As I got older the problem became worse because I then put pressure on myself to get the perfect boyfriend and compared myself to others thinking if I didn’t look perfect then they would look elsewhere. Because I felt so low and as a form of control, I started making myself sick after meals in order to get my calorie intake down and feeling bad about what I had eaten. With doing that comes guilt about what I was doing to my body and knew it wasn’t right so then my self-worth decreased more.

When I studied at university I really struggled with depression at times and I then realised I had an eating disorder. No one would have been able to tell because as with a lot of people that suffer from bulimia, they don’t actually lose weight, in some periods of my life I looked bigger because of it. When I finished my degree course I ended a long term relationship and became depressed. I visited a doctor who diagnosed me with Bulimia Nervosa and put me on antidepressants. I was making myself sick sometimes 5 times a day and was extremely low in myself. The medication started to show some improvements, but looking back now I think it just masked the problem because I hadn’t really worked on my self – on my mind and how I think.

I then met my husband and things seemed great. We had two daughters and socialised a lot and I kept myself busy.Towards the end of my marriage I became aware that I had still not been ok for years, as instead of making myself sick I had just replaced that with other controls such as laxatives, restricting food, obsessive exercise and many other forms. It was very easy to hide this by making sure I eat out with friends, when around others I would be seen to eat foods that I would consider in my mind as bad, but then at home when alone I would feel disgusted with myself that I had lack of control.

I began running and training for a marathon, this made me feel great. Then I became aware I was eating less and less and liked how much weight I was losing at a very fast pace. I felt like I looked fine and was happy with my body image, but inside I wasn’t ok, it was like I was punishing myself because my marriage was failing and my eating disorder was at its peak. I was referred to the eating disorder clinic and saw a few therapists and counsellors. I never was able to resonate with the solutions they were offering me and felt like I was going to be on antidepressants of some kind my whole life. I spent many years in and out the doctors surgeries, therapists rooms, eating disorder clinics, gyms, and seeing nutritionists wondering why I always dipped in and out of my disorder and constantly either suffering from viruses, anxiety, IBS and other health conditions.

I eventually went looking for a holistic approach and booked myself for an Ayurvedic Yoga Retreat in Wales run by Plantation Villa. I learnt about the benefits of Ayurvedic lifestyle practices and how food, herbal medicines, my daily life, my mind and also how important it was to manage how I look at life. During my first consultation I realised how amazing Ayurveda is and how much sense comes from it when looking into the root causes of why we suffer from illness.

The nutrition advice really hit home and I became aware of how irregular my meal times were and how harmful my dietary practices were on myself. I loved the food I ate during the retreat and felt so healthy. I like the theory behind Ayurvedic diet and I didn’t think it looked restrictive as most diet plans. I decided to research further into this way of life and how I could benefit from it and start applying it to mine and my family’s life. Within a few months, I felt so good that I booked myself into their main retreat center in Sri Lanka. There I was convinced that I want to not only follow this lifestyle but also learn more and help others.

I had worked in Marketing my whole life and began to question what enjoyment I got from my career. I realised I would gain a lot more satisfaction from being able to treat others and educate them on the benefits of Ayurveda. I qualified as an Ayurvedic massage practitioner in 2019 in London and I am currently studying for an Ayurvedic practitioner 3 year consultation course with Plantation Villa. 

Natural Healing Haven opened in 2019 and has gone from strength to strength helping many clients look after themselves better and improve their wellbeing.

Yoga is a fundamental part of Ayurveda and it is recommended that yoga and meditation should be practiced regularly, I discovered yoga at the same time I started my journey with Ayurveda and it has continue to grow.
In July 2022 I qualified as a yoga instructor in Bali, which was another milestone in my life and i am now able to share my wisdom and skills to help others on their yogic path.

I feel incredibly grateful on a daily basis to be able to give so many of our clients the experience I received when I first discovered Ayurveda.  On many occasions I find myself in our retreat telling my story and helping overs to heal in a safe place where they feel able to connect with themselves and let go and open up to recognise changes they need to make for a more balanced life.  The work myself and my team have done with our clients has been mind blowing at times and it feels so amazing to witness growth and changes in people in just a short time with us.