Episode 57: Finding Your True Self with Gillian McMichael

In this weeks episode I am joined by another wonderful guest, Gillian McMichael; a passionate teacher, healer, coach and guide. Gillian has 20 years’ experience in helping others navigate their journey to self-discovery and professional fulfilment. Gillian combines the wonderful practices of Ayurveda, meditation, yoga, reiki healing, chakra clearing and mantra rituals to bring about healing, happiness and wholeness.

Continue reading to find out: - How losing everything sparked a deep personal journey of transformation - What may be getting in the way of you living with truth, wholeness and vibrancy - Discover where to begin to find more clarity in your own life - Reflect on the benefits a life true to you could bring - Ayurvedic practices to nourish the body & mind - Gillian's perspective on imposter syndrome and how to move forwards

- Tips to find more peace in today's uncertain world - The importance of rediscovering what brings you joy

As the founder of Full Circle Global, Gillian has created a portfolio of enriching Life Development Programmes for those seeking transformative life changes.

Gillian's personal and transformative journey began 20 years ago, she was working in HR and learning and development and was given the opportunity to engage in some professional coaching. Gillian loved her job but wanted a way to help others and took the step to train as a life coach. Through this time, Gillian went through a lot of personal and emotional life changes which led her to delve deeper into her journey of healing and self-discovery which has also enabled her to help others.

As many of us have probably experienced at some point in our lives, we can often have times where we feel slightly lost, short of time, caught up and overwhelmed, or feel like we are unable to be our true selves. It can be easy to feel stressed or experience feelings of fear of trying something new or not knowing which path to take. Taking an Ayurvedic approach to living can help us to feel more intentially grounded and gain more awareness of how we want to be living our lives. This could include what foods are best for us, the most beneficial types of exercise or even individual lifestyle approaches to help us to gain balance both in mind and body. One of the easiest ways to start this process is to find out what your dosha is, also known as our unique body/ mind types. I have spoken before about doshas and the power of learning about the different characteristics of Vata, Pitta and Kapha and their strengths. Click here to listen to my podcast celebrating the different body/mind types.

Gillian also highlights the importance of an evening routine and the power of spending time unwinding and having a regular sleep routine. She reflects on her previous typical evening of working late into the evening, sitting in front of the TV with a cup of tea before bed and then spending her night tossing and turning in bed as she wasn't able to unwind or switch off her busy mind. She has now completely changed her routine, stopping all screen time including social media use from around 7:30pm, having a shower to begin her evening and cleanse the day, using the water to wash away the toxins and stresses of the day and have that break in the day, using candles and aromatics to create a calming environment before going to bed around 10:00pm each evening. By gradually introducing these small, positive changes and habits in to our day, these can all add up to become large lifestyle changes which will benefit us each day. Linking back to Ayurvedic properties, the body heals itself overnight so a regular sleep and eating pattern is key to help our body work at its best.

I invite you to think about your typical evening routine, are you giving yourself time to unwind and release any stress from the day, or are you moving at full pace until your head hits the pillow at night?

Our mind and body are interlinked in many ways. Gillian moves on to discuss how our mind and our thoughts are so powerfully connected to our physical body. If we are practicing having both a healthy mind and body we need to find a balance between sleep, nourishing ourselves with healthy foods, moving our body in ways that feel good to us but also the importance of having fun and finding joy. Reminding ourselves of things we enjoy doing to have fun and laugh, it can be easy to get caught up in being serious in our busy adult lives. One tip I love that Gillian mentioned is writing a list of things she used to enjoy doing as a child to have fun and bring joy and happiness into her everyday life. One of Gillian's key goals with her clients is to help them through personal transformation to live a longer, healthier and more vibrant life.

I was also keen to discover Gillian's perspective on working with those suffering with 'imposter syndrome'. It's easy to get caught up feeling like you aren't doing enough, capable enough or good enough. Gillian's advice for anyone feeling this way includes journaling, concentrating on what you know including your skillset and checking in with what you know about yourself. Getting down the the root cause of why you may be feeling this way and what can be done to change this. Spending more time reflecting, realising what elements of our lives are in our control and focusing on the abundance of everything around us. When we begin to focus on the areas of our lives that we thrive and excel at, rather than area's that we find hard or struggle with, we will begin to shift our mindset to feeling gratitude.

Finishing the conversation I wanted to know Gillian's top tips for helping us to find some balance each day in our busy lives, her top tips included-

* Move our bodies everyday.

* Aim to get a minimum of 8 hours sleep each night.

* Take time to step back and breathe.

* Get outside with nature and fresh air everyday, even if it's just for a few minutes.

If you would like to read more about Gillian, her journey and her helpful guide to help others, she has now released her first book, Coming Home: A Guide to Being Your True Self. You can purchase your copy here.

Discover more over at Full Circle Global

Follow Gillian on Instagram

You can also listen to the full podcast conversation with Gillian here.

Thank you for reading,

Sam x