Hey, I’m Carla!
Here’s why I do what I do!
I was a drained and depleted mumma but I turned things around and I want to help you do the same!
I am a Functional Health Practitioner that specialises in helping mums replenish their bodies, so they can get the energy they crave to get on and live their beautiful lives rather than being held back by health struggles and fatigue.
When we become a mum we go through a transformation from our maiden to mother self. This is known as matrescence and it can be a beautiful time where we grow and evolve alongside our children, that often unfortunately comes with some growing pains. Mums are central to the family unit yet I don’t believe they get the support and guidance they need to manage all the changes that happen to them when they become a mother.
I often see mummas that are totally depleted, giving everything to everyone but themselves. They get caught in the hustle of their careers, chores, and commitments and forget to nourish themselves in the process. This leads to feelings of resentment, exhaustion, unhappiness, and a sh!t load of anxiety and overwhelm!
How it started…
Between the ages of 16-21 I battled with anorexia, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and incredibly low self-esteem.
My healing journey manifested and developed into exercise addiction, self-criticism, and other obsessive eating habits that were considered healthy, including macro counting, nutrient tracking, and veganism.
I was incredibly unhappy and longed to become a better me.
So, I pushed myself to do things I feared and shied away from. I traveled, I volunteered, and I learnt to feel passionate, get out of my own head, and focus on what I enjoyed doing.
I remember being so caught up in what I thought I should be doing until my Dad asked me the simple question, ‘If you could do anything in life what would it be?’
Wow how this question has shaped my life since. I am actually welling up as write this! I think so often we are so focused on the things we don’t want, that we forget to even consider what it is that we do want.
My goals have changed over the years.
I gained my PhD as a Marine Neuroscientist working with my favourite animals, elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), a passion that brought me from the UK to Australia, and a role that suited my introverted nature. But as I developed and worked as a tutor to physiology and anatomy students, I developed a love of the human body and teaching.
I had always considered staying in research, but for various reasons, I found myself at the top only to realise that it wasn’t what I wanted. This was a huge period of conflict for me and being the self-critic and perfectionist that I am, I felt incredibly disappointed with myself and unfulfilled. I longed to find something that I could get passionate about and progress and develop with.
After battling anorexia in my teens, I became interested in health and wellness, and my further struggles with nutrient deficiencies, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), Blasto (a gut parasite), gut pains, bloating, and scoliosis took me on a learning journey to become a Nutritional Counsellor, Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist, and Remedial Massage Therapist.
The more I learnt, the more questions people would ask me, and the more desire I developed to share this information. I learnt that helping people to support their body foundationally to reverse dysfunctions, allowing their body to heal itself naturally, totally lit me up inside. I felt of service. I had a role. I wanted to help.
I then suffered a miscarriage, the absolute hardest time of my life to lose my beautiful baby boy at 17+3 weeks. I had been meditating for a while when this happened and was developing my interest and knowledge in alternative healing practices including aromatherapy and crystals. I have since become a Reiki Master and ThetaHealing® Practioner, the power of which astounds me daily. These energy healing practices are truly a way to learn about, connect with, and master yourself.
And so, my worlds in science and spirituality merged. Since then my trainings include becoming a certified Strategic Life Coach, Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner, and Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner, which I am looking forward to adding to my services in 2023.
Going through the deep grief of my miscarriage made me really assess my life and strive for my dreams and goals sooner. My partner and I decided to sell up, quit our jobs and move from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast to pursue our dreams. I now find myself living in a part of the world I love, with a devoted partner that is now my husband, a career I am truly passionate about, and to top it all off…
I became the mother of the most beautiful (incredibly cheeky) blue-eyed identical twin boys!
So, life should be amazing right!?
Well, if you have read this far and you are interested in working with me, you may have found yourself in a similar situation.
Sure, my life sounded amazing but in reality, I was freaking out!
I struggled with my identity, my physical health, my mental health, my relationships, and so my research into healing and understanding myself continued.
And now, here I am to help you understand the biggest lesson I learnt…that to be the best parent, wife, friend, colleague, whatever…you need to look after yourself and put yourself first once in a while…and regularly!
It’s OK to ask for help. My goodness I got to the point I was screaming for help. Literally! Full blown toddler tantrum lying on the floor kicking and screaming!
It’s not ‘a part of life’ or a ‘part of getting older’ to suffer with aches and pains, fatigue, constipation, bloating, brain fog, memory issues, depression, or anxiety.
Sure, we can function and get through most days, we cope…but is that seriously how you want your life to be? I didn’t want to live for wine o’clock and a Netflix series…surely life is more than that!
I wanted to stop feeling disconnected from myself and my family.
I wanted to stop feeling like I was giving everything I had, which was leaving me resentful, and feeling drained and depleted, I wanted to get clarity back in my head instead of keep forgetting things, I wanted the energy to keep on playing with my kids instead of wishing it was bedtime so I could sit down.
My journey has included understanding and managing my behaviours and thought processes by working with the neural processing of my mind, helping to adapt, and change to become the version of myself that I want to be.
As well as functional lab testing to discover where and how depleted and imbalanced my body was to know the best supplements and foods needed to support my body’s biochemistry, helping to balance my metabolism, support my whacked-out adrenals, slow thyroid, metal toxicities, and so much more.
If you know in your heart you are ready to dig deep and make some changes in your life to see what’s possible for you, I’d love to chat with you about how I may help you.
Please use this link and book your First Step Chat.
If you’d like to learn more about what’s included working with me and my pricing, please click the button below.