Emily and I connected in the Clinic over one simple saying – when I asked her what she did she said her goal was to help people become the best version of themselves. She runs a group called The Power Women Project which is a global community that prides itself on connecting & empowering women to be their best. The Community is a group of authentic, real women – that get real results with four pillars of focus – Health, Mindset, Freedom & Connection, proudly aligning with Herbalife Nutrition.
Emily has grown to appreciate that the greatest gift we can give ourselves is self-love and living an authentic life. The feeling of connection, peace, freedom and faith in the person you are becoming. In saying that, as much as this is a gift, it is also equally one of life’s greatest challenges – to accept and love yourself for all that you are.
Here she talks about writing the next chapter differently…
I must have missed the lessons at school where self-awareness and self-acceptance were taught. So as an adult, where do we begin if we are ready for change? I am not talking about small changes like a detox, soup diet, 21 days to happiness deal… I am talking REAL long-lasting change.
It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties, when I was burnt out, self-sabotaging through a party-girl lifestyle, feeling unworthy of success and was diagnosed with a hormonal medical condition that spiralled me to an absolute low point in my life.
I felt out of control physically and mentally. It showed up in all areas of my life – my health, career, relationships with others, and ultimately the relationship with myself.
Looking back it was a crucial transition in my life – a chapter of awakening that forced me to look inward.
How did I end up here? This was not part of the plan.
What do I even stand for anymore?
Am I living a life that is reflective of my values?
If I keep doing what I am doing, where will I land in another 5 years’ time?
Something had to shift – I can remember the moment clear as day. I was wondering around the shops to avoid going home to my partner at the time. My legs felt weak; my head pounded. I knew this was the first place I had to start. I went home and ended a negative relationship – I know most of us can relate to having one or many of those.
A few months later I made a huge decision to sell my business and completely change my career path. I decided to chase fulfilment instead of a title for the first time in my life. At the time it was a huge shift for my ego and was not something that was an easy transition… But definitely something I am so grateful for today.
Amongst all of this I began to prioritise my health again – one of life’s greatest gifts. I went back to doing the things I loved, I started saying ‘no thank you’ a lot more than usual, I set up some healthy boundaries and just taking it day by day, week by week. Ultimately, I had to choose to put me first for a little while.
Some days felt lonely; some days I was flying high. But during this time, I kept coming back to those questions I was asking myself, and the changes became easier each time I came to the fork in the road.
When making long term changes in any area of your life, I believe we all need a grounding ‘baseline’ – or in other words daily and weekly rituals that keep us clear on where we are going and why.
Below I am sharing a five of my own essential rituals that became the basis for change for me all those years ago and still today…
#1 Breathe
It would be lovely to all make time to meditate each day – and we all know the health benefits of this. If you have mastered this – Go you! But in the beginning of this period of change for me, I couldn’t sit still for longer than 2 minutes!
So, I took the pressure off and just began the exercise of breathing deeply. I would stop up to four times during the day and just take a few minutes to breathe and re-centre. Connecting with my breath helps me to listen to my heart, clear the noise in my head & to take note of my emotions.
Try making this a part of your morning ritual with a cuppa and start to see what a gift this alone can be to your body and your mind.
#2 Gratitude
The game changer.
Gratitude helped me change my focus from what was lacking in my life to the abundance that was already present. I was so focused on what was going wrong that there was no room to appreciate what was going right!
As I began looking for and appreciating the little things, the daily lessons and opportunities for growth, bit by bit, every day I could create more gratitude within my world. And with that came feelings of happiness, resilience and a sense of balance in my life.
The simple act of reflecting on 3 things you are grateful for each day can be the beginning of a whole perception and attitude shift.
#3 Movement
My training time = me time.
Whether it is stumbling onto the yoga mat, an early morning walk or a session at the gym – My exercise routine has always been an absolutely key to connecting to my body.
I love the feeling of listening and responding to what my body needs on a daily basis. With movement comes vitality and an inner strength that I know is always waiting for me.
Coming from a place in the past of over-exercising and punishing my body, just to try and feel good about myself – I have learnt the lesson of listening to what my body is telling me.
I have also come to understand that they key to feeling whole and to love my body, was not going to be found necessarily in more exercise. My belief system had to change massively in this area. Once I understood that 80% of my results would come from the right nutrition, my body found the balance I had always been looking for.
Movement AND Nutrition is a gift to myself that now feels freeing, empowering and cultivates strength for me both internally and externally.
#4 Nutrition
Nutrition for the mind, Nutrition for the soul and Nutrition for the body.
Remember those questions I asked myself earlier?
My personal philosophy on nutrition also needed to change. I was often a Monday to Friday gym junkie and made OK choices with my food. However, I would be a weekend warrior with binge drinking and over-compensating with food choices because I ‘deserved’ to eat what I wanted.
No wonder I had spent years with digestive issues, feeling puffy and always relying on coffee and sugar to get me through the day.
I made the switch to simple clean eating; Balanced wholefoods, more good fats, adequate protein and nutrient support to ensure my body was absorbing all of the vitamins and minerals it needed to find balance. It was about finding a sustainable option for a healthy and active lifestyle.
Nutrition for my mind and soul also became priority. I gave my surrounding environments a detox. What was I listening to? How often was I plugged in to social media? What am I reading? What personal development was I investing my time into?
And a beautiful candle is always a good idea in my opinion!
#5 Connection
Surrounding yourself with people that lift you higher. In the beginning this can be difficult for some, it certainly was for me.
Share your goals, share your why to those that love and care for you the most – and will support you through making these positive adjustments to your life. And those that don’t like the idea of you making changes, well… That is their journey, not yours.
Make space for relationships and connections that feel good. It doesn’t mean you love others any less, you are just consciously open for like-minded association. Association or your ‘tribe’ can be such an asset when you are looking to create change.
Lastly…
I believe the first step to self-love and authenticity is making these small and sustainable adjustments to life, one day at a time.
Remember we are not striving for perfection, just working on progressing to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.
We are EXACTLY where we need to be right now, and perfect in this moment.
Yours in health,
Emily Rovere
The Power Women Project
