In this interview segment, a guest who is heavily pregnant and five years post‑collapse shares her practical self‑care routine designed to prevent burnout and support nervous‑system regulation. She emphasizes moving the body through Pilates and yin yoga, grounding through barefoot contact, essential oils, and herbal teas, using cold showers to reset her system, and maintaining mental well‑being via meditation, mindfulness, and a strong support network of coaches, mentors, and a psychologist. She reflects on the non‑linear nature of healing, the importance of catching early signs of overwhelm, and the upcoming challenge of balancing high‑achievement tendencies with motherhood responsibilities.
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I'd love to hear a bit, and why don't we bring this in now, a bit of your self-care routine that really is fundamental to keeping yourself well no matter where you are. Because I know your work takes yourself, takes you traveling, I guess, around the area as well, even internationally sometimes as well. What is a part of your self-care routine that you really love and you rarely miss?
Yeah. Okay, so there's a couple of things. Um, you know, I, I have to move my body, and I'm really into it at the moment. Um, I used to absolutely, you know, kill myself at the gym, over-exercising, under-eating. Um, but now I'm really focused on Pilates and yoga, and I just love that. And it's not, um, you know, I'm not a vinyasa girl, I'm a yin girl, and it's the going inward to move your body and just take my time. So I think that's so important. So I try to practice that wherever I am, at least twice or 3 times. Or at the moment I'm actually managing a little bit more each week, which is surprising. I'm heavily pregnant, but it's so good for my mental well-being as well as physical. I'm a big senses person, so if I'm feeling overwhelmed or my nervous system is heightened, I usually break out in a rash. I may have a little rash now because when I tell my personal story, it can trigger a response in my nervous system. So I'm now 5 years on from my collapse. But it's interesting for the listeners to understand that people always ask me in my workshops or at events, when will I heal? And I say healing isn't a linear journey. I've had many setbacks. And one of the things I really love is grounding senses, smells. So I use a lot of essential oils, herbal teas, and I, before anything, like before this podcast, I was outside barefoot grounding myself. And straight after this, I will go outside barefoot. And sometimes if I've done a long event or I can feel my body, the tension, I take a cold shower. Because that brings me back into my body and reminds me I'm safe, I'm well. And, you know, I love meditation and mindfulness. And so there's some of the kind of practical things I do. Um, also lean on my support network, my coaches, my mentors. If I catch myself starting to fall into a negative loop of thoughts, I'm pretty adept now with going, okay, maybe I'll contact my psychologist, um, right, and just book in a few sessions because I don't want to relapse or fall back into negative. And I think that over the last 5 years I've managed to catch myself enough that I haven't fallen into that burnout trap. And yeah, ultimately I am an overworker and high achiever, so it's going to be interesting this year, Jo, as I move into you know, maternity and motherhood, how I manage myself not to burn myself out and put too much pressure. But yeah, anyone that's experienced burnout before, it's a, it's a constant journey to map and manage that.
