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The W.E.L.L. Team

5 Pieces of Wellness Advice from Celebrity Health Coach Koya Webb

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Koya Webb is a Celebrity Holistic Health Coach and Yoga Instructor who has worked with Stevie Wonder, India Aire, Ashley Judd, Colin Johnson and many other singers, actors, models, corporations and organizations passionate about healthy living. Now that’s someone you want to get wellness advice from, right?

She’s putting her expertise to good use with these 5 tips, from Koya to you.

  1. One of the first things I encourage my Get Loved Up community to do when wanting to start a healthier lifestyle is breathwork. This is the one thing everyone alive can do with no excuses. Breathing exercises will help you decrease stress levels and think clearly about what you’re doing. Meditation, yoga, resistance training or any form of movement is better when you’re breathing properly.
  2. My favorite way to find inner peace is through meditation. Regular meditation can improve your mental, spiritual and emotional health. The biggest question I get is how does one start and the answer is simple: Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and listen to your breath. I usually like to start each meditation session with some type of breath work then I find stillness for 10-60 minutes depending on my schedule that day.
  3. My favorite go-to for holistic health is yoga. Yoga is my best friend and it helped me heal from a back injury in college. Now I teach others yoga because I want them to receive that same gift of healing and daily transformation. Yoga increases circulation throughout the body and strengthens and stretches joints, ligaments and muscles. Yoga is also a beautiful reflection of life because its a journey that ultimately unites us.
  4. Hydration is one of the most important things you can do for healthy skin and a clear mind. I drink half my weight in ounces on a daily basis and eat lots of hydrating fruits and veggies. I love to infuse my waters with essential oils and herbs.
  5. One of the biggest factors that contributes to my wellness and the health of the planet is following a plant-based diet. Consuming fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and super foods has been my lifestyle for over 12 years and my health just keeps getting better and better. My skin is clear, I don’t get sick, I have tons of energy and choosing a plant-based diet has been one of the most impactful things I’ve done to reduce my carbon foot print.

Want more advice? See what other wellness experts have to say in our full 5 Pieces of Wellness Advice series.

5 Pieces of Wellness Advice from Asha Ramakrishna

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What better way to get tips for living W.E.L.L. than to tap into wellness experts? Meet Asha Ramakrishna, spiritual mentor to evolved women wanting to embody their own heaven on Earth. She’s also the author of The Priestess Code: Awakening the Modern Woman book and is hosting a Wise Priestess Retreat in January 2018. Sounds like the kind of lady to get some life tips from, right? Here are her 5 pieces of wellness advice, from Asha to you.

  1. Want to live drama free? Heal your shit. 😘
  2. The best self-care for the Modern Priestess is to start a daily dry brushing and self Aryuvedic massage… your nervous system will thank you for it!
  3. We don’t have a race problem, we have a LOVE problem. If people saw each other for how precious and sacred we each are, hate would vanish. If you cannot see the beauty of the inside of a person, the outside is irrelevant.
  4. “Your needs + soul wants are provided even before you need or want them. Embody this intention.” — The Priestess Code: Awakening the Modern Woman. When we TRUST life and the Universe and assume that all that is in front of us is divine perfection, we soften to ourselves, to what IS, and create space to materialize what we desire. This also nudges us to ask ourselves: Is this a need or a want? I can tell you that growing up and traveling to developing countries, many of us what needs and wants confused. Let’s be honest with what we truly need, even when that need feels like another’s want. When we answer our own questions without comparing or judging others, we step into true authenticity, and may I say…. abundance.
  5. See what is good and right in the world, and you will be good and right.

See what other wellness experts have to say in our full 5 Pieces of Wellness Advice series.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Nicolle Mackinnon

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Stemming from her personal journey to treat her celiac disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Nicolle Mackinnon serves as a writer and editor for several leading publications helping women understand how important, stylish and fun it is to commit to clean beauty. By way of her contributions to No More Dirty Looks, Thoughtfully Magazine and numerous beauty brands’ blogs, websites and social media, Nicolle has become a trusted voice on the correlation between health and beauty.

How did she get her start? Read on to find out!

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Nicolle Mackinnon

Name: Nicolle Mackinnon

Website:  NicolleMackinnon.com

Social: @nicollebmack on Instagram

What’s your influencer origin story?

My green beauty journey really began as a health journey. I’d always been interested in skincare and makeup (in middle school, I had enough lip-gloss colors to match every outfit I owned), but in my early 20s, I ran into more and more digestive issues, which I started treating with dietary changes. As I learned more about ingredients, I began to wonder what was in my personal care products too.

I picked up the No More Dirty Looks book, and from then on, I was a changed woman. Working and writing for NMDL continued to inspire me to help educate women about ingredients in products and to show that natural beauty works better than conventional cosmetics! And it eventually led to my ability to work with clean beauty and wellness brands full time, creating written, social and website content to inspire and inform.

Why should someone follow you?

Clean beauty, and natural dietary and lifestyle changes to treat auto-immune diseases (like celiac and Hashimoto’s).

What drives you?

The root of my drive is two-fold: First, I have a deep-seated, unsettled feeling about how women are being taken advantage of by big beauty companies. We’re marketed to in deliberate ways that reach into our insecurities and pull at our desire to look and feel beautiful—and then we’re handed cheap, untested products that have the potential to do us more harm than good by combining ingredients that we should never put on our skin. It’s not fair and it’s yet another way that women are marginalized and held down.

Secondly, I believe that true health is holistic health and that natural, safer products and ingredients have the potential to heal and soothe our skin, our bodies and our minds. Plants, essential oils and healthy ingredients work synergistically with our bodies’ systems to utilize nutrients and bring out the best in us. Figuratively and literally!

Has that goal behind your site shifted since you started?

My biggest shift has just been in what my personal beauty focus is. I’m allergic to a number of ingredients (beeswax, lavender, phenoxyethanol and dimethicone, to name a few), so I try to focus my personal platforms like Instagram on brands who are super clean and meet the standards of what I actually use. I also have brought more self-care and wellness to my platform, since my auto-immune diagnoses.

What surprises have you run into along the way?

I’m constantly surprised by the welcoming arms of the green beauty community. I find it to be a beautiful dialogue with people on all parts of the spectrum, from light to dark green, and I can’t express how amazing that is. I also am still excessively giddy that I have been able to transition all of this into a career! Working with brands is really my passion.

What do you think makes you stand out in the wellness world?

My auto-immune diseases have forced me to be deliberate about what projects I take on and even how much time I spend on personal social media. So I think what stands out is that I really do walk the walk. I take self-care seriously, and strive to put into practice the things I recommend and write about. I’m constantly researching and learning too, which always informs my writing.

Any advice for us?

What works for you isn’t always what works for someone else. That applies to everything, I find! Be it food/diet, exercise or skincare and makeup. Our skin and bodies are all so different and just because an ingredient or product or system or food is highly touted doesn’t mean it’s right for you.

Want more wellness? Read about what wellness experts can’t live without.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Rachel Kaczynski

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Rachel Kaczynski is a MA-based Certified Health Coach, freelance writer, and creator of “Spark Your Bliss” Affirmation Card Deck. She’s the founder of Healthy Chicks, a wellness blog inspiring women to live happier, healthier, more vibrant lives (without dieting). Read on to learn more about what drives her as a wellness influencer.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Rachel Kaczynski

Name: Rachel Kaczynski

Website: Healthy-Chicks.com

Social: Instagram and Twitter

What’s your influencer origin story?

I always loved to write ever since I was a little girl. The first blog I started in college was actually on relationships (I wanted to be Carrie on Sex and The City!) I then began writing about “health” but the unhealthy kind: quick diet tips, the food I ate each day, etc. At that time, I was extremely obsessed with the scale and calories so my blog was more like a “food diary” than anything. Blah.

When I graduated from college, I became completely fed up with dieting, so I decided to toss the scale and start listening to my body once and for all. This is when I started to see a huge change, not only with my body but with my mindset.

So I started writing about the path I took, and the whole mind/body connection. Healthy Chicks became more of a positive community for women looking for answers, sharing real life struggles involving food, body image and more. That’s when my blog really started taking off, and it was great because this writing felt super authentic to me. I was simply writing about my experience and journey—the good, the bad and the ugly. That was about 9 years ago, and still to this day my blog is about all the aspects of wellness: spirituality, joy, food and everything in between.

Why should someone follow you?

Ditching dieting and discovering joy around food and your body!

What drives you?

I do what I do because not only is it healing for me to open up about my setbacks and wins, but also even more healing for other women. Women work best in groups, and it brings me so much joy to share my story with the masses.

In college I struggled big-time with obsessing over food, dieting and the scale to the point where I had a borderline eating disorder. While at the time I was a complete mess, I’m now grateful for my experience because I’m able to offer some inspiration and hope for other women who may be struggling. It’s important to speak out, get help and know you’re not alone! It breaks my heart to see so many women tear apart their bodies, so it’s very important for me to share a message of positivity and body love.

More recently, I’ve been opening up about my struggle with Hashimoto’s disease, and the response from women all across the country has been truly remarkable.

Has that goal behind your site shifted since you started?

Yes, for sure! As I mentioned, I started off with a relationship blog with literally no goal other than writing about my feelings (which were far too personal for a blog, by the way). Now I have a very clear mission to inspire other women on their journey to body love and freedom around food. My goal is just to bring a little joy to your day, and shed some light on the struggles we go through as women.

I also recently launched my own affirmation card deck, “Spark Your Bliss,” which you can now purchase on my blog through a link to my Etsy shop. That’s been fun to build up, and the support from the community has been amazing!

What surprises have you run into along the way?

As I gained followers, I had to learn early on that some people aren’t going to like what you have to say which is OK, and then there are also Internet trolls that will totally rip you apart and can say extremely hurtful, nasty things. You get really thick skin along the way!

I’ve also been grateful to meet so many other wonderful bloggers in the community who are super supportive. It’s been cool to see my little ol’ blog grow into something I’m so very proud of and I especially love hearing from my readers. When I’m having an “off” day and read a lovely comment from one of my readers, it totally turns my day around!

What do you think makes you stand out in the wellness world?

My readers say that I’m super authentic, and the way I write is like talking to a friend. So I’d say that I stand out by keeping it real and sharing more than just the “highlight reel.” I’m relatable and I’m far from perfect.

Any advice for us?

Listen to your body. Ask yourself how you want to FEEL, and do more of the things that make you feel that way. If you’re not feeling the way you want to feel, then no amount of yoga, green-juicing or dieting is going to fix that. It’s super important to nourish your body with good food and exercise, but it’s even more important to nourish your soul.

Want more wellness? Read about what wellness experts can’t live without.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Ana Alarcon

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Fitness marketing professional, boxing instructor and health writer Ana Alarcon is an absolute wealth of knowledge. Passionate about growing and nurturing the fitness community in her hometown of Boston, Ana puts her skills to good use running events and teaching a number of classes.

Two years ago, she created a fitness Instagram account to keep herself accountable. Just one short year later, she realized that fitness and health was her passion and she decided to create a website where she could share her experience and tips to hopefully empower others to live a healthier lifestyle.

But what makes her tick and how did she manage to carve out a place for herself in the industry? Like this.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Ana Alarcon

Name: Ana Alarcon

Website: AnaGoesFit.com

Social: @anagoesfit on Instagram

Why should someone follow you?

Plant-based and active lifestyle tips.

What drives you?

Seeing others changing habits into healthier ones, and striving to be better keeps me motivated every day.

Has that goal behind your site shifted since you started?

It hasn’t change much! I still believe in sharing my own experience but now I also feature others’ success on my page.

What surprises have you run into along the way?

Learning curves! Some months are super easy and others aren’t. Every day I am learning something new, from photography to new blogging trends.

What do you think makes you stand out in the wellness world?

My view in health is moving everyone into a plant-based lifestyle, and that everything starts from the inside. I believe in more natural products, and use as minimal chemicals as possible, but also am active!

Any advice for us?

Walk. For real. Go for a walk, you will calm down, clear your mind and your blood starts flowing. So many benefits!

Want more wellness? Read about what wellness experts can’t live without.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Sarita Coren

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Meet Sarita Coren, a holistic mama on a quest to live clean. In 2013, she launched Edible Facial, her original blog, to cover holistic living and natural beauty because at the time she felt as though she had integrated a lot of information based on her experiences with raising her children in a wellness-oriented framework. She wanted to share the resources that had worked for her family in order to help and serve others.

Now, she’s a well-known wellness influencer and we’re giving you a little peek into her behind the scenes. Read on to find out more about what inspires her and why you should follow along on her journey.

Wellness Influencer Spotlight: Meet Sarita Coren

Name: Sarita Coren

Website: SaritaCoren.com

Social: @saritacoran on Instagram and Twitter

Why should someone follow you?

Green beauty and wholesome living, as well as self-realization and discovery.

What drives you?

I love to empower people with knowledge and information that will help them grow forward.

Has that goal behind your site shifted since you started?

Green beauty is only the launching pad that has brought me to this time and space but I want to take my content deeper and explore other areas of wellness and holistic living that can’t be painted with a brush stroke.

What surprises have you run into along the way?

That my blog and social media platforms took off at all! Biggest and most wonderful surprise ever.

What do you think makes you stand out in the wellness world?

This is a hard question for an introvert to answer! I typically shy away from standing out, but I think that in writing, what stands out is that I care about people in a genuine way and sincerely want to help others discover what’s best for them. I love empowering people with choices that lead them on their own path of discovery.

Any advice for us?

Listen within.

Want more wellness? Read about what wellness experts can’t live without.

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