My journey towards health and wellness blossomed to life with my grandmother falling ill.  She was a bright light of love. All of us grandchildren were totally in love with her. Time spent in her home was always joyful. I can sit quietly and within a few moments I can still recall her laugh. She was the first human expression of joy, happiness and love that I was able to observe and experience.   As a health coach years later, I would learn that Granny taught us how to create a loving home environment, how to bring joy into the household, how to cherish family and how to connect with spirituality. She was a living example of how to augment these segments of our circle of life. 

 

My other love is my mother.  As a child, I would spend hours with her in the kitchen. She and I were a team. The wellness team.  We would create menus for the week, research new spices and recipes, discuss what ingredients were healthy and why, read books from leading experts in wellness, discuss their strategies and implement changes. We were always looking to find ways to eat well, preparing dishes that were delicious but that also healed the body, prevented chronic diseases or reversed them. My happiest place was talking and cooking with mumma in the kitchen.  

 

At the time of death, Granny had had two strokes, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and was taking at least ten different pharmaceutical drugs. The last time I visited with her, she was lying down on the bed, tired and hurting with no solution in sight. My heart cried and a surge of knowing within arose.  I had this deep and powerful feeling that if Granny had lived with mumma and was eating her foods, Granny would not have died because of these chronic diseases. I knew that her lifestyle had negatively affected her health and a change in her lifestyle would have reversed her diseases.  But I was only 12, I didn’t have the answers. I only had a gut feeling.  

 

A few years later, my mumma was in a car accident. She lost her spleen, had bruises, cracked ribs and some internal bleeding.  Every day, my aunt and I made nutrient dense meals and juices for her and did reiki on her.  The doctors said that she’d be in the hospital for six weeks. They released her in three weeks. They were all so confused. How was she healing so quickly? I looked at them and thought, it’s the food.  But I was only 15, I didn’t have the answers, I only had a gut feeling. 

 

Fast forward a few years further and I’m studying the works of Dr. Colin Campbell, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Deepak Chopra, philosophies from centurion groups around the word, global practices for health and wellness and I think, here are the answers.

 

Doctors were immerging with the data and science to prove my gut feeling.  The answer was resounding. Nutrient dense foods coupled with a positive environment does have the strength to heal us and prevent the chronic diseases of our time. 

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Over the last twenty years, I have dedicated myself to research, training and knowledge acquisition in nutrition, bodywork and movement. I obtained my 200 and 500hr RYT yoga certification in Ashtanga Vinyasa Flow and Rocket Vinyasa at 25 and have been teaching and developing my yoga practice since then.  From there, I obtained my Health Coaching and Nutrition certifications from the Institute for Integrated Nutrition, Cornell University for Plant based Nutrition and Sivananda Vedanta Center and expanded my knowledge of the global models of health and wellness from the teachings of Ayurveda, Macrobiotics, Homeopathy, Centurion practices and plant based nutritional studies. I spent these years talking about health and wellness practices on our local radio station, working alongside doctors in Rehabilitation and Doctors clinics always dedicating time with each client to create plans to prevent chronic diseases and create lifestyle patterns that promoted greater happiness and longevity.  

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After a few years of teaching yoga and deepening my practice of yoga, I decided to learn from the teachings of Joseph Pilates to greater understand the anatomy of the body, alignment of the muscles and skeletal system and to focus more deeply on precision of movement for greater strength, structural alignment and injury prevention. With this in mind, I became certified in Mat-work Pilates, Pilates Props & Pilates Ballet Barre.  

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Delving into bodywork, I trained in Thai Yoga Massage and Aaron Mattes, Active Isolation Therapies, working with my clients to relieve tension, restrictions and blockages from their bodies while continuing to develop their pilates and yoga practice with them. 

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Entering my thirties, my sister and I opened a whole food plant based smoothie and nutraceutical bar, with the aim to serve our community, nutrient dense smoothies and juices to go.  We offered health coaching advise to our customers to aid them in their journey towards greater health and offered juice and vegetable cleanses to keep their immune system high, aid digestion and promote vitality. 

 

During this time, I continued developing my movement practices, deepening my knowledge in the mechanics of the body to create greater balance, space, flexibility and strength, becoming certified in Antigravity, Aerial Yoga, Suspension Fitness & Pilates.   This has been a wonderful practice for clients who have been looking for bodywork as well as functional movement training in their sessions. Deepening my understanding of the philosophy and therapeutic art form of yoga, I became certified in Yin Yoga and in Meditation by the Sivananda Vedanta Center.  Cultivating and deepening my meditation practice has been the greatest gift of my thirties.  

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For the last five years, I have taken my twenty years experience in health and wellness and have designed and facilitated wellness retreats in Costa Rica, The Bahamas and Spain.  These retreats are designed to showcase an experience of wellness where the client feels balanced. connected, happy, healthy and learns the tools to continue this path at home.  The meals are sourced with local and ecological ingredients of the region, deliciously prepared and healthy for the body.  Yoga and Meditation practices are cultivated in the morning and evening, setting the tone for a robust day and a peaceful evening. Nature excursions and exploration are shared throughout the day.  

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Going into my forties, I am fascinated with sustainable living, regenerative farming, local and ecological grown produce and providing lifestyle patterns that promote longevity and prevent chronic diseases for the individual, community, countries and which heal the Earth. Creating workshops and retreats that support the individual, the community and the Earth is a passion of mine that I love to endeavour in. 

 

We all have a calling.  I know that mine is to support others live their happiest life.  As a Fitness and Health Coach, I am humbled and joyful to assist persons find the lifestyle movement that brings strength, flexibility and endurance into their body, a meditation practice to calm their mind and connect them to their inner knowing and consciousness, a meal plan in which they are able to eat real foods that heal their bodies from the inside out and to assist in creating daily patterns to create a lifestyle that lifts them up. 

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I look forward to sharing in the journey with you, 

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(((OM))) 

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Janine