I am a passionate and dedicated Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I specialise in stress and its impact on gut and brain health. With a background in Neuroscience and a fascination with the mind-body connection from a young age, I have crafted an effective and holistic approach to health and well-being over the last 20 years. I have always leaned hard on my physical and mental strength as a professional athlete then winning BBC’s Last Woman Standing and on to a physically demanding career as a solo wildlife filmmaker in remote and hostile terrain. Truly understanding how to optimise my strength, immunity and positive mindset allowed me to stay at the top of my game in all of life’s pursuits. Today, as a fellow entrepreneur, my work is to empower high-achieving women to optimise their health as they achieve their professional goals by leveraging the latest in neuroscience and holistic wellness practices. I run a beautiful off-grid wellness retreat in the heart of Kenya with my wonderful husband. Here we share our love of nature, organics, nutritious food, yoga and the beauty of mindful living. We are advocates of living a lifestyle symbiotic with nature, a lifestyle that can nurture both people and planet.
The news that morning will never sit right. My brilliant mum was diagnosed with glioblastoma and given 3 months to live. It was impossible to digest. To look at her she was a healthy, strong entrepreneur at the top of her game. I put my own life on hold that day to be by her side and face the devastating journey together. We were gifted 10 ‘good’ months, but during that intimate journey with death, so much shifted in my perspective and relationship with life, and unbeknown to me I had begun the greatest physical and mental challenge of my lifetime.
When I lost mum, I found myself picking up the pieces of her three struggling companies and facing a fleet of anxious employees looking to me for hope. I was exhausted having given all I had to mums care, and in hindsight, the cloud of grief lay heavy. My husband and I kept driving through each day on a blinking battery, mounting pressure on ourselves to do more so mums legacy not only survived but thrived. Days turned into years and soon became ‘the norm’. I knew the workload and nomadic lifestyle was not sustainable, but how could we take time out to heal and rest without fumbling the ball or letting people down?
I was literally walking in mum’s footsteps and needed to change the narrative quickly. We had to become unshakable, and protect our health against the chronic stress, exhausting travel and never ending to do lists, but to build this level of resilience while sustaining our responsibilities seemed an impossible paradox. This challenge led me to open my books, and re-visit my passion for neuroscience and the mind-body connection.
I devoted every free moment to the research and study of the latest functional medicine techniques. I was lucky to have yoga, meditation and ayurveda practices rooted in my life already, but the magic happened when I married my experience of eastern healing methods with the latest findings in western science.
After 10 years of late night courses, certifications and conversations with healers around the world I mastered the tools that took our health, energy and mindsets to the next level. We were able to overcome burnout, eliminate fatigue and empower an unshakable mindset to protect our health. Today, I am still flying through to do lists, but I always have the energy to pursue my passions and be present for my favourite humans each day. I’ve developed a stronger mind and body than at the peak of my athletic career in my 20’s and this has given me the foundation to supercharge my professional and family life.
My study of neuroscience, years of competitive extreme-sport, and consequent recovery through yoga and meditation were compounded by my journey with mum, which ultimately inspired me to become a Health Coach. I mined years of research for the gold and with it developed The Health Blueprint to help other busy women protect their health and avoid burnout and dis-ease.
I only wish I could share these life-giving tools with mum, but it is now my mission to help others preserve their quality of life. We need to acknowledge that in many cases, we each have the power to choose prevention over cure, and better our life experience while doing it!
Get started by clicking the link below to download my Health Blueprint Starter Kit so that you can learn some strategies that helped me feel unshakable, optimise my immunity, and gain more energy to show up strong for work and play!