This is Lauren, aka Healthy Happy Hippie

Happy Mother’s Day to the cool moms! And the regular moms.

I hope you enjoy this 5-minute read to get your mind right for the week ahead.

Women’s health expert Lauren, aka Healthy Happy Hippie, is a big proponent of “spreading peace, love, and sunshine,” which is where the “Hippie” part of Healthy Happy Hippie comes from.

Living with multiple health disorders — Fibromyalgia, Hypothyroidism, Ulcerative Colitis, Ocular Rosacea — which she comments, “Yep, that’s a thing” — and a B-12 deficiency, you would never know it because she doesn’t broadcast (complain) about it.

What she DOES is empower women on their wellness journeys through showing them how to live their most abundant, positive, healthy, happy (hippie-inspired) lives.

Tell me about Healthy Happy Hippie. Why did you start the blog?

I started Healthy Happy Hippie because I wanted to share my passion and knowledge of health and happiness with others. I began by writing blog posts, and that turned into an Instagram account where I’m able to reach more people in a more intimate and timely manner.

To me, health and happiness go hand-in-hand, because your health can stem from your happiness, and your happiness can stem from your health. I like to look at life from a holistic and functional standpoint. Essentially, I want to create a community where we can all empower, support, and educate one another.

How do you help women live an abundant life? 

Living an abundant life, to me, does not mean living with materialistic goods — instead, it means having a wealth of happiness and love.

It means a lot to me to make others feel welcome, included, heard and understood. Women have so much pressure from society — to have children by a certain age, to look a certain way, feel a certain feeling, work a certain job, etc. — and I want women to feel heard and understood. I want to help women feel abundant in whatever path they choose in life.

And I think empowering women to take their own path and learn more about themselves, understanding they're not alone in their journey, helps create that life of abundance.  Manifestation is real, and I want to help women manifest their dreams by sharing any health and happiness knowledge that I can.

What is your ultimate goal with Healthy Happy Hippie?

My ultimate goal is to reach as many humans as I can. My essential passion is helping others, and in order to help others, I can relate, educate, and empower. If I reach one person and can change their life for the better, help them adopt healthier habits, manifest their dreams, and/or find their happiness, then my goal has been reached.

Of course, I would love to reach all humans to help everyone. Eventually I would like to have my own health and wellness consulting business.

What advice do you have for women looking to live their days happier + healthier?

Start simple. I always suggest this as a first step in living a happier life: Write down one thing you are happy for at the beginning of every day.

Living a life of happiness can begin with something as simple as that. Starting your day out with gratitude can be life changing. If you don’t know where to start with this, you can search on Youtube for a guided gratitude meditation or mentally list the things that bring you joy.

At first, it may not seem effective, or like it’s “working,” but eventually you will be able to bring those things to your consciousness, and it will show throughout your life. 

Here is my advice on living a healthier life:

• For diet: Cutting out sugar and saturated fats are tough first steps, but if you can slowly weed those out of your diet, you will notice positive changes! Eat clean and organic (when possible), only shop the perimeter of the grocery store, and something I heard that really resonated with me was to eat food that once had life (basically cut out the processed and unnatural food).

• For exercise: Just make sure you are moving your body. Sedentary lifestyles lead to chronic health issues, so even if you are only walking for 30 minutes every day, that is beneficial.  For me personally, yoga, walking, jogging, and strength training exercises work best. However, it is important to remember every single person has a different workout routine that works best for them, their abilities, and their bodies. That said, it's crucial to try different workouts and find what works best for you.

• For mental health: I cannot suggest meditation enough! I’m a big supporter of going to therapy, and I believe everyone can benefit from it. It can take time to find the right therapist for you, but once you do, you will understand how helpful it can be. If you're going through something tough, seek professional help — there is no shame in seeking help — it’s the exact opposite. STRENGTH. It takes strength to seek professional help, and we all need help!

Because this is a mental health newsletter, what do you do to keep your mental health strong?

I have done a variety of things. Therapy was huge for me! I have been through a lot in my life, and seeing a therapist is what really set me on my health and wellness journey. I was finally educated, understood, and empowered once I made it a regular thing.

It was cathartic. So my #1 suggestion for mental health is seeking a therapist. Additionally, yoga and meditation have been huge for me. I meditate every single morning, and just learning how to breathe properly through meditation has completely changed my mental health for the better.

The anxiety that we produce by breathing improperly is crazy, and when I recognize I'm breathing shallow, I re-center myself, breathe through my belly, and my anxiety is instantly reduced — it's crazy.

Aside from breathing through my belly, meditation has helped me live in gratitude and peace, accept the things I cannot change and address the things I can change, and manifest my goals and dreams. 

I know many people are afraid of meditation because it seems "woo woo,” but if you can ignore that pre-judgement, it is an amazing practice. I could talk for days on this topic. Meditation is truly powerful.

Keep up with Lauren on Instagram.

Thank you for reading today and every day.

Per usual, let me know what you want to read about next by hitting reply to this email. We are in life together. Have a fabulous week.

Weekly Reminder

Here at Take A Sip, we believe feeling good + looking good + doing good is thee killer combo to living the good life (our one & only life, that is). Let’s do it together.

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Keep being you.

Xo, Ash

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