Underlying Nutrition was created in 2023. Previously, it was a blog that started during COVID in July 2020, called Soul Nutrition. I used my blog to educate my community on Facebook and Instagram about my own personal story and challenges with nutrition and mental health, while studying for my post-graduate degree. There was always hope that it would become more, becoming available on a bigger platform where I could coach others on what I have learned and been through.

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Body image is a core aspect of Underlying Nutrition. I knew firsthand how body image in society is negatively portrayed and how many people struggle with body dysmorphia. I wanted to challenge this idea and create a new ideal or social norm where people feel comfortable in their bodies and do not rely on how their body looks for validation.

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My own personal struggle with body image issues became apparent while studying for a Bachelor of Economics and training. Once I got into personal training and exercise, I realised how important nutrition played in enhancing my body, weight, and features. Comments on my weight by a partner made me feel insecure and created a desire to change and transform. There is no problem in eating and training to become a better version of yourself. This is not the issue, but relying on the validation of others to be a certain weight or body size to feel good is.

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Of course, life is not always perfect; our parents, family, and upbringings always have an impact on how we live our lives. Trauma from birth, growing up, and attachment styles shape our future and how we see ourselves. Once I graduated, I thought that life was good — following the standard societal expectations of getting a degree, working full-time 9-5, and looking good (slim) — a perfect life. I then realised very quickly that this wasn’t the case.

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I realised that looking good would not solve all my problems. Trauma from my family and upbringing started to cause complications, and living a life dictated by society was unfulfilling. This all caused difficulties with my eating and training. Food was not my friend, and the way I viewed food was very different. It became a struggle to find the right support and deal with the changes going on physiologically and emotionally. The issue I faced was how to continue to eat and train while also dealing with deep trauma, anxiety, and depression. And of course, I couldn’t do both.

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A friend of mine at the time educated me on Vipassana, a meditation retreat. I decided to take a chance and go while feeling helpless and defeated. This, however, led to the birth of holistic healing! After the 10-day retreat, I started to learn about spirituality and Buddhism, delved into self-development, reiki, epigenetics, meditation, visualisation, manifestation, trauma work, generational trauma, the nervous system — how trauma and emotions are stored in the body, gut-brain axis, and the mind-body connection.

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It catapulted into a self-healing journey. I explored rejuvenation classes, hypnotherapy sessions, psychic readings, sound healing, and more. I then worked with chiropractors who helped clear and adjust my emotional and physical side using muscle testing, received kinesiology balances, and began getting acupuncture, which opened my eyes to the power of Chinese medicine.

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Although I was on my healing journey, I still encountered tough and difficult situations. My deep-seated stress, trauma, environment, family, friendships, toxic patterns, relationships, and ways of living were misaligned. In 2021, amidst COVID, I discovered a cerebral brain aneurysm. I knew well before the diagnosis that I wasn’t well, but I stuck to my intuition, continued to seek medical advice, and kept practising and receiving healing. I knew I had to make drastic changes in my life.

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Fast forward to 2023, and I began studying Kinesiology, which I will include as part of my practice. I monitor my stress and aneurysm by using the techniques I learned from my own healing journey, and I will incorporate this into my practice. Kinesiology will help others understand the connection between emotions and the body, clear emotions, and provide advice to help them move through life and live in alignment with their goals. I will educate others on trauma and stress and how they impact health. I also aim to help others create a healthy body image, build self-love, body positivity, and confidence while understanding how the body works and how to eat for health.

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