meet anna
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 an early 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, winning BBC’s Last Woman Standing and a physically demanding career as a solo wildlife filmmaker in remote and hostile terrain. Understanding how to condition my strength, immunity and positive mindset allowed me to stay at the top of my game in all life’s pursuits. Today, as a fellow entrepreneur, my passion 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 incredible husband and rescue dogs. Here we share our love of organics, meditation, nutritious food, movement 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.
why did I become a health coach?
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. Life was put on hold that day to be by mums side and face the heartbreaking 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.
The day after we lost our gorgeous mum I had to step up and face a fleet of anxious employees looking for hope in the after math of Covid and losing their matriarch. Mums three incredible companies were drowning, I was exhausted having given all I had to mums care, and the invisible cloud of grief lay heavy. My husband stood by me and together we pushed through each day on a blinking battery, mounting pressure on ourselves to do more so mums legacy not only survived but thrived against the odds. Days turned into years and soon became ‘the norm’. I knew the workload and travel was not sustainable, but how could we take time out to heal and rest without fumbling the ball or letting people down?
We had to become physically, emotionally and mentally unshakable if we were going to get the companies back to green. We needed to 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 late nights and early mornings 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, this has given me the foundation to supercharge my professional and family life.
So to answer the question, my study of neuroscience, years of competitive sport, and consequent recovery through yoga-meditation were compounded by my journey with mum, this 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 most cases, we have the power to choose prevention over cure, and better our life experience in the process.
THE health blueprint
We are excited to be launching The Health Blueprint in August 2024. Get started by clicking the link below to download the Health Blueprint Starter Kit to learn some strategies that helped me develop an unshakable mindset, optimise my immunity, and gain more energy to show up stronger for work and play!
