Hello, I'm Jo
If you're here on this page, I'm assuming you want to know a bit more about me before you decide whether to work with me or not.
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Good decision.
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The most important factor in a decision like this is whether you think we will get along!
Can you relate to my story, do you like my vibe, and do you think we will be able to build a strong rapport?
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Anything less and it just won't work. There are lots of Health Coaches and Healers out there so if you are not feeling it, please continue the search.
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If you are, then please read on. :)
My Story
My own health journey has been about 17 years in the making, when I began to suffer with anxiety and depression back in 2006. It was a true Dark Night of the Soul, but gave me the motivation to work out what the hell was going on - I sought out as many tools and techniques as I could find to get well again.
I refused to believe that I was going to be in that downward spiral for the rest of my life. Luckily, I found the tools that worked for me, and know of many others that I can share with you.
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They often say that you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb back out. Depression and anxiety was my wake up call, but they were just symptoms of an unhealthy lifestyle.
I grew up on a very limited and unhealthy diet, living a lifestyle that included very little movement. As a result, I carried extra weight for most of my life. I drank a lot as a young adult, ate whatever I wanted, and didn't really think about nutrition. I had some traumatic experiences that I brushed off; but I thought I was doing great... I wasn't.
My interest in health and wellness began in 2006, but my education accelerated greatly in 2014 when I went travelling. I spent 6 years (2014 to 2020) backpacking around the world solo, gaining as much knowledge and wisdom as I could from various cultures along the way. The final part of this journey was spending 2 years in Thailand as a student of Buddhism, learning how to meditate properly. I have now done two 10 day vipassana retreats, 4 days of meditation in a dark room, and now teach meditation to beginners.
I used myself as a guinea pig to try out new tools and techniques, and I now have a wealth of knowledge to be able to guide others on their own health journeys.
I founded Wisdom Wellness in response to what I see as a dis-service by Western medicine. Hospitals and doctors are great for broken bones, or "body mechanics", but are not so great when it comes to chronic health issues, non-physical symptoms, or helping someone reach their optimum level of wellness.
They deliver a 'standard of care' to each person, and unfortunately, this protocol is the same for everyone - regardless of their individual circumstances and lifestyle. I believe that to truly heal, you need to find the right tools for YOU, which means your health practitioner needs to get to know you before giving advice. Each person is unique and the one size fits all approach of western medicine falls short.
Creating a unique health plan takes some background knowledge of the person, which takes time. Some doctors have great intentions, but simply don't get the time needed to sit down and really listen to the patient. That's where I come in.
My passion is getting to the root causes of health issues, and empowering my clients to take the actions needed to radically improve their health.
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In more recent years, my interest in trauma, mental health, and emotional health has grown. I have immersed myself in the world of somatics, breathwork, neuroplasticity, hormones, belief systems, mindset, childhood experiences, attachment trauma, love languages, the list goes on.
I have completed training in Self Harm and Suicide Awareness and Prevention, as well as learned emotional processing techniques, active relaxation techniques, and nervous system regulation techniques. Some techniques work well for some people and not so well for others. So it can be a bit of trial and error to find what works for you.
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And I'd love to witness your journey.
How I work...
You will hear me talk about the 4 pillars of health quite a lot (LEVEL 2 is based on these, while LEVEL 3 is these plus 4 more). These are:
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Physical
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Emotional
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Mental
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Spiritual
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I am working towards hosting an event or retreat based around each one of these pillars.
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I have already begun! The first one off the mark is the Pilgrimage which addresses spiritual health. In September 2023 me and a group of 6 lovely Pilgrims journeyed from Winterbourne Bassett in Wiltshire, to Avebury and back again, over 5 days. It was such an incredible event, I'm already planning the next one - dates to be announced soon! Find out more here.
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I will be running an online detox protocol (physical health) in Spring 2024 with the aim of creating an in person retreat in 2025.
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Then it's just working out what the emotional and mental health events look like. The emotional health event will most likely be an Emotional Wellness course based around 6 'negative' emotions. It will cover physical awareness of the emotions, how to process them and move them through the body, positive and negative expressions, and release techniques. Watch this space!
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Another big topic I want to explain here is that everything I do is based around working WITH the body, not against it. There are so many practitioners out there who will push you or suggest techniques and modalities that don't feel good, and are not aligned with the body, and it can feel like punishment. This is especially true of physical exercise.
Based on compassion...
Another big topic I want to explain here is that everything I do is based around working WITH the body, not against it. There is a way to introduce lifestyle/diet/exercise/mindset/nervous system changes compassionately, taking into account your body's ability to adapt.
There are so many practitioners out there who will push you or suggest techniques and modalities that don't feel good, and are not aligned with the current state of your body, mind, or soul and it can feel like punishment. This is especially true of physical exercise ("no pain no gain" = BS)
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There is nothing worse than giving the body more than it can handle. Let me give you an example: if your nervous system is dysregulated (a lot are), attempting severe cold exposure with no build up or preparation could throw your system into fight, flight, or even freeze, which could set you back months.
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I'm not saying that cold therapy is a bad thing, on the contrary. It has some well documented benefits. But you can work WITH the body and introduce it slowly in a variety of different ways to build capacity before going all out.
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This part is very important to me, and I hope it is for you as well.