#18 | Part 3 Karen Koramshai - Karens Daily Movement & Wellness Tips Boost Your Wellbeing

:: 00:01

It gives amazing results physically, but also mentally, because it's the modeling industry. You know how I would look after and I'm so glad I did it, because now I don't look back at it. It's those meaningful moments in life and it's just that daily routine.

:: 00:16

Second one you talk about is movement. You talked about Pilates, talked about Ayurveda, which I think yoga has yoga in. You go for walks. I like to start with Pilates. This is Joe's bread and butter, Joe's a coach of Pilates.

:: 00:30

Are you good, oh, are you Amazing.

:: 00:32

And he absolutely loves it. Joe's been trying to get me to do Pilates as well. But you say it helps people that come into your class massively.

:: 00:49

I'd like to just talk a bit about that, because obviously you're the speciality on it and you love doing it. What's your sort of view on pilates for your mental health and also for your well-being? So it looks so hard, the classes, it's so hard. We've done clips on them. Yeah, I think pilates is an amazing low impact sort of exercise, as you know I mean it is. It gives amazing results physically but also mentally. Um, whether it's mat or whether it's the reformer, I think it, it I sort of. I find Pilates. It gives me that flow state which is sort of it always, sort of. You know it makes me focus in. You know it's hard enough that it will keep me. I can't switch off, but it's hard enough that I feel like I've done a workout.

:: 01:20

You also have to internalize a lot of stuff as well.

:: 01:22

Exactly exactly.

:: 01:22

You have to internalize a lot of stuff as well, exactly, exactly. You have to really focus on the areas of the body that the teacher or the person online like you do is really telling you to really internalize, whether it be the pelvic floor or glute bridges. You have to really, really internalize a lot of the stuff you're doing which I loved, and the thing that I love most about Pilates is it's for everyone.

:: 01:38

Anyone can do it?

:: 01:40

It's not a one size fits all policy exactly it can be for all abilities yeah your age, your shapes and sizes, which, while I'm trying to get him to do it, he loves his crossfit and I love my high impact gym stuff, but I feel like the balance between pilates and gym work.

:: 01:52

It's perfect exactly aided my gym as well people that think that it's just for women.

:: 01:56

It drives me mad because I've been doing it for a couple of years and teaching him about two, and it's helped every part of my life, either mentally or or physically, in the gym especially so many athletes do it, don't they More so? Now we get loads of footballers and golfers doing it. It really improves their performance.

:: 02:12

Yeah it does. I'll get you one day. I love that you said a lot of footballers and stuff do it A lot of footballers actually do ballet as well, do they yeah, so for footwork and strength in their lower body which I always found really interesting because the school my brother grew up in he went to a boarding school and there was a lot of professional footballers there and Christian who we had on the podcast. He used to do ballet and ballet classes.

:: 02:37

But not with a tutu or whatever.

:: 02:39

But he'd be in classes and he'd be doing the strength work and the movement of it.

:: 02:44

And he said that was one of the best things he'd done, and he was doing that from 14 to 18 when he was in the norwich academy so things like pilates, people.

People can laugh, but I'm not doing pilates, that's what until they try it and then they actually think oh, actually you can really feel it and I love the fact that. Pilates you can do a 20 minute, it's always to fit intoates you can do a 20-minute, it's always to fit into your lifestyle. You can do a 20-minute class or a 40-minute class, it varies so much. But as long as you're having that movement, I think it's important.

:: 03:12

You do it from home, don't you? Yeah, I do it from home, yeah it's easy.

:: 03:16

Sometimes I even wake up, do it in my pajamas.

:: 03:18

Fall out of bed and you're there Do you have a coach. I do.

:: 03:22

I've got a coach that comes in sort of three times a week just for the weight training and then Pilates. I do it sort of with my friends, that's awesome.

:: 03:30

Yeah, keep on the theme of movement. It's Mental Health Week coming up and the key area of it is movement. This year. And I was like this is great Because obviously doing what we talked about For beginners, people trying to better their mental health and for the part of mental health week, what advice would you give and what would you even recommend for beginners? Because, we talk about walking a lot, all these different things. People, I think when people think exercise, they think crossfit big gym guys.

:: 03:59

It doesn't have to be like that. What advice?

:: 04:01

would you say and what would you recommend?

:: 04:02

things like pilates, I think is a great sort of low impact sort of way to start daily movements, walking, like you said. You know, especially now the weather is getting brighter and warmer, just go out for a walk, put your like best podcast on and, you know, just go out and enjoy the outside. I think it's just again, it's those small changes into your daily habit that become bigger. Yeah, it's just. Yeah, it's start small to then become bigger.

:: 04:28

It's a big theme with you, isn't it?

:: 04:29

yeah, those small baby steps I think that that that can eventually become long-term sort of habits so do you find one which you find the most useful?

:: 04:41

like if you were to rank them in order. You're like pilates walking nutrition whatever it is, it doesn't have to just be movement side of things I think again it's the three pillars together.

:: 04:50

I think one doesn't work well with the other interesting I think it's, you know, it's always the daily movement, with the sort of, you know, eating as clean as you can. Uh, obviously that's not achievable every day, but it's, you know. It's the three together, I think one doesn't work.

:: 05:06

They work perfectly, yeah did you sort of sit down and you were like because I, I do this all the time where I sit down and I'm like this is working for me, this isn't working for me, and I felt like a big portion of my life I felt guilty because I didn't fit into a mold.

Like at school I felt like I was a triangle shape trying to fit into a circle and it's all these different things like I always felt guilty that I wasn't um fitting into someone else's mold and fitting into school, fitting into personal life, and it was just for me. I found it so useful when I realized I shouldn't feel guilty if something works for me and it doesn't work for other people. Is there anything in particular that sort of works for you and might not work for other people where you're like I've discovered this, I've written it down, it works me. Like for me, the crossfit works um ice bathing works, which we're so big on. Is there anything in particular that you give advice, not not for stuff you you've done, but just for people to go and find what works them?

:: 06:04

and I think that's important is finding that one thing that fits into your routine, or find something that you enjoy it. It's all about the enjoyment as well, for example, the ice cold that you guys love. I'm being honest, I'm still too.

:: 06:19

I love my saunas, but I'm yet to get into that ice cold bath.

:: 06:23

I don't know if it's the Brazilian blood in me, I don't know. I hate being cold. So, it's something that I'm working towards, but again, it's just finding something that you like doing. That's something that you will keep doing on a regular basis.

:: 06:38

We get a few comments of people being like how do I find something I enjoy? And for us, Try it. It's all about trying, isn't it?

:: 06:47

Try everything that you can and then just be open to it all and if you can, you know you know I know I won't like things like boxing. I know you know it's too harsh on me, but you know there might be other sports that I love, you know.

:: 07:02

It's just it's finding that one thing that makes you happy do you feel like you can't find happiness unless you try things?

:: 07:08

yeah, exactly, I think it's.

:: 07:10

You know, you've got to, you've got to say yes to it, yeah yeah, you said just then, finding something that makes you happy and I think wanted to sort of pick your brain and in since your diagnosis and the removal and everything else, how's your mental health been since then?

:: 07:22

I know everyone has bad days and good days, but on the whole, if I'm honest, I thought I was going to be quite scared about it. Quite, you know, because it's the modeling industry, you know how I would look after and I'm so glad I did it, because now I don't I don't look back at it, you know, I'm so glad I did it because at the end of the day it's that gut feel. If you think something's wrong, look into it and do I regret it, not all. I'm glad I did it. And you know there's hardly any scarring. It was just know. It's just with everything, you always have this idea that it's going to look like that and then yeah, Do you feel like?

:: 07:56

you always think the worst case scenario Exactly?

:: 07:58

I think it's. Yeah, I think the whole yoga coach is all about that. You know it's all about. You know, the things that happen to your head normally don't actually end up happening.

:: 08:08

You know it's all in there so you suffer more in your head than it does.

:: 08:12

Yeah, it's all these stories that you tell yourself in the head.

:: 08:14

It's funny, it works, isn't? It because we always talk about things in the way you frame your frame your mind, and we've had dr mark rackley on. He was talking about things that are and it's just so funny and when I said I can't remember who said it, but that always stuck with me as well was when it was. You suffer more in your head than you do in reality yeah and I sat there when someone said it.

I can't remember what episode this was. I think this was dr mark. He said that and I was like that is so true and it's so damaging the effect that you can do to yourself and I feel like with the majority of things in life, if people don't go for goals because they're too worried about what other people think of them what advice would you kind of give to people who do think that, who are like I can't do this, and I know so many people who are like I can't take that step.

I'm too scared, like what would my? What would my mom think? About me what would my dad think about what my best friend think about me? It's quite quite a scary place. What would you give advice? Wise, because you you've done a lot.

:: 09:09

You've done loads.

:: 09:10

Yeah, You've been, and the thing which annoys me as well is a lot of people think when you get to the top, it's all like sunshines and rainbows. It's actually probably more stressful because you have a reputation to uphold more responsibilities exactly what advice would you give to people from being high up in an industry and seeing the top of it? And is it all sunshine and rainbows, or is it just stress the whole way?

:: 09:33

I think it's all hard work, isn't it? I think the harder you work, the better results you get. I think it's with everything in life. I think you just gotta go for it, you know, start taking it. There's that monkey paradox, isn't?

that book where. Just shut that monkey off your head and just try and go for it. Just try and believe in yourself and I know it sounds very cheesy, but you know all the messages that we've been told before. You know. You just got to stop that sort of inside voice coming in and just go for it do you find being successful in the field has provided you true happiness I think for me, happiness comes from the little things.

I think it's, you know, it's it's being, it's those meaningful moments in life and it's just that daily routine. I think that makes me the happiest.

:: 10:19

It's just the smallest things having sort of with your mental health side of things. I'm sure people, people suffer every day. Being a mum of three, having an incredibly successful career, having a great marriage is that something that has brought you? You just said about the small steps, but is that something that's brought you a great feeling of gratitude, because there's a lot of people out there who don't have that and won't be able to have that? Is that like a feeling of I've worked incredibly hard, I deserve this. Or, again like taught, as we talked about before, does that bring anxiety and a bit of oh, we need to keep this going? Like the reputation side of things, as we briefly touched on before.

:: 11:00

I think we've got to be great. I think everyone needs to be grateful for every day. I think obviously there's no perfection, but I think it's just that you know it's that gratitude every day. It's just. You know I love to journal every day and just making sure that you know I always try and instill with my kids three things that you're grateful for today. You know it's just shifting their mindset again. It's just making sure that you know you see more of the positive rather than the negative, because life is hard we're not going to lie, life is super tough and it's just shifting that mindset again.

:: 11:32

It keeps you grounded as well. Exactly You've got to be. Are you chasing things in terms of a career path? What's next for you?

:: 11:42

I think eventually, now that my kids are older, I I'd love to do more of what I'm doing now. It's you know, I'd love to get into more events, wellness events, um, you know, do more talks, um, get more out there and just sort of yeah just do more yeah yeah, and just you know, raise that awareness of breast implant illness and, yeah, just help as many people as I can that's amazing.

:: 12:08

Yeah, I'm gonna leave it on this, because this is the question we ask at the end of every podcast. But there, if there is one piece of advice you would give to the listeners, that has, like, helped you over life has been, you could have heard it 10 years ago. It could have been really important that you live your life. By. What would that message be?

:: 12:24

I think one thing that we are all guilty of and we do it all the time I'm no, I'm guilty of it it's just stop the comparison with other people. I think we all, we all live. We all live different lifestyles anyway, and it's just you know, making sure that you're not comparing constantly with other people, because we're all very different and we know we all have our superpowers. So it's just making sure that you know you choose that one thing and just go for it and just believe in yourself amazing.

:: 12:50

Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you.