HEALTHY MAYS STORY
I was once a very different person to who I am today. It was 2011 and I had built a successful career in advertising, whilst, numbing myself to the stresses of life with a typical London hedonistic lifestyle. I was unaware that what I was really seeking was what yogis call ‘samadhi’ - a state of eternal bliss deep inside us all. The joy I was looking for was already inside me, I just had to find it.
I was always into yoga but never committed to a daily regular practise. One day, however, I was lying in savasna, at the end of a gruelling bikram class, when I heard a voice inside my head. It told me that yoga was my entry point to the joy I had been seeking, and I needed to go to India to deepen my learnings.
I immediately enrolled in a beginners ashtanga course at Gingi Li’s Ashtanga Shala, in Clapham North, learning the fundamentals from the first of
many inspiring teachers. I woke up at 6am everyday to practise mysore style ashtanga and six months later, I quit my advertising job and flew to Goa, India to take part in a month long Ashtanga Yoga teacher training course. In India I was reborn through the healing powers of yoga. I graduated from my class, and was immediately offered a job teaching yoga in Goa. The universe was giving me clear signs! Over the next five years I spent my summers in London and winters in India and Thailand - gaining my 500 hour advanced TTC in ashtanga as well as my Reiki Master whilst teaching & learning esoteric practises in the east.
My life changed when I listened to that little voice in my head, which I now see as my higher power guiding me and I realised that you can find the peace you are seeking internally through meditation and spiritual practises, a very valuable and transformational lesson. I learnt the meaning of self-care and self-love and slowly yet steadily I grew, physically, emotionally, spiritually into the person I am today. I was always an avid cook but through my winters in Asia, my interests grew massively in health and nutrition dabbling in veganism and raw veganism for many years. A huge part of my healing journey was related to food and diet, removing gluten, diary, processed foods & meat to heal severe digestive issues including IBS as well as skin issues like urticaria & attending many fasting, liver healing detox retreats. This avid interest in the healing powers of nature led me to 3 years of diploma study at College of Naturopathic Nutrition (CNM) graduating as a Naturopathic Nutritionist, followed by a Masters in Clinical Nutrition from University College London (both with distinction).
My first nutrition diploma also made me investigate my own nutrition, realising after 6 years of veganism that this diet was not working for me. I found that I was deficient in many micronutrients, along with thyroid and adrenal issues exacerbated by large amounts of stress caused by my career in advertising. Using functional medecine testing including the wonderful new science of nutrigenetics led me to the genuine realisation that there is no one diet that works for everyone, we are all unique individuals with different nutritional needs based on our ancestry, environment and experiences. My experiences and experimentations with different dietary models means that I can help both vegans and non-vegans alike make their way to optimum health and nutrition. I also work with clients to find and maintain optimal weight, healing their relationships with food and helping clients to see that weight loss does not need to include fad restrictive diets but more of a lifestyle change towards healthier eating & living. And having had a history of childhood disordered eating which I used many different tools to heal, I recently completed the National Centre for Eating Disorder training to further assist my weight loss clients with healthier relationships to food. As well as that having experienced and healed various stress/diet related gut issues, gut health is another specialism of mine working to heal IBS, reflux, IBD, SIBO and many other complex gut conditions. I also work to help clients balance hormones including perimenopause, menopause, thyroid & histamine issues amongst other complex cases. And in 2023 I am about to start a 6 month training specialising in cancer healing, sadly the latest statistic is that 1 in 2 individuals will develop cancer and my goal is to be able to work with and heal as many people as possible, there is always more to learn and evolve from.
The way I work is unique in that not only have I studied for over 5 years to graduate as a nutritionist, but I also have over 10 years experience holistic healing with yoga, meditation, breathwork & energy work. I work not only with science & naturopathy but also with the importance of elevating our energy & vibrations. I passionately believe in the healing power of nature and work with an integrative approach to nutrition and healthcare, incorporating the whole person and providing an overall holistic wellness offering. I believe that you must heal the mind alongside diet & lifestyle changes, you cannot fix one without the other. Through my experiences and studies I support my clients to heal holistically through one to one nutrition consultations, guided meditations, yoga lessons, pranayama breathwork, reiki/quantum energy healing and transformational week long retreats. There's nothing I love more than sharing my knowledge and positive energy to help my clients achieve their goals and heal.
With love,
Mays x
You can also find me on bookretreats.com