I see the topic of self-care as an important component for your gut health.
In this episode, you'll find out where I've been for the last 9 months and what you can expect here on the podcast in the near future.
I talk about our move, the merger of our two companies, what questions the lockdown raised for me and how I got out of my slump.
I also talk about the importance of self-care and give you specific tips on how you can manage to perceive and respect yourself and your needs.
You can listen to the episode here:
[g_podcast id="20383835"]
https://darmglueck.libsyn.com/dg113-nourish-yourself-with-what-you-really-need
Today I want to talk to you about nourishing yourself with what you really need, but before we get into that, I want to tell you about where I've been for the last nine months and what I have coming up in the podcast and if you listen to the very end, I'll also give you an illustration that you can download and print out.
I'm very happy that you're here and that my podcast is finally starting up again, because I've now had an almost nine-month break from the podcast, which is much longer than I had actually planned, and today I wanted to tell you briefly what's been going on with us over the last nine months so that you're up to date again.
And then I'd like to tell you a bit about who I am today, what I offer, what my philosophy is, so that you know what to expect in future episodes. I think this is not only interesting for new listeners, but also for people who have been following me for a while, because well, things change over the years and I don't think I'm the same person I was a year ago.
The two most important pieces of news are: Firstly, we've moved from outside Basel in Switzerland to Einsiedeln, which is still in Switzerland. Roughly speaking, it's a small place of pilgrimage above Lake Zurich, so we're about 35 minutes away from Zurich. It's a beautiful, mountainous or hilly area where you can go cross-country skiing in winter and mountain biking, hiking etc. in summer. And there is a famous monastery as a place of pilgrimage. It's a small town, so it's really beautiful and when I say we, I mean me and my husband Roman, as we work together. So you'll definitely hear him on the podcast.
And our dog Lucy. You might also hear Lucy on the podcast. I hope not, but you never know, she's a little Bolognese Bichon and I'll certainly post a photo or two of her. By the way, you can still find me on Instagram under juliaelisabethgruber. I'll be posting a bit more there again, I've actually been taking a relatively long break there too.
And if you're interested in things like that, feel free to go there and see what I post. I'll be sure to introduce the podcast a bit and announce whenever there's a new episode. We have not only moved here privately, but also with our company and that brings me to the second big news:
We previously had Gruber
So Gruber Gesundheit no longer exists, there is only Arktis BioPharma Switzerland and I always emphasize the Swiss part because we are the Swiss representative of a German company, so our parent company Arktis BioPharma is in Germany. My podcast will therefore be available on the Arktis BioPharma Switzerland website in future. If you want to read the show notes, get all the links, read more about the episodes, then go to our popular podcast. If you'd like to hear something completely new here in the podcast and a few facts about me, such as my background, my training and so on, then I recommend listening to episode zero of the podcast, which you can find at arktisbiopharma.ch/000 and which I also link to in the episode notes. You can hear a bit more about my background there. Now I don't really want to start from scratch, but rather talk about what has kept me busy recently and maybe a few facts about what we continue to offer. And what Arktis BioPharma actually does!
So Arktis, BioPharma is a company that manufactures dietary supplements, all of which are actually produced in Europe, and a lot of them are actually mixed on site in Germany. We know very well where these products come from and have of course checked the quality ourselves, we've been there several times, we also worked with these products when we still had Gruber Gesundheit, and that's how we came to import them to Switzerland in the first place, because we did a lot of microbiome analyses, advised a lot of people in the area of gut health, and then of course we also needed products.
And so we came across these products and then decided to bring them to Switzerland, and so we took over the Swiss representation. In Switzerland, the range is a little leaner than in Germany, we have a few fewer products, and of course we haven't been on the market that long, so we decided to concentrate on products that are directly related to the topic of the gut and gut health. In other words, we mainly have probiotics, prebiotics, but also related things such as bitter substances or amino acids, colostrum, but also vitamins, vitamin D for example or Basis Care plus as a multivitamin, omega 3 fatty acids, i.e. all things that we need or require to restore intestinal health.
These are the products that we have available in the store. You can find them all at arktisbiopharma.ch and, if you are in the EU, then of course at arktisbiopharma.de.
What we still offer, even if it is not so prominent on our website at the moment, are microbiome analyses, which are really about "Checking the gut, what does the situation look like? Regarding bacteria, how is the bacterial balance, is there perhaps an inflammation, is there a suspicion of a permeable intestine, so-called leaky gut, are there perhaps parasites or harmful pathogenic bacteria? What is the pH value? Simply all these things that allow us to draw conclusions about which substances are missing, i.e. whether any bacteria are missing, for example, or whether more prebiotics are needed, how we can help so that complaints go away again or so that the balance in the microbiome is restored, so that digestion works properly again, so that the intestine works properly again.
So I will certainly do another podcast episode, how do you even recognize that you have intestinal problems? It's not always just when your digestion isn't working or something. But you can of course go back in the podcast and listen to past episodes.
For example, I've already done an episode on microbiome analysis, that was episode 76 and you can find it if you go to arktisbiopharma.ch/076, so always slash and then the episode number with a zero in front of it, so three digits, 076.
So you can actually find past episodes and, as I said, the microbiome analysis is something that we continue to offer on request at the moment, which means you have to write to me if you want to do something like that and then I can tell you: Yes, I have time to do it and it costs so and so much and this is how we do it. But basically that's something we still offer.
I've also converted my online Darmglück course into a monthly membership and at the moment the pilot phase of this membership is still running, so to speak. But you are welcome to put yourself on a waiting list and I will let you know when this membership is open again. The reason I'm doing it as a membership and no longer as a course is that, firstly, it's easier to bring people back in at any time and also the idea behind it was that we can simply form a group where we can network and support each other and also provide information in small bites without you being overwhelmed.
But when it starts, I'll definitely tell you more about what the idea behind it is.
Basically, Darmglück is of course always about this Darmglück philosophy, which if you've listened to the podcast before, you've probably already heard something about it. The gut happiness philosophy actually states that the gut plays a major role in determining our health, it is the seat of our immune system, it is the place where all nutrients are absorbed, and the goal is always, of course, that you feel good, that you feel good in your body and therefore have energy, sleep well, are in a good mood and can shape your life the way you want it to be without your body slowing you down.
And in this membership of Darmglück, I actually convey the principles of how you can implement this so that you feel really well again as quickly as possible, so that you feel really good in your body again.
That's what I wanted to tell you about where I am right now, or rather what we offer.
When it comes to what's been on my mind lately and why I really needed a break from the podcast and almost fell into a bit of a hole, then of course it has to do with the events, with The external events of the last, well, what is it now, a year and a half and simply these events during this so-called pandemic have made me think a lot and it started for me in lockdown.
I spent the lockdown in Spain, we still have a vacation home in Mallorca and I stayed there alone with Lucy, with my dog, while my husband took the last ferry to Switzerland, so to speak. Because we were thinking, at the time we still had a house in Switzerland, that everyone should be in one place to look after things a bit and we didn't know how long it would last, so we split up and it was actually a few months where everyone was in their own house, so to speak, and that was a special time, being on your own but not really being able to get out.
In Mallorca, I wasn't even allowed to take the dog for a walk, we weren't allowed to meet up in private either, and because we lived in the countryside and had a garden, we were told we weren't allowed to go out at all and yes, it was a kind of enforced silence from the outside and just spending time with myself, which isn't really a problem for me, But then I started thinking about whether my work was actually doing any good, whether all those podcast episodes I kept doing about how important it is to take responsibility for yourself and your health and my philosophy or my deepest belief that the body is a miracle and that if I treat it right, it won't get sick or be able to deal with illness.
We have an immune system, our immune system is able to fight off viruses and bacteria and so on. If everything works properly. And for it to work properly, it's important to nourish it properly and treat it properly, so to speak. And that is my, how should I put it, my deepest conviction that this is the case and everything that was suggested from the outside, about "We have to protect ourselves artificially by keeping our distance and wearing masks and disinfectants and yes, getting injections now, that was actually completely against everything I've been saying all these years, and I have to say, I was quite shocked at how many people fell into such fear and completely forgot what it actually means to take good care of yourself. I have to be honest and I was a bit disillusioned as to whether we as a society have actually learned so little about health.
I mean, we're in the minority, people like my husband and I, who maintain that the body is very capable of keeping itself healthy and that if we do the right things, then our metabolism and everything works properly.
And yes, that was a bit of a crux, where I was like, do I carry on, do I not carry on, does it all make sense at all? And I think it was also good to go through a crisis like that and perhaps reflect again. It could also be that the way I put it across isn't understandable or that there may be other ways of communicating this knowledge to the outside world.
The great thing is that we naturally have a network of many other therapists, doctors and alternative practitioners, regardless of the field. There are so many people, who also deal scientifically with the topics of metabolic health, inflammation and the immune system, which are right up our street, and of course I remembered that at some point. I'm not alone and I also remembered that one of the things I learned from my coach Jim a was: "Your are where your attention is" and the more I focus on everything that's going badly, that frustrates me, that makes me sad and so on, the more of that I naturally get, so I really decided to consciously focus my attention on what gives me strength, what makes me happy, what gives me hope and what helps me to keep my vibration high.
So, we are electromagnetic beings and that means we also have a vibration, and when we vibrate low, we attract different things than when we vibrate high, which is why I remembered that: No, I can't fall into a kind of depression here or declare everything bad, but it is very important to focus on what is good and positive. and yes, that was a conscious decision.
We can decide at any time who we want to be, how we think and so on. So, we have this power inside of us, and we have the ability to change our thoughts at any time. And as soon as you change your thoughts, you change your feelings, when you change your feelings, you change your behavior and your actions and therefore also the results and luckily I remembered that again.
I also naturally had a lot of friends who supported me. We talked a lot. Luckily, that's possible via Zoom and all in all, despite the lockdown, I had people around me and I'm very grateful for these friends who supported me. Whoever hears this from you, you know who you are, and I think that's an important learning from this time, so surround yourself with people who give you strength, who keep you going, who you can talk to.
Everyone knows that, probably, there are moments when you feel like I'm the only one in the world who feels like this or who feels like this, but that's not true at all! And that's why it's so important to communicate, to exchange ideas and to choose people who don't drag you down even further, but who help you to get back up again.
And I'm particularly pleased that there are also people on the podcast who listen to me, to whom I pass something on and who appreciate my work, want to hear what I have to say and who also want to take responsibility for themselves and their health. And if you're listening in, then you're one of those people and I want to talk to you.
So that's what we'll actually be talking about in the future.
How can you not only take good care of yourself, but also reflect this vibration to the outside world and why is it so important that you take good care of yourself, because it multiplies without you having to talk about it.
So I'm not at all someone who says, go proselytize, go convince other people, tell other people that they just have to take responsibility for themselves and then everything will be better, it's not about convincing other people at all, that doesn't work in my opinion, but it's simply because it's you are doing well, you radiate that and by radiating that, you have an effect on other people and that is exactly what I want to encourage you to do and why it is so much fun to take good care of yourself and why it has nothing to do with selfishness or anything like that, but it is a service to people when you are doing well!
And now, towards the end of this podcast episode, I would like to talk a bit about how you can do this, how you can nourish yourself well and by nourish I don't just mean nutrition, in the form of food, but also spiritual nourishment.
So how you think, how you rest, how you move and so on. So it's not just food that nourishes you, but also your relationships, your work, nature, good books and much, much more! And I made an illustration about this a few years ago. Maybe that's something I can also mention. I've now started painting more again and I really enjoy it and it gives me a lot of strength
Because creativity or living out creativity is also something that nourishes us, and I'm convinced that everyone has a creative streak. Maybe not everyone paints like I do, but maybe yes, you're good at crafting, you can repair things, you can sing, whatever.
And to discover and experience and live out this creativity, because humans are creative beings and creative just means creating.
We want to create things and yes, that also nourishes us.
Now I have made a digression, actually I wanted to talk about the fact that I have just created an illustration where you can get a bit of inspiration about which areas nourish you, and I would like to give you this illustration as a gift, i.e. you can download it for free.
You can download the illustration as a pdf here
I know of people who have this hanging on their fridge. I recommend that you print out the illustration and that you take 30 minutes or so, then sit down with this printout and a pen, and then write next to each of the areas of your life that you see on this illustration what is going well in that area. This is important, so don't just write down what's not going so well, but first write down what's going well and then you can also write down what's not going so well in that area and then feel inside yourself and you can even evaluate it with numbers, so to speak, which area is doing particularly well and which area is perhaps doing particularly badly?
And I suggest that you simply choose an area and perhaps ideally an area where things are not going so well at the moment and you are not feeling so happy, you choose the area and perhaps concentrate on this area for a week, focusing on the question: how can I make this area better or how can I achieve that I am doing better in this area? And I'm not necessarily talking about: you have to find the non plus ultra right away.
So let's say the area of work/career feels like the best for you right now. You're really not happy with what you're doing or at a job, maybe you like what you're doing but you don't like the job, you either don't like your colleagues or your boss or whatever, and I don't expect you to find the top solution within 30 minutes, how you can straighten it all out or what you can do to be happy in your job and career, but just think about the first step you can take. I believe that many people constantly overstretch themselves and think far too far ahead.
You don't have to know what your end goal is yet! It could be that you want to pursue a completely different career, but it could also be that you want to become self-employed in what you already do, whatever! These can be end goals, but my point is not that you find your end goal, just that you think about how you can do better in that area. And it can be simple things. Let's say that you're perhaps not feeling well because of the working atmosphere, then you can think about: what would be a step that I could take to help improve the working atmosphere?
And that could be, for example, suggesting that you meet for a ten-minute coffee break together in the afternoon, but it could also be something that only you do for yourself, for example saying I'll meditate for ten minutes before I go into the company, because then I already have a completely different posture, a completely different vibration and go into the company in a completely different way and often, when I feel better myself, those around me also react better to me. In other words, you've done something for yourself without having to change someone else, so to speak, or give them a suggestion, but you simply do something for yourself and get positive feedback. So the possibilities are endless.
These were just a few suggestions. In the end, you know for yourself what's best, but don't put yourself under pressure by looking for the perfect solution right away, just find a step that you can take next.
And that would be my tip for today's episode, how you can find out how to nourish yourself well, and I don't just mean eating.
And one more point I would like to make, or a thought I would like to share: I experience time and again that my clients want to do particularly well when it comes to self-care or health or a healthy lifestyle and so on, that they then force themselves, especially when it comes to food and gut health, for example, to eat certain things or do healthy things that they don't enjoy, that there is a lot of compulsion and renunciation and discipline and effort, a guilty conscience and reason involved.
And that sounds very noble at first. Yes, I have to make an effort, I have to have discipline, I have to be sensible, I have to do without. And yes, that sounds noble and like a great gesture, and many people associate health with precisely these words and attributes.
But that can't be healthy if it involves compulsion and renunciation and things like that, and I invite you to rethink this a little, so if you want to nourish yourself well, take good care of yourself, words like love, relaxation, enjoyment, care, generosity, those would be the words that the You can of course be a bit strict with yourself from time to time and it may indeed be that you need to be consistent or show integrity or stick to it.
But it's more like how you would treat your child. You are loving, but strict, for the good of your child. And my suggestion today is simply this: imagine you were your own child, how would you talk to yourself then, how would you treat yourself, what would you say?
My suggestion here is: just be the mother or father you want yourself to be, i.e. loving, encouraging, positive and clear, sometimes strict, but always with the thought that you want the best for yourself that life has to offer. That's how I would approach the topic of self-care. Don't let yourself starve because you are chasing after some norms that are imposed on you from the outside.
Give yourself love, give yourself peace, give yourself adventure, give yourself the food that really nourishes you, connect with yourself and find out what you like, what you need and act accordingly. A lot of people say: I don't really know what I want anymore, what I like, and you can just start to listen to yourself again and take the time to sit down for ten minutes and do nothing and just feel it out.
It always annoys me a bit when people say, but that's selfishness! It has nothing to do with selfishness, it's pure self-care and it's the greatest thing you can do for yourself and those around you, because when you're well, as I said earlier, you radiate that and I think that's the point I've reached.
This topic is important to me and also resonates in my work, which is why it will certainly be a big part of my work in the future, or has been but will continue to be. This gut happiness method is not just about what I eat, but also about how I treat myself. How do I think, how do I feel?
For me, this is an essential part of gut health, because gut health without self-care doesn't work. And as I said, download the illustration entitled "What nourishes you" above.
Finally, I'd like to say that I'm really pleased to be in contact with you again via the podcast, so please write to me in the comments below if you have any suggestions or feedback.
It's sometimes a really lonely thing to sit here and talk into the microphone, so I'm really happy to hear from you.
If you like the podcast, I'm pretty sure people you're friends with will like it too, so feel free to recommend it, whether that's on social media or by email! And if you haven't already done so, then I'm also extremely happy about a rating, i.e. a review on iTunes, because the more ratings the podcast gets, the easier it is for other people to find the podcast.
There will be a new episode every week, the next episode is about histamine or the histamine fallacy. This is an interview and I will continue to have interview guests on the podcast and try to alternate a bit.
So sometimes a solo episode, then another interview. Let's see, I don't know yet whether it will always be exactly alternating. Other planned episodes that are already in the pipeline are about colostrum and the immune system, then it's about the gut and skin. It's about emotional eating, but as I said the next episode is histamine.
I look forward to having you back and wish you a good rest of the week!
You don't want to miss any future episodes? Then subscribe to the Darmglück podcast in your favorite podcast app. Here are the links to my podcast in the most popular apps:
In this episode, you'll find out where I've been for the last 9 months and what you can expect here on the podcast in the near future.
I talk about our move, the merger of our two companies, what questions the lockdown raised for me and how I got out of my slump.
I also talk about the importance of self-care and give you specific tips on how you can manage to perceive and respect yourself and your needs.
You can listen to the episode here:
[g_podcast id="20383835"]
https://darmglueck.libsyn.com/dg113-nourish-yourself-with-what-you-really-need
What to expect in this episode
Today I want to talk to you about nourishing yourself with what you really need, but before we get into that, I want to tell you about where I've been for the last nine months and what I have coming up in the podcast and if you listen to the very end, I'll also give you an illustration that you can download and print out.
I'm very happy that you're here and that my podcast is finally starting up again, because I've now had an almost nine-month break from the podcast, which is much longer than I had actually planned, and today I wanted to tell you briefly what's been going on with us over the last nine months so that you're up to date again.
And then I'd like to tell you a bit about who I am today, what I offer, what my philosophy is, so that you know what to expect in future episodes. I think this is not only interesting for new listeners, but also for people who have been following me for a while, because well, things change over the years and I don't think I'm the same person I was a year ago.
We've moved
The two most important pieces of news are: Firstly, we've moved from outside Basel in Switzerland to Einsiedeln, which is still in Switzerland. Roughly speaking, it's a small place of pilgrimage above Lake Zurich, so we're about 35 minutes away from Zurich. It's a beautiful, mountainous or hilly area where you can go cross-country skiing in winter and mountain biking, hiking etc. in summer. And there is a famous monastery as a place of pilgrimage. It's a small town, so it's really beautiful and when I say we, I mean me and my husband Roman, as we work together. So you'll definitely hear him on the podcast.
And our dog Lucy. You might also hear Lucy on the podcast. I hope not, but you never know, she's a little Bolognese Bichon and I'll certainly post a photo or two of her. By the way, you can still find me on Instagram under juliaelisabethgruber. I'll be posting a bit more there again, I've actually been taking a relatively long break there too.
And if you're interested in things like that, feel free to go there and see what I post. I'll be sure to introduce the podcast a bit and announce whenever there's a new episode. We have not only moved here privately, but also with our company and that brings me to the second big news:
We have merged our two companies Gruber Gesundheit and Arktis BioPharma Switzerland
We previously had Gruber
Gesundheit and Arktis BioPharma Switzerland
. Health, where we ran the podcast in particular. There was the blog, there was the Darmglück online course, we did all the coaching, microbiome analyses, etc. So it was more of a coaching company. So it was more the coaching company and then we had a second company, Arktis BioPharma Switzerland, and we merged these two companies.So Gruber Gesundheit no longer exists, there is only Arktis BioPharma Switzerland and I always emphasize the Swiss part because we are the Swiss representative of a German company, so our parent company Arktis BioPharma is in Germany. My podcast will therefore be available on the Arktis BioPharma Switzerland website in future. If you want to read the show notes, get all the links, read more about the episodes, then go to our popular podcast. If you'd like to hear something completely new here in the podcast and a few facts about me, such as my background, my training and so on, then I recommend listening to episode zero of the podcast, which you can find at arktisbiopharma.ch/000 and which I also link to in the episode notes. You can hear a bit more about my background there. Now I don't really want to start from scratch, but rather talk about what has kept me busy recently and maybe a few facts about what we continue to offer. And what Arktis BioPharma actually does!
What does Arktis BioPharma actually do?
So Arktis, BioPharma is a company that manufactures dietary supplements, all of which are actually produced in Europe, and a lot of them are actually mixed on site in Germany. We know very well where these products come from and have of course checked the quality ourselves, we've been there several times, we also worked with these products when we still had Gruber Gesundheit, and that's how we came to import them to Switzerland in the first place, because we did a lot of microbiome analyses, advised a lot of people in the area of gut health, and then of course we also needed products.
And so we came across these products and then decided to bring them to Switzerland, and so we took over the Swiss representation. In Switzerland, the range is a little leaner than in Germany, we have a few fewer products, and of course we haven't been on the market that long, so we decided to concentrate on products that are directly related to the topic of the gut and gut health. In other words, we mainly have probiotics, prebiotics, but also related things such as bitter substances or amino acids, colostrum, but also vitamins, vitamin D for example or Basis Care plus as a multivitamin, omega 3 fatty acids, i.e. all things that we need or require to restore intestinal health.
These are the products that we have available in the store. You can find them all at arktisbiopharma.ch and, if you are in the EU, then of course at arktisbiopharma.de.
We still offer microbiome analyses
What we still offer, even if it is not so prominent on our website at the moment, are microbiome analyses, which are really about "Checking the gut, what does the situation look like? Regarding bacteria, how is the bacterial balance, is there perhaps an inflammation, is there a suspicion of a permeable intestine, so-called leaky gut, are there perhaps parasites or harmful pathogenic bacteria? What is the pH value? Simply all these things that allow us to draw conclusions about which substances are missing, i.e. whether any bacteria are missing, for example, or whether more prebiotics are needed, how we can help so that complaints go away again or so that the balance in the microbiome is restored, so that digestion works properly again, so that the intestine works properly again.
So I will certainly do another podcast episode, how do you even recognize that you have intestinal problems? It's not always just when your digestion isn't working or something. But you can of course go back in the podcast and listen to past episodes.
For example, I've already done an episode on microbiome analysis, that was episode 76 and you can find it if you go to arktisbiopharma.ch/076, so always slash and then the episode number with a zero in front of it, so three digits, 076.
So you can actually find past episodes and, as I said, the microbiome analysis is something that we continue to offer on request at the moment, which means you have to write to me if you want to do something like that and then I can tell you: Yes, I have time to do it and it costs so and so much and this is how we do it. But basically that's something we still offer.
Darmglück is now a membership
I've also converted my online Darmglück course into a monthly membership and at the moment the pilot phase of this membership is still running, so to speak. But you are welcome to put yourself on a waiting list and I will let you know when this membership is open again. The reason I'm doing it as a membership and no longer as a course is that, firstly, it's easier to bring people back in at any time and also the idea behind it was that we can simply form a group where we can network and support each other and also provide information in small bites without you being overwhelmed.
But when it starts, I'll definitely tell you more about what the idea behind it is.
Basically, Darmglück is of course always about this Darmglück philosophy, which if you've listened to the podcast before, you've probably already heard something about it. The gut happiness philosophy actually states that the gut plays a major role in determining our health, it is the seat of our immune system, it is the place where all nutrients are absorbed, and the goal is always, of course, that you feel good, that you feel good in your body and therefore have energy, sleep well, are in a good mood and can shape your life the way you want it to be without your body slowing you down.
And in this membership of Darmglück, I actually convey the principles of how you can implement this so that you feel really well again as quickly as possible, so that you feel really good in your body again.
That's what I wanted to tell you about where I am right now, or rather what we offer.
Why I needed a break from the podcast
When it comes to what's been on my mind lately and why I really needed a break from the podcast and almost fell into a bit of a hole, then of course it has to do with the events, with The external events of the last, well, what is it now, a year and a half and simply these events during this so-called pandemic have made me think a lot and it started for me in lockdown.
I spent the lockdown in Spain, we still have a vacation home in Mallorca and I stayed there alone with Lucy, with my dog, while my husband took the last ferry to Switzerland, so to speak. Because we were thinking, at the time we still had a house in Switzerland, that everyone should be in one place to look after things a bit and we didn't know how long it would last, so we split up and it was actually a few months where everyone was in their own house, so to speak, and that was a special time, being on your own but not really being able to get out.
In Mallorca, I wasn't even allowed to take the dog for a walk, we weren't allowed to meet up in private either, and because we lived in the countryside and had a garden, we were told we weren't allowed to go out at all and yes, it was a kind of enforced silence from the outside and just spending time with myself, which isn't really a problem for me, But then I started thinking about whether my work was actually doing any good, whether all those podcast episodes I kept doing about how important it is to take responsibility for yourself and your health and my philosophy or my deepest belief that the body is a miracle and that if I treat it right, it won't get sick or be able to deal with illness.
My deepest conviction
We have an immune system, our immune system is able to fight off viruses and bacteria and so on. If everything works properly. And for it to work properly, it's important to nourish it properly and treat it properly, so to speak. And that is my, how should I put it, my deepest conviction that this is the case and everything that was suggested from the outside, about "We have to protect ourselves artificially by keeping our distance and wearing masks and disinfectants and yes, getting injections now, that was actually completely against everything I've been saying all these years, and I have to say, I was quite shocked at how many people fell into such fear and completely forgot what it actually means to take good care of yourself. I have to be honest and I was a bit disillusioned as to whether we as a society have actually learned so little about health.
I mean, we're in the minority, people like my husband and I, who maintain that the body is very capable of keeping itself healthy and that if we do the right things, then our metabolism and everything works properly.
And yes, that was a bit of a crux, where I was like, do I carry on, do I not carry on, does it all make sense at all? And I think it was also good to go through a crisis like that and perhaps reflect again. It could also be that the way I put it across isn't understandable or that there may be other ways of communicating this knowledge to the outside world.
You are where your attention is
The great thing is that we naturally have a network of many other therapists, doctors and alternative practitioners, regardless of the field. There are so many people, who also deal scientifically with the topics of metabolic health, inflammation and the immune system, which are right up our street, and of course I remembered that at some point. I'm not alone and I also remembered that one of the things I learned from my coach Jim a was: "Your are where your attention is" and the more I focus on everything that's going badly, that frustrates me, that makes me sad and so on, the more of that I naturally get, so I really decided to consciously focus my attention on what gives me strength, what makes me happy, what gives me hope and what helps me to keep my vibration high.
So, we are electromagnetic beings and that means we also have a vibration, and when we vibrate low, we attract different things than when we vibrate high, which is why I remembered that: No, I can't fall into a kind of depression here or declare everything bad, but it is very important to focus on what is good and positive. and yes, that was a conscious decision.
We can decide at any time who we want to be, how we think and so on. So, we have this power inside of us, and we have the ability to change our thoughts at any time. And as soon as you change your thoughts, you change your feelings, when you change your feelings, you change your behavior and your actions and therefore also the results and luckily I remembered that again.
The importance of surrounding yourself with friends and like-minded people
I also naturally had a lot of friends who supported me. We talked a lot. Luckily, that's possible via Zoom and all in all, despite the lockdown, I had people around me and I'm very grateful for these friends who supported me. Whoever hears this from you, you know who you are, and I think that's an important learning from this time, so surround yourself with people who give you strength, who keep you going, who you can talk to.
Everyone knows that, probably, there are moments when you feel like I'm the only one in the world who feels like this or who feels like this, but that's not true at all! And that's why it's so important to communicate, to exchange ideas and to choose people who don't drag you down even further, but who help you to get back up again.
And I'm particularly pleased that there are also people on the podcast who listen to me, to whom I pass something on and who appreciate my work, want to hear what I have to say and who also want to take responsibility for themselves and their health. And if you're listening in, then you're one of those people and I want to talk to you.
Self-care as a strategy
So that's what we'll actually be talking about in the future.
How can you not only take good care of yourself, but also reflect this vibration to the outside world and why is it so important that you take good care of yourself, because it multiplies without you having to talk about it.
So I'm not at all someone who says, go proselytize, go convince other people, tell other people that they just have to take responsibility for themselves and then everything will be better, it's not about convincing other people at all, that doesn't work in my opinion, but it's simply because it's you are doing well, you radiate that and by radiating that, you have an effect on other people and that is exactly what I want to encourage you to do and why it is so much fun to take good care of yourself and why it has nothing to do with selfishness or anything like that, but it is a service to people when you are doing well!
And now, towards the end of this podcast episode, I would like to talk a bit about how you can do this, how you can nourish yourself well and by nourish I don't just mean nutrition, in the form of food, but also spiritual nourishment.
What really nourishes you
So how you think, how you rest, how you move and so on. So it's not just food that nourishes you, but also your relationships, your work, nature, good books and much, much more! And I made an illustration about this a few years ago. Maybe that's something I can also mention. I've now started painting more again and I really enjoy it and it gives me a lot of strength
Because creativity or living out creativity is also something that nourishes us, and I'm convinced that everyone has a creative streak. Maybe not everyone paints like I do, but maybe yes, you're good at crafting, you can repair things, you can sing, whatever.
And to discover and experience and live out this creativity, because humans are creative beings and creative just means creating.
We want to create things and yes, that also nourishes us.
Now I have made a digression, actually I wanted to talk about the fact that I have just created an illustration where you can get a bit of inspiration about which areas nourish you, and I would like to give you this illustration as a gift, i.e. you can download it for free.
You can download the illustration as a pdf here
Exercise "What nourishes me"
I know of people who have this hanging on their fridge. I recommend that you print out the illustration and that you take 30 minutes or so, then sit down with this printout and a pen, and then write next to each of the areas of your life that you see on this illustration what is going well in that area. This is important, so don't just write down what's not going so well, but first write down what's going well and then you can also write down what's not going so well in that area and then feel inside yourself and you can even evaluate it with numbers, so to speak, which area is doing particularly well and which area is perhaps doing particularly badly?
And I suggest that you simply choose an area and perhaps ideally an area where things are not going so well at the moment and you are not feeling so happy, you choose the area and perhaps concentrate on this area for a week, focusing on the question: how can I make this area better or how can I achieve that I am doing better in this area? And I'm not necessarily talking about: you have to find the non plus ultra right away.
So let's say the area of work/career feels like the best for you right now. You're really not happy with what you're doing or at a job, maybe you like what you're doing but you don't like the job, you either don't like your colleagues or your boss or whatever, and I don't expect you to find the top solution within 30 minutes, how you can straighten it all out or what you can do to be happy in your job and career, but just think about the first step you can take. I believe that many people constantly overstretch themselves and think far too far ahead.
You don't have to know what your end goal is yet! It could be that you want to pursue a completely different career, but it could also be that you want to become self-employed in what you already do, whatever! These can be end goals, but my point is not that you find your end goal, just that you think about how you can do better in that area. And it can be simple things. Let's say that you're perhaps not feeling well because of the working atmosphere, then you can think about: what would be a step that I could take to help improve the working atmosphere?
And that could be, for example, suggesting that you meet for a ten-minute coffee break together in the afternoon, but it could also be something that only you do for yourself, for example saying I'll meditate for ten minutes before I go into the company, because then I already have a completely different posture, a completely different vibration and go into the company in a completely different way and often, when I feel better myself, those around me also react better to me. In other words, you've done something for yourself without having to change someone else, so to speak, or give them a suggestion, but you simply do something for yourself and get positive feedback. So the possibilities are endless.
These were just a few suggestions. In the end, you know for yourself what's best, but don't put yourself under pressure by looking for the perfect solution right away, just find a step that you can take next.
And that would be my tip for today's episode, how you can find out how to nourish yourself well, and I don't just mean eating.
Compulsions, deprivation and effort cannot be the healthy solution
And one more point I would like to make, or a thought I would like to share: I experience time and again that my clients want to do particularly well when it comes to self-care or health or a healthy lifestyle and so on, that they then force themselves, especially when it comes to food and gut health, for example, to eat certain things or do healthy things that they don't enjoy, that there is a lot of compulsion and renunciation and discipline and effort, a guilty conscience and reason involved.
And that sounds very noble at first. Yes, I have to make an effort, I have to have discipline, I have to be sensible, I have to do without. And yes, that sounds noble and like a great gesture, and many people associate health with precisely these words and attributes.
But that can't be healthy if it involves compulsion and renunciation and things like that, and I invite you to rethink this a little, so if you want to nourish yourself well, take good care of yourself, words like love, relaxation, enjoyment, care, generosity, those would be the words that the You can of course be a bit strict with yourself from time to time and it may indeed be that you need to be consistent or show integrity or stick to it.
But it's more like how you would treat your child. You are loving, but strict, for the good of your child. And my suggestion today is simply this: imagine you were your own child, how would you talk to yourself then, how would you treat yourself, what would you say?
Be loving with yourself, just as parents are with their child
My suggestion here is: just be the mother or father you want yourself to be, i.e. loving, encouraging, positive and clear, sometimes strict, but always with the thought that you want the best for yourself that life has to offer. That's how I would approach the topic of self-care. Don't let yourself starve because you are chasing after some norms that are imposed on you from the outside.
Give yourself love, give yourself peace, give yourself adventure, give yourself the food that really nourishes you, connect with yourself and find out what you like, what you need and act accordingly. A lot of people say: I don't really know what I want anymore, what I like, and you can just start to listen to yourself again and take the time to sit down for ten minutes and do nothing and just feel it out.
It always annoys me a bit when people say, but that's selfishness! It has nothing to do with selfishness, it's pure self-care and it's the greatest thing you can do for yourself and those around you, because when you're well, as I said earlier, you radiate that and I think that's the point I've reached.
This topic is important to me and also resonates in my work, which is why it will certainly be a big part of my work in the future, or has been but will continue to be. This gut happiness method is not just about what I eat, but also about how I treat myself. How do I think, how do I feel?
For me, this is an essential part of gut health, because gut health without self-care doesn't work. And as I said, download the illustration entitled "What nourishes you" above.
Finally, I'd like to say that I'm really pleased to be in contact with you again via the podcast, so please write to me in the comments below if you have any suggestions or feedback.
It's sometimes a really lonely thing to sit here and talk into the microphone, so I'm really happy to hear from you.
If you like the podcast, I'm pretty sure people you're friends with will like it too, so feel free to recommend it, whether that's on social media or by email! And if you haven't already done so, then I'm also extremely happy about a rating, i.e. a review on iTunes, because the more ratings the podcast gets, the easier it is for other people to find the podcast.
There will be a new episode every week, the next episode is about histamine or the histamine fallacy. This is an interview and I will continue to have interview guests on the podcast and try to alternate a bit.
So sometimes a solo episode, then another interview. Let's see, I don't know yet whether it will always be exactly alternating. Other planned episodes that are already in the pipeline are about colostrum and the immune system, then it's about the gut and skin. It's about emotional eating, but as I said the next episode is histamine.
I look forward to having you back and wish you a good rest of the week!
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