Latest / ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿 / 💆🏼‍♀️Self-Care Series: From Nourish to Flourish 🌱

Transcript

💆🏼‍♀️Self-Care Series: From Nourish to Flourish 🌱 · ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿

• 0:20
  Hey guys, and welcome back to another episode of Aligned and
• 0:24
  Thriving for Teachers, where we're gonna give real talk, but
• 0:28
  whoever's really gonna listen. So you know the saying you can't
• 0:33
  pour from an empty cup? Well, I've told you many times
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  that it's 100% true. But here's the thing.
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  Filling your cup is not just about food or drink.
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  Real nourishment is about how you care for your entire self,
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  your body, your mind and your spirit.
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  That's your whole being. And today I want to dive into
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  what nourishment really means beyond your usual diet talk and
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  what you can do to build some simple, realistic habits that
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  help you feel balanced, energised and joyful even when
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  life is busy. So let's define what nourishment
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  looks like beyond the food aspect of things.
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  When most of you hear the word nourishment, you think about
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  meal plans or dieting, maybe those really gross green kale
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  smoothies or counting your macros.
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  But honestly, nourishment is so much bigger than that.
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  For me, nourishment means listening to my whole body and
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  mind. It means giving myself what I
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  need to feel grounded, calm and strong, not just fueled.
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  One huge part of this is releasing tension.
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  So I get a massage once a month. Not because it feels luxurious,
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  which it definitely does, but because our bodies hold stress
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  in tight places. Places especially, like your
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  shoulders, your neck, your lower back.
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  For me, I think like my, I'm trying to think mostly my
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  shoulders and my lower back, but if you've ever felt like your
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  shoulders are like permanently up near your ears, then you'd
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  get it. Those knots are literally just
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  holding stress, those tight muscles.
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  It affects your mood, your sleep and your energy.
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  For me, that monthly massage is like hitting a complete reset
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  button. And I'm not saying that it's an
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  enjoyable one either. Like it is a proper full blown
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  get in there type of massage. My masseuse is absolutely
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  amazing. She's got many, many
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  qualifications to the point that I think I had an issue with my
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  hand and I ended up with dry needling.
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  So I had needles in my hand. I've had cupping, I've had
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  everything. She just does a bit of a, a body
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  scan when you walk in and you do some stretches and then you
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  places like I didn't even realise were sore.
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  And she's like, oh, no, you're crooked or you're this.
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  And I remember laying on the bed one time and she's like, do you
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  think you're straight? Like, yeah, I'm, I'm laying
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  straight. She's like, no, mate.
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  And then when she actually like lifted and manipulated my legs
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  to straighten me up, I felt so crooked.
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  And she's like, no, your back is twisted AF.
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  I'm like, oh right. So yes, you need to find
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  yourself. And I'm not saying go to walk in
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  type of ones. If that's all you can get, then
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  yes. But if you can find yourself an
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  actual solid masseuse that actually can, it's not a
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  relaxation massage, it's a proper massage.
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  You'll actually feel better for it.
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  Painful probably while you're there, but amazing when you've
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  released all that tension afterwards.
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  So that's a big one for me and I've locked in and I don't ever
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  miss it because it's important. I mean, I play sport too, so
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  there's lots of sport injury soreness and gym.
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  I do Pilates every morning so I've got lots of sore spots from
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  that too. So it all gets all the kinks out
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  and all the tension. So movement, movement is another
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  biggie. I used to be showing my age now.
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  I used to be a mad Crossfitter, like high intensity all in every
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  session. I was at the gym every morning,
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  I was flat out, I was lifting like ridiculously heavy weights
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  above my head and snatching and stuff.
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  I remember breaking my foot at one point and I was in a moon
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  boot and I was still going to the gym and doing pull ups and
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  all of the things. There's photos of it somewhere,
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  but it left me feeling a bit wired every day.
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  And sometimes I would get really overwhelmed emotionally and I
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  just thought that was getting hyped up, like getting that
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  fixed from the gym and thought yes, yes, yes.
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  Which is for some people. But for me, I really found that
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  my nervous system was just always in that constant revved
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  up state, which was not serving me well.
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  So over time, like you will find what works for you.
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  But now I do Pilates in the morning.
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  I'm still challenging my body and it's effective because it's
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  calming. It's rather than spiking my
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  stress and my nervous system levels, like it's actually quite
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  calming. And that for me is the key.
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  You've got to find what works for you.
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  You might really enjoy going for a morning run because that works
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  for your nervous system, or a really nice walk with just some
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  little inclines up and down, up and down, looking at the
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  beautiful scenery. Like you've got to find what
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  works for you. But for me, I love being able to
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  get up in the morning, go do my Pilates workout, know that I've
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  worked on my body, then I work on my mind, then I work on
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  getting ready for the day, and so on and so forth.
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  So you find what works for you. So if you love heavy weights or
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  yoga or long walks, the goal is just to get some movement that
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  serves your body and your mind instead of draining you.
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  OK, mindset is then the final piece of that whole nourishment
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  puzzle. So if you've been following
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  myself Care series, you know that mindset is everything.
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  I spend lots of time reading books, listening to podcasts
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  that inspire me to grow and be better.
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  Not to be perfect, but to be my absolute best self.
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  So what you feed your brain is just as important as what you
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  feed your body. And of course, rest and joy.
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  You can't forget about that. I actually have to plan rest,
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  like I physically put it on my calendar like a meeting because
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  without it, like I'd run on empty really fast and make sure
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  that you plan to have some fun. And, and did you not get this
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  message that I'm a planner? So yes, my life has to be
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  planned like that. I'm not good with spontaneous
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  fun. Just ask my friends and family.
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  So I have to plan for that. But, and that's what that looks
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  like for me, because life has to feel good and nourishment means
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  to me it means balance. So nourishment, when you're
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  doing it right, it changes everything.
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  When I really started putting my own health first, everything
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  else shifted. My confidence grew, my stress
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  went down. I just honestly felt better in
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  all areas of my life, at work, with my family and just how I
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  showed up for myself. I've worked in school where the
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  culture was really heavy around drinking.
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  OK I'm just going to be honest. Like Friday nights, weekends,
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  social events. And I probably did that too once
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  or twice but honestly I now can't remember the last time I
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  had a proper drink. These days my treat is legit a
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  no sugar coke and I'm genuinely happy with that decision.
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  You don't need alcohol to be brave or to unwind.
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  You just need to show yourself a little courage, and sometimes
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  that's as simple as choosing a different path.
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  So I'm not saying no to drink ever in the rest of my life.
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  Like, yes, if someone's going to offer me a glass of champagne
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  and it's a wedding, I will probably have a glass of
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  champagne. But my mindset and all the
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  changes I've done over the last 12 to 18 months, I've really
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  sort of seen what to me, and this is not to you, but to me,
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  I'm like, what is the point? Yes, I can understand certain
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  things for celebrations and of course you know those events
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  where everything is free and you just go oh woo Hoo.
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  But even now I'm like, but why? What is this doing to my body?
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  What is this doing to my insides?
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  Do I really need this? Like that is more my mentality.
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  And honestly, I don't mind now that I'm only joking, my age,
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  feeling a bit older, that driving is not a real issue to
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  me as long as there's people being nice and still talking to
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  me and keeping me entertained. And I'm not out way too late
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  because it is harder to stay awake when you don't have that
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  in your system. You don't seem to be as
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  invincible. I think so, yeah.
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  But it's just choosing something different.
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  I think part of that change for me, it came from, I've started
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  doing like a monthly detox and switching up my vitamins and my
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  water. I know this is not a salesy
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  thing, but these shifts have literally healed me from the
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  inside out. And if you want to know more
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  about what I did in relation to my vitamins, my water, all of
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  those things, please message me. I've got lots of info and I'm
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  happy to help guide you in the right direction.
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  But only if you're ready 'cause it was a massive shift for me to
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  the point that obviously I lost a lot of weight in a healthy,
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  again, in a very healthy way. And it's maintainable.
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  My eating habits are maintainable because I am
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  focused on nourishing my body in every way, shape and form.
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  And this is just like one part of it.
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  So I'm working on my mindset and my healthy version of me because
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  I want to live a happy, healthy life and I'm not getting sick at
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  work and catching all of the bugs from all of the students.
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  So it's just a win win for everyone really all around.
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  But I get it. We want simple, realistic
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  nourishment strategies. I get that life is busy.
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  My life is hectic sometimes and if I don't factor some of these
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  things in it, it won't happen. So if nourishment feels like
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  it's another giant To Do List, you're not gonna stick with it.
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  Let's just be honest. So you need some simple,
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  realistic ways to nourish yourself.
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  So this is how I nourish myself and it might work for you too.
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  But I'll give you some ideas and then we can sort of talk more if
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  you want to. But as I said, I do a monthly
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  detox which goes for about 10 days to reset my body and my
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  mind. It clears out all the clutter
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  and it helps me feel fresh. And if you want the details
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  about that, just ask me. I don't do it every month
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  anymore. I sort of did it solidly for
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  about 8 months and now I just do it sort of when I need it.
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  So it's about every three months I join back in and do another 10
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  days and just reset. And the kids and hubby like they
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  have to have some of those meals too.
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  And it's not, it's not bad for them, let's be honest.
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  Like eating whole nourishable, like nourishing foods, not an
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  issue. Let's just feed all the veggies.
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  I focus a lot now. So that's, that's one.
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  So monthly detox 2 protein, protein, protein.
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  And Yep, if you're one of these gym people, you've probably
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  heard all about it. But I focus on protein in my
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  meals because that helps to keep my energy steady and it stops
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  those mid afternoon slumps. And from working on my health
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  journey over the last 12 to 8 months, that's been a big
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  learning curve for me that I realised I probably was not
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  eating enough protein in my day. I, I don't know why I thought
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  the way I did, but I just, I guess I just assumed that you
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  couldn't eat like that or that much food, but you can when
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  you're eating the right types of food.
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  But I just aimed on upping my protein because now I get to the
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  end of the night and I'm not going to the fridge and eating
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  an entire block of chocolate. And yes, I have been guilty of
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  that multiple times because chocolate is still gluten free
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  in certain cases. So yeah, I have probably still
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  had that. But now my guilty pleasure is
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  like a hot cacao or there's a really good protein custard that
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  I have. So that's now my go to instead
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  another one. So water is huge for me.
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  Not just any water though. I pay attention to the quality
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  of my water and I have a very specific type of water and I
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  think it makes a difference in how I feel every single day.
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  And if you want information about that, like DM me, talk to
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  me about that. But water, water, water, 2
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  litres a day or more, even better.
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  I've tried to get to 3 but that's really hard in teacher
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  life when you really need to pee all the time.
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  So yeah, but water, vitamins. I don't actually know how anyone
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  is going on with life without taking vitamins at this point in
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  time. Like when I meet people I'm
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  like, oh you, you don't take vitamins, what are you doing?
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  Like what? How is your health looking?
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  What are your blood results like?
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  I would like to see your insides.
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  That sounds really creepy. Sorry, but that's, that's all
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  those little things that go through your head.
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  So I take a specific set of vitamins that support my health
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  in ways that I honestly didn't even expect.
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  And again, talk to me more like DME if you want to hear about
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  those, but they're very like their absolute whole food,
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  amazing goodness. It helps me in more ways than
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  one. As I said before, I'm a Dutch
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  person, so I've suffered from lots of skin conditions like
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  eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis. We get like a whole trifecta.
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  We get every type of skin condition imaginable.
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  And I would literally look like it was snowing from my head.
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  The amount of stuff that was through my hair, especially when
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  my stress levels were high, it was like the psoriasis in my
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  hair would multiply. And then it would like just not
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  a pretty sight. Like wearing a black cardigan
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  did not work for me in those times.
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  So I've come a long way in the last 12 months.
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  So that is no longer a big issue.
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  Like instead of being a full blown snowstorm, it's probably
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  just a little flake here and there, which is quite normal
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  nowadays. So blessings in disguise and
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  movement. Movement that fits your life
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  now. Not every day has to be that
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  hard. Solid workout but even just 10
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  minutes counts. Find what feels good, not what
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  you think you should do. You need to do what works for
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  you, otherwise you're not going to stick to it.
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  Let's just be honest. I know I only stick to my
• 14:03
  routine now because I thoroughly enjoy it and I still play
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  sports. So yes.
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  I do Pilates like 6 mornings a week and I have one morning off
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  to have a bit of a stretch and rest day.
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  I do do hockey training one night a week and play a game one
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  game or two on the weekends. So I am actually doing some
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  solid running activity because I don't know about you.
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  I'm not. I say I'm not a runner, I run on
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  the field. I'm not a runner without
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  motivation. So you will see me running on
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  the side of the highway. If I'm running for a time trial
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  or if there is a competition involved, you will not see me
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  running for pleasure because to me running is not enjoyable.
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  I'll happily walk for hours, but running, I don't know, I just
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  can't. But on the field it's different
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  because I'm very competitive. So that's a whole different
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  mindset. So there you go.
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  I'll happily run to get a ball, but not for any reason.
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  So yes, if you do see me running, it is because I'm
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  probably running from something. Yeah, and.
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  And your mindset. So mindset fuel.
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  Instead of mindlessly scrolling. OK, I swap in 10 minutes of a
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  podcast or reading something inspiring.
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  It's just those small habits, but they have a massive, massive
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  impact. You can get tonnes of apps where
• 15:13
  you can just listen to books. You don't have to sit and read
• 15:15
  them anymore. You can just have your headset,
• 15:17
  your headset, your Earpods or whatever in your ears while
• 15:20
  you're doing the washing. Like that's what I do.
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  If I'm doing mom jobs, kids are watching TV or they're doing
• 15:25
  something outside, then I'm, oh, I got to fold the washing quick.
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  I'll put in my book and I'll listen to my book for 5 minutes
• 15:30
  while I'm folding the washing because I can multitask like
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  that. And it's, it's so good.
• 15:35
  If you have 1/2 hour drive to go pick up a kid.
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  And this is again, speaking from experience, you have 1/2 hour
• 15:40
  drive to go pick up your kid from sport.
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  You could be listening to a podcast in the car on your way
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  to there. My kids now we have a bit of a
• 15:47
  conversation about, oh, do you mind if?
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  And I always am very selective about which podcasts I have on
• 15:53
  in the car because there are some that have a couple of bad
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  words. So I sort of choose ones that I
• 15:59
  know that they're OK to listen to.
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  So yeah, they don't mind. I'm like, oh, do you mind if I'm
• 16:03
  he keeps listening to a podcast? No, that's fine.
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  Or if they want to talk to me, I pause it and we have a bit of a
• 16:07
  conversation and they're like, oh, you can listen now, mom.
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  So we have that respect and yeah, but it's not about
• 16:12
  perfection. It's just those little choices
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  and they all add up over time. So that for me is like what you
• 16:18
  want to eat is a detox protein in your meals, water, vitamins,
• 16:22
  movement that fits your life and your mindset.
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  All of those things are working together to help create that
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  idea of nourish to flourish because you're taking care of
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  your body and your mind when you're nourishing yourself
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  fully. So your mind, your body, your
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  soul, you will show up differently in every part of
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  your life. You will have more patience,
• 16:43
  more energy, and so much more joy.
• 16:47
  You just become someone who can give more because you're not
• 16:49
  constantly running on empty. So, and I know if you were to
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  talk to people that, that have known me my whole life and to
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  where I am now, they would tell you the same thing that because
• 17:01
  I have focused on nourishing myself, I'm now this completely
• 17:05
  different flourished person. And I look different, I feel
• 17:08
  different and I, my energy is different, but I'm still me.
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  But my personality and everything is just enhanced.
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  So today I want to challenge you to pick just one thing, one
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  thing that you could do to nourish yourself.
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  Maybe it's booking that massage that you've been thinking about
• 17:27
  and putting off. Maybe it's swapping one of those
• 17:30
  coffees for a big glass of water or listening to a podcast that
• 17:34
  inspires you. Just start small, nourish
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  yourself, and then just watch yourself flourish.
• 17:40
  It's gonna be amazing. So until next time, I hope you
• 17:46
  stay aligned and you keep thriving and you do go and focus
• 17:50
  on something to nourish yourself, your mind, your body,
• 17:52
  your soul, whatever it might be. I've given you lots of
• 17:56
  suggestions, lots of ideas for what works for me.
• 17:59
  It may not work for you. You can find something else, as
• 18:01
  I said, but lots of suggestions for you.
• 18:04
  And if you want to know more about what I do and my
• 18:07
  perspective, please dear me, send me a message on Instagram,
• 18:10
  the line thriving for teachers or on Facebook, same thing.
• 18:13
  And let me know your questions more than happy to answer
• 18:16
  because I want to help you go from nourishing to flourishing.
• 18:20
  Your body, taking care of your mind, your body, your soul, your
• 18:22
  whole world will make you such a better teacher, a better human,
• 18:26
  just all of the things. Let's look after your whole
• 18:28
  self. So if I can help you, make sure
• 18:30
  you send me a message so I'll get back to it.
• 18:32
  As as I said, I'll talk to you again next time.
• 18:34
  Stay aligned, keep driving. That's that's all I've got for
• 18:38
  you today. OK, Talk to you next time.
• 18:41
  Bye. The.