Optimal (gut) Health
For as long as I can remember, I've had a gut issues:
- toilet habits not being 'regular';
- feeling the bloat a lot of the time;
- feeling 'heavy' in the stomach, sometimes feeling pain;
- energy highs and lows;
- bad breath;
- wind.
Ohhh I'm painting a lovely picture <head in hands>;)
Up until 5 years ago, I never thought much of it. It wasn't a conscious thing on my mind, so I just lived with it and pushed aside my intuition that told me something wasn't quite right in my gut.
I was in an all time low (tick all of the above + constant anxiety + forgetfulness + stress). So I saw a gut specialist (David O'Brien from 5th Element Wellness) and through testing, nutritional and supplement protocols I'm feeling so much better. It wasn't an easy process:
- financially (supplements, consultations, testing);
- physically (changing my eating habits entirely, experiencing something called 'die off' during one of the protocols + more);
- mentally (facing up to the fact binge eating on junk is not a good idea, sticking to the protocols).
However, over that 5 year period, I can say that all of the above mentioned symptoms went away, plus I experienced a new lease on life - hair, skin and nails noticeably improved, ability to focus and concentrate for longer periods of time, felt more alert, grateful and excited about life in general. I looked younger and lost the excess weight I'd piled on after my bikini competition.
I went through a massive time of self development too. I have realised that being in optimal health does not just mean good nutrition, supplementation and movement. There are arguably even more important factors that activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which I know has helped me immensely:
Pelvic Floor Physio, including abdominal massage
Body Magician sessions
So in a nutshell,
Optimal Health is:
- Waking up in the morning, feeling refreshed and raring to go. It's not that hard to get up.
- Never feeling 'thirsty'. Always feeling well hydrated.
- You feel energised awake and alert most of the time. There's rarely energy highs and lows- you're at a consistent, flowing energy level most of the day.
- Being in a body that's not overweight- when you look in the mirror, you're pretty happy with what you see.
- You have found the movement practise you like and consistently make time for it most days.
- You know the value of self care, and practises that activate the parasympathetic nervous system often (yoga, journaling, breathing meditation, play, etc).
- You don't experience pain, uncomfortableness or that nagging feeling that something's not right somewhere in your body.
We are all meant to be happy, thriving, energetic beings ALL THE TIME.
If you don't feel that way, it's your body's warning system, telling you that something needs to be addressed.
If you're reading this thinking 'I'm not in optimal health at all', get in touch and I can connect you to some amazingly talented people in my network who can get to the bottom of your concern. Remember, the first stage to getting better is awareness and taking small steps in the right direction.
Rhoda x
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