4 ways studying nutrition changed my life as a burnt out self employed yoga teacher
I have spoken extensively about burnout over the last few years, even since before the pandemic.
Back then I was caught up in the ‘teach 20+ yoga classes per week’ cycle and at that point yes I was making enough money to live decently in London as a full time yoga teacher, BUT it was difficult to take time off for a vacation or much needed rest holiday to refill my own cup. Taking a vacation not only meant the holiday expenses, but lost income from missed classes - so the cost of a vacation was usually almost double what it appeared to be.
There was also this scarcity mindset that crept in thinking that the cover teachers were gonna try to potentially steal my classes and my much needed source of income.
Yep thats the reality and if you’re a yoga teacher who has been teaching studio classes for a while, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I’m sure no matter your industry you work in, some of this will resonate - the scarcity mindset, the competition waiting to grab your spot any moment.
It was unpleasant and it kept me living in this fear state from week to week, instead of being all peaceful inside like one may thing a yoga teacher would be, I was in a constant fear & stress response and I was BURNT OUT!
My body felt broken all the time from teaching 6-7 days a week, plus practicing, I had to get massages, acupuncture or osteopathy sessions every 2 weeks to be able to move my body. I needed more but couldn’t afford it!
This day to day life was not sustainable long term, and I knew that. I was about 34 at the time and I was thinking how am I gonna be doing this when I get into my 40s + and just don’t have the energy anymore? I was single at the time too and had no one else to rely on, on top of being a foreigner with an unstable visa situation, it was an interesting time of my life to say the least - all I knew was that something needed to change.
And then the pandemic happened and forced that reset button.
All the studios closed and I had no job overnight, despite being self employed.
Thankfully all my yoga teacher friends and I supported each other by helping each other start teaching online.
→ At this time I barely could send an email, which you may be shocked about because I am now a tech and business nerd and have created and designed my entire website. The only part of my website that isn’t done by me is the photography lol.
Teaching online turned out to be amazing during the pandemic because it created a little support group for everyone going through lockdown together, having something to do and other people to connect to. It gave me space to not feel broken from running around London from studio to studio, I just taught from my living room, and my body and mind actually started to feel rested.
Because I had more time, and never knowing if lockdowns were ever going to end, I decided to go back to school to study nutrition. I picked the College of Naturopathic Medicine because Naturopathy looks at the whole person, their energetics, constitution and every body system to try and understand the root cause of why symptoms manifest, not simply treating symptoms. This was in line with my yoga principles and was going to help me create a holistic wellness platform to teach from, alongside yoga.
Studying took 3 years and it was incredibly challenging once lockdown ended. Studying while being self employed and creating all my retreats, events, workshops, teaching my regular classes, keeping my website and members area updated, all the social channels going - you get the idea - it was all becoming a bit much to handle.
Long story short - I was starting to burn out again. This time I had the knowledge of how to manage it nutritionally, the game changer! I am prone to anxiety and have experienced stress & burnout numerous times throughout my adult life and I didn’t want to feel like this any longer.
This is what I changed immediately to manage and prevent burnout when I started learning about the power of food alongside my regular yoga practice and crazy self employed schedule:
✧ I stopped snacking. You reach for snacks when you’re tired, but usually they’re full of sugar, they spike your blood sugar and make you crash afterwards, feeling more tired and then reaching for more snacks and maybe even some coffee. This can turn into a vicious cycle that is difficult to get out of. If you are finding it difficult to stop snacking at first, try switching your snacks to healthy snacks first - like carrot sticks, celery and hummus; or date balls if you still want something sweet; a handful of nuts and seeds; almond butter on a rice or oat cake. You can help stop your snack cravings by doing the next step too:
✧ I added more protein to my meals. It’s very important to be mindful of protein intake, especially if you’re vegan. Eating protein makes meals more satiating, making you feel satisfied, feel full faster and for longer - this helps reduce cravings for snacks and riding on the blood sugar imbalance train all day of spikes and crashes, instead helping your energy levels for stable throughout the day. Sounds amazing!! Protein is also essential for most biological processes in your body, from energy production to immune function, hormone production, healing and repair, you name it! Protein also helps slow down the digestion of carbs when eaten together, this helps stabilise blood sugar levels after eating a meal and prevents you from feeling tired shortly after. How much protein? It mostly depends on your mass/weight and activity level but you can guestimate daily consumption of around 1g of protein per kg of your body weight. Note that your body does NOT store protein so it’s advisable to spread portions evenly throughout your day so your body is replenished with the protein it needs to function optimally. Tofu, tempeh, quinoa, chickpeas, hummus, red lentils, black beans, butter beans and nutritional yeast are my personal favourites.
✧ I tried intermittent fasting (IF). Before I explain any further please note that this is definitely not for everyone, I’m sure some of you may think that you shouldn’t IF when stressed/burnt out so let me explain my rationale: for me it has helped to prevent energy crashes and I do feel more alert throughout the day AND I did not practice any extreme ratio. I recommend a 14:10 or 16:8 ratio. This means 14 hours not eating, and 10 hours of an eating window (or 16 hours not eating and 8 hours eating window). The fast/not eating window occurs from after your evening meal, while you are sleeping, until your breakfast the following morning. Basically have the last meal around 7-8pm latest and breakfast around 9-10am with no snacking in between. PLUS everyone gets annoyed when I say this: no dessert after dinner!!! There are no benefits to having sugar after your evening meals, its just gonna mess with your blood sugar levels and your sleep patterns. **It is definitely NOT recommended to do IF any longer than this when you are stressed and burnt out. They are deprived body and mind states, and when you are in a deprived state you want to think about nourishing your body and mind. These IF ratios are more about giving your body a time to rest from digestion and to process anything that needs healing and repair while you’re sleeping, not about food deprivation.
✧ I made sure I was eating foods with all the vitamins and minerals required for energy, neurotransmitter and hormone production - this could turn into an entire course but long story short - eat a variety of plants throughout your week and you’ll most likely be sorted. Aim for 30 plants per week. Your spices and herbal teas count, nuts and seeds and all the veggies - they all count as plants. Go wild and try new things you haven’t before, eat allllllll the colours of veggies: red, orange, yellow, green, purple, white (yes even potatoes are good for you, no hating on potatoes - but to be clear I don’t mean french fries LOL).