Introducing, Nadia Birch.
When I decided to ask around my network to put together a kind of pinboard of health and well-being inspiration here on my Substack, Nadia was on the top of my list of people I wanted to get involved. Me and Nadia met two years ago when she attended a charity event I was running with her sister, Ayanna (you’ll be hearing more about her soon). Since then, I have received almost daily advice, encouragement, and inspiration from her, and I wanted to share a small dose of her wisdom and infectious energy with you here.
In this conversation, Nadia talks about how and why she started tending to her health and well-being, what motivates and inspires her to keep exploring, the simple acts that nourish her day to day, and some of the important people and practitioners in her support system.
You can listen to the whole conversation here:
Something I’ve noticed in the conversations I’ve been having for this project, including this one, is that when taking care of yourself is seen as or literally *is* vital, it gets done. It goes to the top of the priorities list. It is made non-negotiable, either by choice or out of necessity. Nadia lives with chronic pain and has experienced acute, debilitating anxiety, so for her, taking care of her mental and physical health are crucial. I suppose we can only really take good care of ourselves when we acknowledge what our needs are, and believe that they deserve to be met…
“The more I move, it’s not the better I feel, but the more I can feel myself.”
I love the combination of gentleness and curiosity in Nadia’s approach to her health and well-being. She understands that, as is the case for all of us, no two days are the same, and therefore what she needs and how much or little varies constantly. Figuring out what we need and implementing those things can also be a slow, meandering process, not necessarily linear and direct. Letting things grow slowly and steadily, even a little messily, feels a lot more manageable and sustainable than striving for instant perfection or *results*.
“it gives you encouragement to keep discovering ‘what else can I do that is gonna nourish me?’”
I am taking so much away from this conversation with Nadia, as I am sure lots of you will too. In fact, while we were recording, I wanted to scribble down her words of wisdom on a piece of paper that I could keep in my pocket and reach for whenever I felt in need of some guidance. With that in mind, I thought I’d type up the timely advice Nadia shared towards the end of our conversation; I believe we could all find some comfort or support within her words :
“Remember that you are not a broken person. Life may feel like it’s breaking you, but always come back to yourself. Never doubt yourself and always tune into your spirit… believe that whatever you’re in, something is behind you that wants something better for you… Even if it’s for 5 minutes, whatever it is that you’re carrying, just drop it and see how that feels. You’re just a human being, for god’s sake, in a world. It’s so difficult to have faith in life, but we need to make sure that we [do] because we need to make sure that there’s still joy in the world… we need to keep the two energies going. Balance needs to exist. It’s our duty to keep going for those who are suffering. You can’t lose your faith in life.”
You can read Nadia’s incredible writing here and scroll some of her gorgeous modelling work here.
You can find out more about Emma Peel (Nadia’s acupuncturist) here.
You can connect with Ayanna Birch (massage therapist, movement director & Nadia’s sister) here.
Let me know what you’re sticking on your pinboard !
Freya I love you
Thanks for including me and for being such a brilliant interviewer. Its a tough job making me make sense 🤣😅😘