“My number one philosophy is to make wellness fun. If people don’t enjoy what they’re doing, they’ll never stick with it.”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Claire Grieve is a highly sought after international yoga specialist, stretch therapist, plant-based health coach and wellness writer. Claire underwent extensive yoga training with some of the world’s top yogis and is also a certified Health Coach. Claire has dedicated almost a decade to teaching and is on a serious mission to make yoga enjoyable and accessible to everyone.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path as a healer?
10 years ago, I was reliant on anti-depressants, sugar and coffee. I was experiencing prolonged stomach issues, headaches, joint pain, foggy brain and more. I was struggling with food allergies that were causing constant bloating and inflammation. I had high levels of mercury toxicity which left me feeling weak, tired and fatigued.
Today, I feel better than I ever have. I head into each day feeling vibrant, healthy and energized.
I discovered yoga via a laid-back hip-hop yoga class in Los Angeles and it sparked my journey into the health and wellness world. As my practice progressed, my health enlivened. I gave up the foods that were not serving me. I swapped coffee for matcha, plants for inflammatory foods, and meditation for stress. Little by little, my unhealthy habits disappeared and I began to experience an amazing transformation that included: weight loss, a clearer head, positive moods, more energy, less joint muscles pain, better digestive function and better sleep.
How have your personal challenges informed your career path?
It was my personal wellness journey that led me to yoga in the first place and I became hooked on wellness in every capacity. Today, I am healthier and happier than I’ve ever been.
Can you share five pieces of advice to other healers to help their patients to thrive?
- My number one philosophy is to make wellness fun. If people don’t enjoy what they’re doing, they’ll never stick with it.
- Rather than think about what people should do, it’s important to individualize plans so that they’re able to maintain your teachings in the long term.
- Start small. If you can take someone from exercising 0 days per week to 1 day per week, that’s a great start and you can build from there.
- Make sure your patients know that their journey is about them, not about what they see on Instagram.
- Make sure people are doing the basics: moving, nourishing their bodies with plant foods, hydrating, sleeping and breathing.
Social media and reality TV create a venue for people to share their personal stories. Do you think more transparency about your personal story can help or harm your field of work? Can you explain?
I think transparency is important. Listening to other people’s stories of overcoming difficulties helps people understand that they aren’t alone in what they are experiencing and that wellness can truly be attainable no matter where you start.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant to your life?
Be positive. I work really hard to keep everything positive. Even in negative situations, instead of getting down and spiraling into a dark place, I look at the situation and think: “what have I learned from this? How has this made me a stronger person? The more positivity you exude, the more you attract.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Be kind. You never know what someone else is going through. Can you imagine if we were all just kind and supportive of one another? What a wonderful world this would be.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
https://www.instagram.com/claire_grieve/
https://twitter.com/claire_grieve
Originally published at medium.com