My Journey to Cellf Health
Before being diagnosed with MS, I didn't really think about my health. I was busy being busy and the only time I ever thought about diet was a few weeks prior to going on holiday when I would go on a crash diet - I tried most of them!
My relationship with exercise was also chaotic; before having children, I spent a fortune on gym memberships that I rarely used. I experimented with a few exercise classes over the years but nothing stuck. I even had a go at running (not something that came easily to me) and managed to complete a 10k before having to stop altogether after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left foot.
My stress management was non existent: long hours and a massive workload was normal wasn't it? I used to proudly declare that I would sleep when I was dead as I worked into the early hours, after squeezing in a few precious hours with my family. Clearly something had to give and it did: I ended up in hospital unable to walk or talk properly.
Now, I like to think of this moment as my body (and mind) finally saying 'No more!', but at the time, it was terrifying.
I was incredibly fortunate as I discovered the work of Professor George Jelinek through the charity Overcoming MS and by following his recommendations, completely overhauled my lifestyle.
I soon began to feel healthier than I had for years. The excess weight I'd been struggling to shift began to disappear as did the pain in my foot - I now know that this was due to the changes I made to my diet - enabling me to start running again.
But something was missing.
After a while, my new lifestyle began to feel more like a struggle and I became rather disillusioned. Thankfully, instead of throwing in the towel, I decided to go back and reread Professor Jelinek's book, 'Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis'.
Almost immediately, I realised that in my haste to adopt the new lifestyle, I had overlooked a fundamental point: the extraordinary power of the mind!
Had I not spent many years teaching, I may have dismissed this as 'woo-woo'. However, I was fortunate enough to be involved in a study with researchers from Cambridge University, Kings College London and the Open University. The project was called 'Learning how to Learn' and it transformed the way I looked at education by highlighting the importance of personalised learning, beliefs and attitudes about learning, the language we use and collaboration.
Interestingly, Professor Jelinek was talking about the importance of these very same things albeit in a different context.
This was the start of a new learning journey - an inner one and one that has taught me not just how powerful the mind-body connection is but how we can learn to harness it to optimise our own health. It has also helped to explain why I was unable to build or maintain healthy habits in the past; I was so focused on what I wanted that I completely missed the why. I had no idea that the language I was using was sabotaging my attempts to form healthier habits or that my core beliefs were preventing me from doing the very things that I set out to achieve.
I haven't looked back since and after several years of stable MRI scans showing no evidence of disease activity, I decided to retrain as a Health Coach so that I could help others to make sustainable, positive changes to their health.
The concept of 'Cellf Health' refers to the amazing power of the mind to aid in healing the body.
I have developed a coaching method which involves harnessing the power of the mind through exploring core beliefs/attitudes as well as the language we use. There is no 7 day, 28 day or 6 month program or SMART goals: Cellf Health is a way of living. All sessions are completely personalised and the process has been successfully applied to weight loss and habit change (including stopping drinking alcohol) as well as to living well after a diagnosis of MS.
The only requirements are an open mind and a willingness to change.
The following video is a recording of a presentation I gave for the charity Overcoming MS. I recorded it for a fellow OMSer who was unable to attend and I am posting it here as it helps to explain my journey to Cellf Health.