Shannon Laura Health Coaching

As the underlying intention of my work is to empower women, I feel a powerful sense of alignment as I celebrate my 30th birthday today on International Women’s Day 💃🏻

I’m feeling grateful for the wild ride of the last 30 years, excited to unravel what the next 30 will bring, but most importantly I’m feeling so joyful in the here and now 😌

And remember..

“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on” - Serena Williams 💕

😍😍

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Simple but beautiful 🌼

Cycle syncing is a powerful tool that women can use to improve our physical, emotional & mental well-being 🧘🏻‍♀️

It is based on the fact that each phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle is associated with different hormonal changes that affect various aspects of our mind and body.

I’m sure you ladies have experienced some of the contrasting emotions and physical feelings..

- a rollercoaster of energy levels, one day a run feels easy, the next it’s like climbing a mountain
- days of feeling social-able and confident, followed by days you feel more introverted and going to a party is the last thing you want to think about
- days when it’s easy to eat nutritious food and days when cravings take a hold of your appetite
- focussed days followed by procrastination days
- and days anxious, irritable and moody days followed by happier, calmer & brighter days with more rationality.

By understanding the different phases of your cycle and how to sync your habits and routines with them, you can become more in tune with your body and improve your overall health 🌿

Wellness Wednesday

Thank you for this post endonutrition and thegurlhealth. It resonated greatly with me and I will be making a few of these swaps.

Are there any swaps you can make to help improve your day ?

It baffles me that we aren’t taught about the female menstrual cycle in greater detail in school 🤦🏻‍♀️

If we were, I think women would have a much better understanding of their biochemistry & much more respect for their bodies.

But fear not, I’m here to help a little.. 💁🏻‍♀️

Throughout our menstrual cycle, the quantities of 5 key hormones fluctuate (sometimes quite dramatically), which often results in various symptoms. In turn, this can greatly influence our health and vitality on a day to day basis.

These changes are categorised into 4 distinct phases which I have summarised for you in this post! 😇

Although these fluctuations are normal, the most important thing to remember is that THE WAY IN WHICH WE LIVE OUR LIVES - the food we put into our bodies, our personal environment and the type of lifestyle that we live, can also dramatically influence the quantities of these hormones in our bloodstream. So..

The healthier our lifestyle
The more stable our hormones
The less symptoms we experience
The healthier we feel
The happier we are 💫

Brighter days are coming 🥰

The Mental Health Foundation estimates that 1 in 6 people this week will experience a common mental health problem.

Today is Time To Talk Day - a day to raise awareness of the importance of opening up and having conversations about our mental health.

It isn’t always easy but it has the power to change our lives.

I’ve had my fair share of struggles with anxiety, fears and feelings of stress which I bottled up for many years.

When my mindset finally shifted and I began opening up to more friends, coaches and even strangers, it felt like a weight was lifting off my shoulders 🙌🏻

I soon realised how many people share similar problems and I no longer felt ashamed or judged.

Those conversations have been a HUGE part of my health journey 🙌🏻

Take some time today to talk openly with someone about mental health - you may need that conversation just as much as they do! 😌

Since January’s Hormone Series has been focussed on alcohol, it only makes sense to dedicate a post to the liver..

The liver is one of the main pathways of elimination in the body and is responsible for metabolising and removing excess hormones e.g. oestrogen and toxins including: pesticides, alcohol and chemicals in beauty products ❌

With it being such a key element in our elimination & detoxification processes, it’s essential to include foods within our diet that promote optimal liver function!

So here are the top foods to optimise your liver function and help you on your journey to healthy hormones ⚖️

Sunlight is your brain’s friend

Hormones rule everything. 👑 IIN’s best-selling specialty class, Hormone Health Course, is open for enrollment for only a few more days!

Bonus: Use code DOORSCLOSING at checkout for an exclusive deal: http://ow.ly/SHow50MBu32

“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction” - E.O. Wilson 🍃

This snowy, dark weather has me dreaming about summer sunshine, blue skies, sandy beaches, sunset dinners, tanned skin and freckled faces 💭☀️

Anyone else? 🙋🏻‍♀️

In light of dry January, I thought it was only appropriate to kickstart the Hormone Series by unravelling the wide-ranging effects that alcohol can have on women’s hormones!

Take a look to see what those bottomless brunches might be doing to your hormonal balance & overall health ➡️

It might just inspire you to stay committed to dry January or maybe even take it a little further! 💭

This isn’t to say women should never drink alcohol again 😅 but it’s important to have this awareness & use it to make healthier choices, especially for those of you who struggle with imbalances! ⚖️

Welcome to the 2023 Hormone Series! ✍🏻

Each month I’ll be choosing one hormone-related topic to focus on, bringing you the most valuable and concise information in relation to how your hormones are being affected (the good, the bad and the oh so ugly), as well as what you can do to mitigate or optimise effects and achieve healthy hormones ⚖️

I’ll be kicking things off next week with January’s hot-topic so stay tuned!

And of course if there’s any topics you’d like me to cover or anything in particular that you struggle with, send me a DM 😌💫

After reflecting on 2022 as a whole, I realised that those who said starting a business isn’t easy, were absolutely correct 🙈

This journey has come with many challenges and at times, a rollercoaster of emotions.

I’m still figuring it all out and finding my feet with it but I’m so proud that I followed my passion and took a risk, as the satisfaction of seeing client progress, providing valuable help to people and knowing that I love what I do, makes it all worth it 😌

It reminded me of the many reasons why I started this journey and this business..

🌱 To guide women on a path of natural healing and understanding of their bodies, hormones and health.

🌱 To give them hope again after the healthcare system has failed to find the root-cause of symptoms or treat them effectively.

🌱 To undo the conditioning of unhealthy habits that schools, family & society have ingrained in us.

🌱 To make them feel worthy of prioritising their own health.

🌱 To help them find their confidence, energy and freedom again.

🌱 To be a cheerleader for the women who have the courage to embark on their own journey.

Are you following your dreams? 💭

While you are awake, the light from the sun, indoor lights, and electronics goes into your eye, hits your retina, is transmitted to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and then to the pineal gland. This is an area of the brain where serotonin is synthesized into melatonin based on the light/dark signal. If light is hitting this area, melatonin synthesis is suppressed and cortisol production is ramped up. If light is not hitting this area, melatonin is formed and cortisol is suppressed.⁣
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This is crucial because melatonin, your rest and relax hormone, makes you feel tired and enhances your sleep quality. Cortisol, on the other hand, is your get-up-and-go hormone. It is responsible for signaling your body to make energy and motivating you to be active. As would make sense, you want the hormone responsible for sleep highest near bedtime and lowest in the morning and vice versa. ⁣
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To use the power of light, expose yourself to 15 minutes of sunlight each morning, and as the day turns to night, avoid screens and bright lights. Also, pick a bedtime and try to stick to it. For me, it’s 10:00 pm, and then I’m up by 6:00 am. ⁣
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Just following this simple principle alone can lead to dramatic changes for so many people when it comes to their sleep quality and overall health.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! 🥰🎄

Mine was so quiet and chilled that I barely took any photos (except of Bear) but it was mostly filled with puppy cuddles, family time, sleeping, cosy reads by the fire, more sleep, delicious food, catch-ups and chilly walks 🙌🏻

I took a little bit of time off from social media, my business and my phone - something that I think is really healthy for our minds every so often!

It was so peaceful and I really appreciated the time to rest and recharge✨

In these last few days of the year, I’m excited to spend some time envisioning what I’d like to achieve in 2023, setting some motivating goals and getting back into a nice routine! 💫

#2023

What’s something you’re proud of yourself for accomplishing this year?

A trip to Christmas Market, merrily soaking up the festive spirit in the city centre, putting up the Christmas tree & celebrating 3 years of love with my best friend - what a fun-filled, special weekend 😌💫

My heart is so full ❤️

“Having high-quality friendships adds depth and meaning to life” - Joshua Rosenthal 💫

These ladies do just that and more!

They are positive, supportive, respectful, compassionate, hilarious and they have a special place in my heart ❤️

I have come to learn that this is a key ingredient to personal fulfilment & joy ✨

It’s so important to let go of toxic or unfulfilling friendships, find your tribe and cultivate friendships that are healthy 💫

Feeling really grateful for mine 🥰

This needs to be mainstream news! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Through my 1:1 coaching I’ve noticed that with a conscious effort, it is easy enough for most people to understand the basics of nutrition and home cooking, but where a lot of people struggle, is the challenge of making food taste delicious, without compromising on health 🤷🏻‍♀️

Why is this such a struggle? Well one reason is due to the fact that most of the convenient, shop-bought condiments and sauces are full of ingredients that cause inflammation within our bodies and damage the gut, such as sugar, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil and preservatives 🤮

So you can imagine my delight when I found Hunter and Gather. The first thing I ordered was this mayonnaise which is made from 100% olive oil - no vegetable oils! It is also free from sugar, gluten and preservatives! 🙌🏻

And the best part? It’s genuinely the best tasting mayo I’ve ever had 😍

I’m not sure if I’ve made it clear enough yet, but Hunter and Gather mayonnaise is the epitome of a health-supportive condiment! I use it to make dips and as an ingredient in sauces! 🙌🏻

If I’ve finally convinced you to give it a try, you can get 10% off by following the link in my bio! You won’t regret it ✨

Oh hey 👋🏻

I’ve been a little quieter on here the past few weeks - a busy schedule followed by a solid 2 weeks of being unwell, just completely knocked me!

What started out as a normal cold turned into a sinus infection that was causing awful ear pain & pressure in my head 🫠

I felt really drained & was in pretty foul form about it all 😅

As hard as it can be when you’re feeling unwell, I knew I had to prioritise the things that would help my body recovery & feel normal again. This included:

✨ lots of rest & sleep
✨ healthy food & daily nutrient supplements
✨ bucket-loads of water
✨ ditching the workouts & opting for gentle walks if I felt up to it
✨ exposure to natural sunlight
✨ cancelling plans

Thankfully I’m feeling much better today & I’m hoping to get back to this happy & energetic version of myself this week 💫

Hoping you all have a fabulous & healthy week too 😌

🌿 WELLNESS WORKSHOP 🌿

Balancing Your Hormones is a 2 hour workshop starting on 9th January 2023 in Willows Reach!

Come and spend a Monday evening with me where we will provide a comfortable space for you to focus on your own health, identify the triggers for your symptoms, learn how you can naturally balance your hormones & ultimately strive for optimal health ✨

It’s sure to be packed with plenty of practical information, motivation, inspiration, stories, tips & of course some fun!

Tickets can be purchased now at willowsreach.co.uk or by following the link in my bio!

Spaces are limited so make sure to secure yours now so you don’t miss out 💫

“Health is more than merely the absence of disease” - Dr. Frank Lipman

Being sick with the cold this week inspired me to reflect on what wellness truly means to me & the importance of viewing our health & wellbeing from a holistic perspective 🌎

It has also reminded me to always express gratitude for the great health that I have & to continue striving for optimal wellness every day 💫

The closest I got to anything Halloween related this year 🙈

Roasting pumpkins to make homemade, healthy pumpkin purée & using this to make a pumpkin & chocolate chip bake 😍

Oh & the leftover purée was used in a vegetable soup - how very seasonal 🎃

Happy Halloween! 👻