RETHINKING HEALTHCARE

This is a topic very close to my heart. I started out studying Pharmacy because I wanted to work in healthcare. Health was an area that always appealed to me more than business or finance or other creative professions. At the time I didn’t know that business, finance and creative marketing can in many ways influence healthcare. I was naive, I went into health because I wanted to help people and I still believe that is why most people go into it. I was good at caring for others and I loved learning information about how things worked and what better and more fascinating “thing” than the Human Body.

However, what I have come to appreciate more recently is that the current healthcare system is less about healthcare and more about disease management and could actually be renamed more appropriately to sickcare.

Chronic diseases such as diabetes, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, depression, ADHD, anxiety, GERD and more are crippling our healthcare system. The current health situation is the worst it has ever been. Think about this for a moment:

– Over half of adults take prescription medications
– 90% take over the counter medicines
– Autism prevalence has more than doubled since 2000 (not due to increased diagnosis or detection)
– The number of people diagnosed with depression is increasing by 20% each year.
– This is the first generation of children in modern history that’s expected to lead shorter life spans than their parent. WOW.

For anyone with children, that is pretty scary news.

These points come from American data, but this is not confined to America, it’s becoming a world world issue and let me assure you it is definitely here in our back yards. I see it everyday.

The current medical system is fantastic for emergency and trauma care. If I am in a car accident I definitely want to be taken to hospital for treatment. This care has extended human life better than ever before. We live in an era were sight is starting to be restored to the blind. We can transplant organs and give life. Some of the stuff that is happening in this area of healthcare is out of a science fiction novel.

But when it comes to treating and preventing chronic disease or promoting health and wellness we are failing and honestly the system is not set up to deal with it. The system is entirely focussed on suppressing symptoms with drugs and or surgery. If you have high blood pressure, you are given a drug to lower it. If you have high cholesterol, you’re given a drug to lower that. If you have gall stones, they remove your gallbladder. There is very rarely any investigation into what is causing the rise in blood pressure or cholesterol or gallstones.

Yes the drugs can effectively bring those markers down or the surgery can remove the symptoms all together. But this treatment approach rarely addresses the real problem. And the real problem will almost always manifest into something else. This leads to a viscous cycle of multiple symptoms/diseases and multiple medications which can further impair body functions and lead you further away from health.

I want to share with you an analogy I recently heard that makes sense as to where we are at. Think of disease as a spectrum.

Because disease doesn’t just pop up out of nowhere. Before that you get malfunctioning systems cells, tissues that lead to disease and lastly symptoms. For example, Type 2 diabetes, doesn’t occur overnight. Insulin resistance precedes this and certain diet and lifestyle factors precede insulin resistance.

Picture on the left side of this spectrum you have the very beginning of disease (malfunctions) before it is even recognisable and then on the right side you have acute life threatening situation as close to death as possible. The current system is set up to intervene towards the far right side of that spectrum. And as mentioned we do this very well.

If you are having a heart attack, you are shuttled straight off to hospital given medication to control or assist the situation, surgery and recover and then go on with life. A job well done – life saved. Take on the other hand a person who gets diagnosed with Hashimoto Thyroiditis (the most common cause of hypothyroidism and a condition on the rise in women). Straight up you get a script for thyroxine are told you will be on it forever. Rarely are you told it is an autoimmune disease whereby your immune system is attacking it’s own thyroid gland and that this is not a good thing to be going on inside you. In most cases of Hashimoto’s patients have underlying issues with intestinal permeability (leaky gut) and issues with Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Axis Dysregulation and can be better management with some diet and lifestyle intervention to control and prevent subsequent decline in thyroid function if caught early enough.

But what happens is the system isn’t set up to look at the disease holistically or treat it with things other than medication. So the patient takes their medicine, feels better initially, then overtime due to further attack on the thyroid gland end up needing an increase in dose of thyroxine, start experiences the effects of low thyroid hormone output such as weight gain, depression, reflux and end up on medications to treat these symptoms. What if we could intervene before this? What if your symptoms of hypothyroidism were identified early and someone intervened? It would save a heap of money and a whole lot of heartache for the patient.

So if we are going to make a real impact on peoples health we need to be intervening as far to the left of the spectrum as possible – and this is possible through functional lab testing. This would save many millions of dollars. It would also empower people to take care of themselves to avoid sick care and embrace true healthcare where preventing disease and staying healthy is what you go to health professionals for rather than managing disease.

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What if I told you this approach is in the pipeline!

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Excited? I am. And I will make sure I am a part of it, because we all deserve to be healthy and happy and get the best out of life. This is not some hippy, alternate community, craze. This is a new model of understanding how illness develops and how to effectively intervene. It is backed by the latest research, a strong understanding on how the body works and it makes total sense. So I’m hooked. This is the health system I intended to go into.

A healthcare system where people are educated about their health, they understand what contributes to their health complaints, they have daily strategies that involve more than taking pills per day and in most situations their health is restored and they go on to live a healthy and happy life.

Stay tuned to find out more about how this can be achieved…

With Love

Chantel

STRESS AND M.I.A. FEMALE SEX HORMONE

The female body – such a delicate and exquisite thing! From our boobs and bums to our ever complicating thought process we have men both begging for more yet so perplexed. It is our complexity that is both our greatest asset and for most our greatest health hurdle.

For centuries females have been the carer of many – from family to community. Gathering, preparing, sacrificing are inherent to our nature. This has extended into modern day living – only now external pressures are far greater. The end result is a society of burnt out beautiful women.

The chronicity of stress is the real enemy. Our bodies are more than equipped to deal with acute bouts of stressful situations and this is of course of benefit when dealing with a stressful situation such as running from danger or preparing for a presentation. Our pupils dilate, our heart rate increases, digestion is slowed, blood flow increases to our skeletal muscles, our blood glucose rises – we are focussed, sharp and ready to handle the situation at hand and conserve energy away from non vital survival activities like digestion, reproduction, repair, growth. But living in a state of chronic stress has devastating effects on our body and is the root cause of most women’s health complaints.

The problem for a female is two fold (well it is never that simple for us but for the purpose of me working on my simplicity lets say its twofold) –

1. Our inherent nature to care for others before ourselves
2. Our intricate hormonal set up that makes us sensitive to the effects of chronic stress, be it perceived or actual.

Let’s look at the first point shall we –  1. Inherent nature to care for others before ourselves.

Far too often we put the need to keep others happy above our own; be it children, partner, family, friend, boss, work, strangers, society. We care to please; avoid letting people down; avoid hurting people often at the expense of our own happiness and health. We then put further pressure on ourselves to perform a certain way, to look a certain way, to behave a certain way and then beat ourselves up when we cannot achieve ALL we set out to. It is no wonder we feel exhausted at the end of each day! And that is just considering the emotional stress we put onto ourselves (fear, worry, anxiety, lack of purpose).

This leads to mental, emotional and physical exhaustion -. And worse we become so disconnected from who we really are. Each of us are so intricately and uniquely designed, not to deal with the chronic onslaught of expectations, pressure, self hatred, bitterness and judgement that we engage in . But rather a desirable trait to be caring and nurturing. What I have discovered is the ability to care for another comes from the ability to care and appreciate oneself. This is not selfishness. This is caring for another. Caring so much you want to be the very best version of yourself. You want to be vibrant, fun, energetic, full of life, kind and present for the people you love the most.

To all women, I urge you to start looking after yourself, really looking after yourself. Start finding time to nurture yourself. Ask for help. Change your circumstance. The longer you leave it, the further your disrupt your delicate hormonal network and your inner light. The one that only you hold and have the ability to control how bright it shines.

Point number 2. Our hormonal set up.

Let’s look at this somewhat complex scenario that goes on when we are exposed to chronic stress in the diagram below. Take note of how integrated and complex the whole system really is and know that this understanding is just the tip of the iceberg.

You have probably heard by now about Cortisol – our stress hormone. It gets a pretty bad wrap however it’s really just doing its job and helping us to survive. Cortisol gets secreted from the adrenal gland in response to stress.
Ideally this process would be short lived, the body would provide us with the necessities to deal with the stress at hand and then things would return back to normal. The issue is when the stress is not removed and the body still perceives it is under threat and directs its resources to producing cortisol to survive.
This process is termed the “Pregnenolone Steal”. In order to supply the body with cortisol it has to steal it from the master steroid hormone, Pregnenolone. Interesting to note is that Cholesterol is the precursor to Pregnenolone. Cholesterol plays some other pretty important roles in the body too.. possibly not the villain its made out to be?

But back to Pregnenolone. Pregnenolone can get converted into Progesterone or Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). DHEA is the precursor to all the other sex hormones (Oestrogens and Testosterone). So when there is a demand for cortisol it diverts production towards the progesterone to cortisol pathway and away from production of sex hormones. Overtime this becomes the preferred pathway and sex hormone production takes a hit.
For post menopausal women, the adrenals become the primary producer of sex hormones. So it is even more crucial to manage stress and find pleasure (stress antidote) to keep this production happening.

For pre-menopausal woman you may be thinking, luckily I still have functioning ovaries. This is a good thing however the system is very integrated. And whilst it is true that the ovaries do produce most of our sex hormones the impact that stress has on the overall production is still very real. The production of sex hormones from the adrenal system is so important for achieving hormone balance throughout the body. The adrenals can respond immediately to fluctuating levels of sex hormones, providing more or less when functioning adequately. High levels of cortisol actually signals the brain to tell the ovaries to reduce production of sex hormones, that is, if it is under stress it is not concerned with harvesting another human being. Also for women, testosterone production is primarily produced by the adrenals and only a small amount via the ovaries – hence stress will have a significant impact of libido, muscle mass, fatigue.

So where does that leave us?

Well in a pretty common situation unfortunately. We get elevated Cortisol which eventually will progress into Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal Insufficiency aka Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome AND lowered levels of Oestrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone.

How does this situation look?
• weight gain in waist, inflammatory hormonal fat
• blood sugar swings and cravings
• increased inflammation
• reduced thyroid hormone function
• reduced melatonin and sleep disturbances
• bone loss
• increased cardiovascular disease risk
• reduced memory, reduced mood (tearful, depressed) and reduced will power
• loss of muscle mass, poor muscle tone
• increased risk of infection
• menstrual abnormalities or no period
• low libido, vaginal dryness, incontinence

NOT A PRETTY PICTURE LADIES!!!!

I also want to point out that stress on the body is not just mental and emotional stress. Other stressors can include:
• pain in the body
• intense or prolonged exercise
• inflammatory foods
• food additives, pesticides, herbicides
• drugs, alcohol, caffeine
• blood sugar issues
• sleep deprivation
• chemicals, metals, radiation, electromagnetic fields (iphone etc)
• allergies, over active immune response
• exogenous hormones like birth control and antibiotics
• infected with parasite, bacteria or viruses
We need to realise that what we think, do and feel drives our hormones and hormone balance is so important for our vitality, longevity and overall health. Understanding the effects of stress on our hormonal system is crucial. The simple notion of exercise more and harder and eat less food (both of which can be perceived as further stress) does not hold true and can actually lead to further hormonal imbalance.

The key to getting your hormones back on track is:

1. Recognising you are surviving on stress. This looks like – lack of sleep, feel exhausted when waking, coffee to get you started, rushing around in the morning, barely time to eat let alone enjoy it, disliking your body or yourself and constantly having negative thoughts around this, no time to stop or switch off, tired all the time but pushing through, easily angry or upset, less enjoyable to be around, very little left to give to others.
2. Take action (small or big) to remove those things that are stressing you out. Be brave and know that you are doing it for your health and happiness.
3. Ask for help. Work with someone or at least work with yourself.
4. Give it time. The longer you have been persevering and struggling the more damaged your inside network. It will take time to reestablish normal functioning.
5. It is never too late to invest in yourself.

If there is only one thing you do today for yourself, please spend time to LISTEN TO THIS FANTASTIC TED TALK on “The pace of modern life vs our cavewoman biochemistry” by Dr. Libby!!!! Life changing.

Love

Chantel

NUTRITIONAL INFLUENCES ON SOFT TISSUE INJURIES

Soft tissue injuries are amongst the most common injuries in sport and normal life. Most people have experienced or know someone close to them that have battled with shin splints, plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, achilles tendonitis, knee or lower back pain. The commonality of these injuries is concerning and should be addressed with a thorough understanding of all contributing factors. These injuries usually occur during physical activity, and although impact forces influence these tissues, this is not the only culprit.

As you have probably noted a common theme in my posts is that what you eat influences what happens inside your body. Nutrition, plays a significant role in preventing soft tissue injuries.
Just to make sure we are on the same page, a little anatomy first.

What is soft tissue?

Soft tissue is tissues that connect, support or surround other structures and organs of the body, not being bone. It includes, tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, fibrous tissues, skin, fat and synovial membranes (which are connective tissue) and muscle, nerves and blood vessels (which are not connective tissue).
Connective tissue is responsible for responsiveness of whole body movement. Most soft tissue injuries relate to poor connective tissue. Collagen (a protein made up of a triple helix chain of amino acids) is an abundant protein of connective tissue. The longer the collagen the more strength it exerts.
Research indicates that individuals who have weak collagen experience more injuries through out their lives. Notably wrinkles, arthritis and circulatory problems also indicate poorer quality collagen that cannot prevent the tissues from pulling apart. The level of complexity of making collagen makes it very dependent on good nutrition and very susceptible to the effects of pro-inflammatory foods.

Top 3 Pro-Inflammatory Foods to avoid:

1.  Refined Sugar. Eg. Table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, soft drinks, sweetened beverages, candies, sodas etc.
2. Industrial Seed and Vegetable Oils and Trans Fats. Eg. corn, cottonseed, canola, peanut, rice bran, grape seed, sunflower, safflower and soybean oils. Artificial trans fat found in highly processed, refined, fried foods like doughnuts, margarine, fast food, frozen foods, chips, cookies, crackers, candy, instant soups, cake mixes, pasta mixes, microwave popcorn etc.
3. Processed Foods (artificial food additives)
4. Gluten and other refined grains. Eg. Cereals, breads, pasta, pizza, muesli, rye, barley, wheat.

These foods lead to inflammation in the body, which results in an increase in white blood cells, which attack free radicals and release enzymes that break down collagen. Chronic exposure to pro-inflammatory food in addition to a nutrient deficiencies leads to the production of poorer quality collagen negatively affecting ageing, joint stability and soft tissue. Hello injuries!

BONE BROTH BENEFITS

For most of us the the thought of throwing in a heap of bones into a slow cooker, leaving it simmer for 24 hours, and then drinking it, sounds a little gross. Well at least it did for me. But then I opened my mind and experienced the benefits and never looked back!
What is bone broth? It’s a traditional process that places on emphasis on preparing and eating from nose to tail, the whole animal. Broths, stocks and bone broths have been used around the globe throughout history for babies and young children, in Asian households using fish bones and broth and in Europe broth is used in soups, stews and preparing sauces.

“Bone” is alive, it is a living tissue. We often think of bone as a hard, strong, calcium filled structure and somewhat dead! But this is not the case! Bone is in fact rigid but at the same time slightly elastic due to collagen and it is an organ making it very much alive and up there with the other organ super foods like liver, heart, brain, kidney and sweetbreads. “Broth” is the liquid or in this case gel-like liquid that occurs as a result of simmering bones in water.

Bone broths are typically simmered on low for a long period (greater than 20 hours) which encourages extraction of minerals, nutrients and other important components of the bone and joint structure. The end product should be a nutrient dense gel-like liquid and bones that crumble when pressed lightly between your fingers.

Why should you consume it regularly?

“Modern nutritional research continues to prove what traditional cultures learned through observation over time, when we eat a specific part of an animal, it nourishes that same part of our body”. For example the highest source of Vitamin A is not broccoli or carrot but rather the tissue in the back of an eyeball. Vitamin A is specifically known to be crucial to support eyesight, amongst many other roles. Keep this concept in mind when considering the below points.

Bone Marrow:

Bone marrow is where the body manufactures red and white blood cells. It’s the fatty, slimy part that contains protein and loads of minerals. Bone marrow plays a crucial role in the immune system and in bone health.

Collagen and gelatin:

Collagen is the protein matrix in bones, tendons, ligaments, skin, arteries, hair and just about everywhere and is broken down by cooking into another protein called gelatin. Gelatin as the name suggests gives the jelly like appearance. These proteins provide your body with the raw material to help support and rebuild your connective tissue. The health of your joints depends on the health of the collagen in your ligaments, tendons and on the ends of your bones. It pays to start looking after your joints early as the number of people who undergo preventable knee, hip replacements is astonishing. Skin, hair and nails, just like gelatin, is made of collagen. Gelatin-rich broths help build connective tissue, which makes skin smoother (less cellulite, fewer wrinkles) and healthier. Gelatin may also have benefits for healing and supporting the gut lining.

Glycine (non-essential amino acids):

Stimulates the production on stomach acid which is very important as the stomach works optimally at an acidic PH. It also aids fat digestion in the small intestine. It plays an important role in liver detoxification and is important at balancing out the effects of excess methionine (present in muscle meats and eggs). Glycine is also precursor to the bodies own natural antioxidant, glutathione (we want plenty of this guy)!

Glycosaminoglycans:

Think Glucosamine, Chondroitin and Hyaluronic acid. Very special molecules found in bone and cartilage that help keep our joints healthy. Great for post injury, osteoarthritis or other causes on joint pain. And important for growing and supporting healthy joints. Broth is superior at delivering these components over supplemental tablets mainly because broth gives you the entire complex of cartilage components which affects absorption and utilisation in the body. Also the methods of extraction are far gentler than the destructive heat and pressure involved in the production of glucosamine tablets.

Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, Sulphur, Potassium, Sodium, Iodine (fish bones)

Overall, the proteins found in bone broth exhibit overall anti-inflammatory action. This is why it has benefits in improving and treating osteoarthritis, leaky gut, joint pain and fatty liver. The strong anti-inflammatory effects of the proteins in broth is another reason why it can be used to aid recovery from injury and illness.

Personally I have seen the following improvements:

• stronger hair and nails
• reduced cellulite
• improvement in the appearance of my skin
• increased immunity
• improved digestion
• quicker recovery from training

It is my go to food when:

• I feel I am getting a virus
• One time when I got diarrhoea from something I had eaten
• When I am stressed and my digestion plays havoc
• To aid healing (cuts, grazes, when I slammed my finger in the door)
• When Jan feels a cold sore starting
• To reduce sunburn (although interesting fact is that since eating a anti-inflammatory diet I don’t get sunburnt very much and if I do my recovery is so much quicker)

And its a staple in our diet to balance out the effects of eating lean muscle meats along with eating more nose to tail.
– I have read and know stories of people who have healed broken bones remarkable quickly through consuming broth daily. 

Recipe

Based on using a 6.5L slow cooker

Ingredients

2kg Bones (Marrow, chicken backs, beef knuckles, chicken feet, lamb necks, hooves)
Note: It will come back to quality! Use only bones that come from well-raised, well-fed animals. We use marrow bones from grass fed cows from Master butchers.
1/2 cup of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar (aids in the extraction of minerals)
1/4 cup of sea powder (source of sea minerals, namely iodine)
1 onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 tsp tumeric, or 2cm of fresh, minced
3cm ginger, minced
fresh herbs of choice
salt and pepper

Method

1. Add bones to slow cooker.
2. Add apple cider vinegar and allow to sit for 20 mins with the lid on.
3. Through all other ingredients in.
4. Add filtered water, enough to cover the bones but about 1-2 cm below the top of the slow cooker to avoid spillage.
5. Allow to simmer for 20 hours.

Once you have switched the broth off. You will need to remove the bones from the broth with a pair of tongs and place into the bin.
Then use a ladle and strainer to strain the liquid from the vegetables and other parts into a glass container. You can eat the vegetables or use them for making something else however in my experience they are tasteless as they have leached most of there nutrients into the broth so I don’t enjoy them. ( I am happy to hear suggestions).

Place lid on glass container and place into the fridge for 8 hours.

A solid layer of tallow will form on the top. This can be removed and thrown out or used like butter for cooking.

You should be left with a gelatinous broth to consume as stock, to add to cooking dishes, to add to smoothies, or to heat up on the stove top (NOT microwave) and enjoy as a hot drink.

How to strain bone broth below!

I like to drink my broth straight as a snack or as a add on to my meal. I particularly like it for breakfast with an egg and veggie scramble mix.
I hope this article will encourage you to drink bone broth regularly.

Love Chantel

IT’S MORE THAN TRAINING AND NUTRITION

Are you ready to make a change to get REALLY healthy and happy ?

Get yourself a cup of tea and sit back and relax, this blog is going to be a juicy one. Now before I start I know I promised you a Kefir Blog and let me assure you it is coming, however I don’t think I will leave you disappointed with this one. Cause lets face it, we all love a good juicy story!!!!

Todays blog has nothing to do with training and nothing to do with nutrition. Well maybe a little. For those of you who don’t know I have a story, you can check it out here …… Or ask a neighbour and interpret as you will because lets face it’s a small town. Just to catch you up a few years ago, two to be exact, I made a decision which changed my whole world. At 24 years of age I had a fiancé, a dog, a cat, a house, friends and a supportive family – life looked pretty perfect. But if you haven’t already discovered yet, life is short of perfect, people aren’t perfect. Luckily for me, I have always had a strong sense of love and meaning so I was subconsciously aware that despite all things around me being in place there was some big piece of me that was missing something.

That something turned out to be a lot of things! AND I MEAN A LOT of things! I will spare you the juicy details for another time but finding the right person to share my life with is my single biggest thing I am grateful for. I have always and will always hold my partner as my nearest and dearest. Your partner is the person you CHOOSE to spend your lifetime with. They are your best friend, your biggest support, your lover, the one who sees you most vulnerable, the one who shares your pain, who will put your life before their own. And if they are not those things they should be. Don’t get me wrong family and friends are most of these things as well however after the age of 18 years most people start their own journey to discover themselves and start the search for their very own unique other to share a life and most intimate moments with. This is human nature.

As I already mentioned but it’s important enough to repeat, we are not perfect, we don’t always find the perfect match, the first time, the second time or the third or fourth. And maybe we do find the perfect match and that serves us for a period of time and then people and or circumstances change. And I am not a quitter, I am all for putting in the hard yards and making things work but at some stage we need to be honest to ourselves and accept that it’s meant to be or it simply isn’t. This is not an easy thing to do. It will require some serious courage, support, a bit of selfishness and a huge amount of trust. Trust that in your gut, see I told you that gut was important, you know you are making the right steps to serve yourself a more meaningful, prosperous life.

The moment you do this, I guarantee you that doors will open, opportunities will present, weight will be lifted from your shoulders and day by day good days will out weigh bad ones and eventually you will become more sure of your decisions and choices. And hey, you might even find yourself again along the way. And that’s a nice feeling.

Change inevitably brings growth. Im not sure if its always “as good as a holiday” but it definitely challenges you and allows you to feel the benefits after the change has taken place. Too often people don’t make changes – to themselves, to their circumstance, to their life. I was one of them. I was going to float on through life, being a nice, kind hearted person but one that was too scared to rock the boat, too scared to be less than perfect. But fuck perfect, who wants this anyway – its boring and it brings misery. The perfect body, the perfect hair, the perfect house, the perfect partner, the perfect relationship, the perfect family! If it looks to good to be true it usually is!

The best thing you can do for yourself and everyone around you is be authentic to who you are. What makes you happy? What excites you?

If someone had asked me these questions two, three or even five years ago I would not been able to answer them and I am confident that most people cannot. Because somewhere along the way we get so caught up in all the negativity and all the rubbish inside our head that we forget to just start living! What it is that gives you pleasure , brings you joy, brings you happiness. For me this is reading, learning and discussing all things health related, cooking and cleaning (yes I enjoy cleaning, I feel very accomplished after), being in nature, doing intelligent movements for my body, writing, drinking coffee in a funky cafe, eating delicious food, talking to people, having an intelligent conversation, learning about the world.

PLEASURE is the antidote of STRESS and stress is at the root of every persons problems. “You can eat all the nutritious food you like and have the best trainer on the planet but until you fix your head and the rubbish in it you will not be healthy.” This is a direct quote from my partner. Yes, he is direct but guess what he is spot on.

So what is my purpose with this blog? I have a very clear purpose. I want to tell you that:
Change is for some people scary and confronting but it is required to move forward. I am forever grateful for the people that have challenged me to make changes even if I was uncomfortable at the time and I urge you to challenge yourself.

You cannot expect health and happiness if you aren’t willing to make small changes to improve your mental and physical health daily. It requires constant work.

It might feel silly at the time but this will pass and you will feel better for doing it. I’m talking meditation, mobility, affirmations.
I am a kind human being and I urge you to be one too. People want to be heard, they want to feel important, they want to feel worthy of something. To be deprived of that is a damaging and it affects a persons self worth and that takes a lot of work to regain. So people learn to LISTEN.
Show people you care. The smallest gesture can be felt for a lifetime. I am grateful for everyone who has made me feel this. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I choose to be the very best version of myself – my actions are aligned with this choice. Are yours?

Have a pleasurable and productive week.
Love Chantel x