I started this journal with the goal to inspire finding balance of mind, body & soul, re-connect to the self and live a healthier and happier life. Here is my story:
I have always been into healthy nutrition and exercise. I loved trying out the latest trends in wellness and test out how I could incorporate them into my routine. From eating a protein-heavy diet to plant-based, doing hard HIIT training three times a week, cycling and yoga, I have tried it all. After a particularly intense training period about three years ago I suddenly felt very depleted, super exhausted all the time and my performance during my workouts dropped dramatically. I didn’t know what was wrong with me because I was eating healthy (although very protein heavy) and was working out all the time. After multiple visits to my doctor who couldn’t find anything wrong with me, except for my iron being a little bit low, I accepted the fact that I was absolutely fine and that medically I couldn’t be helped. Except, I felt terrible. I realized that I had to listen to my body and give it a break. I took some time off working out, went for walks outside instead and then slowly started doing low-impact training like yoga and pilates again. I also changed my diet to a mostly vegetarian one and within two months I felt great again. I had my energy back and I was able to set up a good routine of yoga and pilates which made me feel flexible and strong. I have never looked back since. I know now that high-impact training is not for me because I have never felt better doing yoga daily and pilates a few times a week while eating a mostly plant-based diet.
Looking back, I now know that I probably had adrenal fatigue which can happen, when the body is in constant fight-or-flight mode. The adrenal system which produces hormones gets out of balance and in turn, symptoms are fatigue, low blood pressure and unexplained body aches. A strenuous workout routine and stressful environment paired with the wrong diet can be detrimental to our well-being, which is why it’s even more important to be able to understand your body’s signals if something doesn’t resonate, before it’s too late.
What I have learned throughout my journey was that I feel my best if I to listen to my body. No matter what the trend in nutrition and working out is right now or what my friends or family are into. Only I know my body and can tell what is good for me. When I got pregnant two years later, that was my mantra too. It’s funny how everyone suddenly feels entitled to comment on your body and give recommendations without being asked when they meet a pregnant woman. It wasn’t easy to stay true to myself and black out the outside advice during that time, because I was going through this for the first time, but I intuitively knew what the best way was to care for my growing baby and I. I did pilates and yoga in modified forms throughout the entire pregnancy, ate whatever I felt like and went to acupuncture and massages regularly. Baby and mama had a happy and healthy pregnancy and I recovered quite fast after birth which I ascribe to my intuitive approach to nutrition, food combining and exercise.
Everything seemed okay except for my stress and anxiety, which had reached heightened levels during pregnancy and post-partum. Having a baby is a huge shift in a woman’s life, as much as it is beautiful it can also be intimidating. You go from only being responsible for yourself to having the responsibility for this little creature who needs you twenty-four hours a day. This is not only physically exhausting but also mentally and if you add a hormonal roller coaster into the mix, it can feel like you are being pushed over edge very easily. It became clear that I had to do something about my anxiety and I dreaded what I knew was the only effective and sustainable method to deal with these problems long-term: meditation. I have a super impatient personality and just the thought of being still for ten minutes without a distraction freaked me out. But continuing to live with my racing mind which left me anxious and sleepless (even though my baby was sleeping through the night early on) wasn’t an option. I downloaded a meditation app and started meditating every day. At first for just five minutes once a day until I had slowly worked my way up to fifteen to twenty minutes. Now I can’t imagine a life without meditation anymore. Sitting in stillness and learning to control my mind was the beginning of a beautiful journey with re-connecting to myself. We are so tuned out and influenced by the outside world that we have forgotten to listen to ourselves. But when we do, wonderful things happen. Decisions become easy and insecurities vanish. Turning to yourself is the best remedy for anything. I became the happiest I had been in a long time. For the first time, ends seemed to connect to a circle of fulfilment. We can do all the exercise and eat all the greens in the world, but if our inner self is out of balance, we will never be truly happy and healthy.
My passion for health and wellness and my own experience is what motivated me to study holistic health and nutrition at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and create Essentielle as a platform to inspire and start a conversation about living a life in tune with mind, body and soul. We are not just a body, we also have a mind and a soul and only if all three things are cared for and nurtured, we can feel balanced.
On Essentielle, you can expect monthly interviews with personalities and entrepreneurs in the wellness, beauty and fashion space to learn more about their self-care practices and routines, how they cultivate mindfulness and find balance in their lives. Get ready for delicious plant-based recipes, clean beauty recommendations and tipps and tricks to care for mind and soul.
I can’t wait to share, create, learn from and connect with people who get excited to embrace a holistic lifestyle!
