My 5 Reasons for Joining the Wellness Industry

Ok, so firstly, I have to admit that there are definitely more than five reasons I now work in wellness. However, cancer, a holiday, my own recovery, a self-help book and Bali, the five that I’m highlighting today are definitely strong contenders for the those that hold the most significance.

Number 1 | Let’s just get the bad one out of the way…

...Cancer. My first reason is cancer. And while we all feel pretty hostile towards this incredibly volatile disease that affects so many lives, I have personal dealings with it by way of a Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis in 2013. Between diagnose and my fortunate remission I was like a new woman determined to remove the person that had created the disease. What I found was that the person who had created the disease was harder to change than it was to cure the cancer. The thing is, that even before I started learning about the Mind-body I knew in my soul that mental and physical transformation was key. A full transformation was essential to my keeping this thing at bay and not just surviving those horrible years of symptoms and treatments but thriving beyond them. The full story is definitely for another blog post.

Number 2 | Children's Country Holiday Fund.

Westminster used to have a programme called The Children's Country Holiday Fund. Sending children from families who were on a low income to go stay with friendly families who lived in more rural settings. The friendly families were subsidised and the children who took part got to have a holiday that they may have not been able to afford and they also got to experience country life and sometimes even farm life.

I was sent to the same family in Wales on two occasions and to a farm near Coventry on one other occasion. In Wales I stayed with an older couple who had no children and who were incredibly sweet and organised. I watched the same three VHS movies everyday and ate the same "tea" everyday which I loved. They took me brambly picking, I played cricket in fields with the neighbouring children and was taken to the botanical gardens. Although only six or seven years old I remember being very aware of how quiet and relaxing it was there compared to the hustle and bustle of London. I came back home to London with the country bug feeling as though my eyes had been opened to how the other half live. Today when I fantasise about offering retreats held in rural parts of the country or having my own small holding and being in quieter, greener surroundings I remind myself that it's very likely to be because of those experiences in Wales over thirty years ago.

Number 3 | I need all the tips tricks and wellness hacks for myself.

I’ve used everything from sex, drugs, junk food and obnoxious social interactions to mask feelings of self-loathing, crippling anxiety and 'not-enough-ness'. Amongst other ailments my behaviour resulted in long-term, chronic, sympathetic dominance (chronic inflammation). I’m coming from being one of the most self critical, awkward, insecure angry and reactive people you’ve ever met. I wanted and needed a career that was good for me. One that prolonged and enhanced my own life and had longevity. I honestly do feel that there’ll never be a time where I don’t want to learn about how to feel better and to share health tips and wisdom surrounding the human condition. I’ll never stop wanting to help improve someone else’s life-state. None of my other career goals have ever felt so authentic and pure in my heart.

Reason 3 | Self-help books and podcasts.

I will never forget the first time I read a 'self-help book' back in 2007, I believe. My good friend (to this day) gave me a copy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Sean Covey. Someone had given it to her and now it was my turn. The book changed my life and introduced me to ideas around self improvement, ontology, neuroscience, behavioural science and most importantly to the concept of mind, MY mind.

More recently it's been podcasts that have won me over and been integral to my rate of growth and learning across an array of different subjects surrounding health. Dr. Rangan Chatterjee of the Feel Better Live More podcast is literally my hero. I share his desire to highlight the work being done by scientists and doctors all over the world who are coming on leaps and bounds with research and treatments for some of humanity’s long-standing ailments. Ailments that have plagued us for millennia to which we are increasingly seeing developments in treating that seem like science fiction or from our wildest dreams.

Number 4 | Bali.

After being told that the cancer had gone into remission I had a new lease of life and promised myself that I would not live a life full of regret and fear. I wanted to make things happen that required bravery and assertiveness. A few friends and I embarked on a healing and bonding trip to Bali. I found travelling to be incredibly life-affirming and spiritual in itself let alone because I was visiting Bali which was living up to its reputation as a destination for those seeking revivification. There were apothecaries and health drinks on every corner, healing elixirs and vegan eateries at every turn, not to mention the studios and centres offering courses, a chance to meet and speak to healers, shamans, gurus and monks and be guided through your rejuvenation. It really inspired me and further stoked my interest in the wellness industry. There are, you might say, ugly truths and repercussions to the tourism there but that’s for another day.

Somewhere near the beginning of the trip after having been awake for nearly forty-eight hours due to travelling from Denpasar airport to Kuta then to Ubud we thought it would be a great idea to book a gong bath ceremony with one of the greatest gong masters in the world. To my horror instead of slipping into a deep meditation or Nidra I fell into full blown sloth sleep in the ceremony and was snoring so loudly that it was actually off-putting for other people. My friend kept nudging me and waking me up, but the master came over to me, put some kind of ointment on my third eye and played a smaller gong right by my ear. I had a terrible time between the shame, guilt and then added sleep torture... in my defence, let’s not forget that I had just had cancer, people!

When we got back to the hotel I passed-out hard. I woke around five in the morning panting and crying having had a terribly vivid nightmare. Once I had begun to calm myself down I noticed the room was filled with a bright yellow and orange hue. I’d woken just before sunrise and with tears down my face I was now looking out into the jungle at one of the most beautIful moments I’d ever witness in nature. I hastily took one picture and immediately put my phone down so that I could bask in the moment again.

I sat in silence for a long while. It was the first time I had been so still and present since the diagnosis and I felt in love with my world for the first time in months, even years. Something big and significant clicked in my head and in my heart. Call it doing something new, seeing the world or the joys of going on a holiday with friends or perhaps I had finally aligned my thoughts and desires with my words and actions and it had paid-off big time.

Yoga is just the start for me and to be honest my quest for training in complimentary therapies and to acquire knowledge about the human condition will only end when the light goes out.