In our new Natural Health insider interview series, we ask an expert to share their wellbeing toolkit and reflect on what feeling healthy really means
MAEVE O’SULLIVAN
Maeve is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner and co-founder of Escapada natural health clinics and wellness retreats which are based in Dublin, Hamburg and Mallorca (escapadahealth.com)
“How I start my day, priming, is so important to me as I can struggle, at times, with anxiety in the morning. The positive effects of priming on psychology have been proven again and again. You can learn to change your state of mind by changing your physical state with an effective priming routine. Priming is most powerful when completed in the morning to set a productive and powerful tone for your day. You can prime yourself positively or negatively depending on what you allow into your mind, here is how I prime my day!
Healthy to me is a sense of strength, resilience and calmness in my system. In all of those words, it is physically, mentally and spiritually. Truly understanding that and what that phrase means to you is key.
Getting natural light and fresh air is my first mindful movement of the day so taking a moment when I open curtains and windows. I dry body brush before my shower: this doesn’t need to be lengthy, but depending on how much time I have, I will focus on different parts of the body each day. Especially on clinic days, when I don’t have much time.
I will always start my day with hot water and lemon or herbal tea. I never have coffee first thing, and always wait for at least an hour after waking up as this allows my body time to wake up gently without a stimulant. Having coffee first thing can be taxing on our adrenals. I always have a warm breakfast as it’s what my body and digestion need, this will be about 90 minutes from when I first wake. Goji berries form part of my everyday breakfast. I take them to nourish my blood as this is so important for my health and management of endometriosis. I soak them overnight and add them to my oats in the morning. Goji berries are a favourite TCM pantry staple.
I used to struggle with hormonal breakouts so I have really simplified this over the years and my skin has never been better. In the morning, I use a gentle cleanser and gua sha ritual before applying a moisturiser with SPF. In the evening, I use the same gentle cleanser and then I have a gua sha routine with the HAYOU beauty oil. Over
