some chicken with seasoned stir-fried veggies, drizzled with tahini.
Dinner: I love cooking a good stir-fry or making nourishing bowls where I’ll roast some vegetables, paired with some quinoa/rice and some crispy salmon or tofu, delish!
Dessert: I currently have a favourite single serve dessert that I make which is a buckwheat choc chip mug cake! Or I will have two-three pieces of Loving Earth chocolate or Lindt 85% dipped in some almond or peanut butter!
8. What are your favourite AM and PM rituals to begin and end your day the right way?
I love starting off my day tuned into my body. If I don’t connect to myself in the morning, I will tend to feel anxious as I start my day. I’ll begin with a short breath
work/or a meditation and finish off with 10-15 mins of yoga. After breakfast, I’ll have a shower and finish off with 60 seconds of cold water to activate my vagus nerve and begin my day!
For my evening, I’ll do another yoga practice to unwind and open up my hip flexors to release stress from my day. I’ll have some yummy dinner, dessert and spend time with my partner, watching a Netflix movie or sometimes just chatting or laughing about our day! Then to settle me down, I love listening to some ASMR as it’s so relaxing and helps me sleep!
9. Where do you see yourself and your work in the future?
I definitely see myself engaged in so many things in years to come, I feel so excited about it all!
I see myself hosting wellness retreats, writing a book, crafting some sort of healthy treats brand, collaborating with brands/people, speaking at events and TV networks, travelling and empowering women worldwide. I know I’ll always be on the move, creating one thing to the next thing, always shifting and evolving!
10. Finally, where can we find you on social media?
You can find me on Instagram @mindfully.nourish!
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