Merly Hartnett

Episode 1 How to bounce back from burnout

Merly Hartnett discusses the impact chronic stress has on our brains and 3 simple strategies to start help you bounce back from burnout. For more support, you can download the Conquer Chronic Playbook at resource.merlyhartnett.com/playbook

Resource List:

If you are curious about bush play / nature play or just want an epic birthday party and live in the Hills District too? Say hello to Hamish from Wild Earthlings. https://wildearthlings.com.au

For that amazingly good healthy paleo and sugar free cake recipe I made at https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/keto-cake-recipe

Remember to join the Crunchy Career Mums Facebook Community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/crunchycareermums

Crunchy Career Mums Podcast Launch

I bite the bullet and created a podcast, graphics and recorded my first episode in less than 2 hours.

Yep, it’s just me and my mobile phone!

Had to get this up and running as I have some exciting podcast guests that I’ll be interviewing in the coming weeks so watch this space.

So what is the Crunchy Career Mums Podcast?

Listen below to find out.

Welcome to Crunchy Career Mums hosted by Health Coach Merly Hartnett.

If you’re feeling stressed and burned out from juggling family and work life, you’ll find tips and strategies to help you lift yourself out of physical and emotional fatigue.

Episodes will be a mixture of insights from Merly’s health coaching experience working with career mums as well as special guests who’s passionate about you succeeding in being the mum you want to be and having a thriving career.

I’m actually waiting for my first episode to be approved but in the meantime you can download the Conquer Chronic Playbook.

3 Reasons Why 2021 is the Best Year to Become a Health Coach

I often get asked by other mums who have kids the same age as mine, how do I manage to do so much?

Honestly, it’s because I love what I do.

2020 was the year the world was turned upside down with the news about the Wuhan Virus aka Covid19 and it was also the year I had a newborn to look after.

So between changing nappies and breastfeeding, when Axel was 5 months old, I decided to get back to work because I felt that it was my contribution to help make the world a more positive place.

The World Needs More Health Coaches Right Now

You would think with economies collapsing, people losing their jobs, businesses shutting down and healthy people imprisoned in their homes, health coaching wouldn’t be a business that would be flourishing right?

However, with the events of 2020, people suddenly took more of interest in their health, they started to realised that staying healthy and building a strong immune system can’t be injected or bought, they learnt they needed to make positive behavioural changes with their diet and lifestyle and make conscious choices to go out for a walk, turn off the TV and eat more mindfully.

In fact, my clients were more motivated to make changes, I saw women change jobs, start a business, end relationships, release weight, start running, move house, go back to study and so many major life decisions amidst the chaos of the political world.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new”
Socrates

Study Where and Whenever You Want

When I decided to go back to study, my firstborn was 9 months old. I breastfed on demand and we’re also a co-sleeping family. We didn’t follow any particular routine so when it came to studying I needed a way to study that fitted with demands of my then lifestyle.

I found my sweet spot was between 9pm and 12 midnight a few times a week and I had other friends who also decided to study with me, one had a day dedicated to studying and had a family to mind the kids and the other just studied during her daughter’s day naps. Download a free sample class and see how you can work it in your week if you’re curious.

Learning New Skills and Adapting to Change

In a world where there is so much uncertainly and change, one thing that has kept me feeling sane is having routine and structure outside of my primary role of being a mummy. Other than building a career in health and wellness, this journey has been so rewarding as I learn about entrepreneurship and getting to know some amazing people from around the world.

In the USA and parts of Europe, there are opportunities to for a company however the majority of health coaches that I know started by running their own business.

Some work as a health coach while others use their qualifications to write books, create health and wellness products and do other great business ventures but regardless what you discover to be your jam, it’s a deep dive in your own personal growth.

I’ve made some amazing new friends who are health coaches who live on different continents and have gotten to connect with other health and wellness professionals as a result of the work I do.

But what’s been amazing is being able to make an impact and help my clients achieve their goals, become happier and healthier versions of themselves regardless of what’s going on in the world.

If you’re curious about becoming a health coach, you can attend a free webinar with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to learn about the field of health coaching and why health coaches are in demandd right now.

You can also send me an email if you have any questions too. I’m here to help!

How to Develop the Ability to Process Your Emotions

Emotions can be all-consuming. You only need to look at a toddler to see the intensity of an emotion when something goes wrong.

It doesn’t matter how small or insignificant it may seem, for them, it’s the end of the world.

I remember reading that kids are just little people with big emotions. They’re emotions are valid and to be respected. As we grow up, we learn to process those emotions so that we can still function in society.

Just imagine having a meltdown in the supermarket because the store ran out of bananas, wouldn’t that make for an interesting day.

However many of us still act this way internally even if we don’t show it. So it’s important we develop the ability to process our emotions so that it doesn’t create dis-ease in the body.

This week my work is a balance of doing 1:1 health coaching and administration. Admin encompasses everything from marketing to accounting. It’s not my favourite part about having a business but it needs to get done.

So each week, I dedicated office hours for actioning my admin tasks. But for some reason, my family just assume I can drop everything to spend time with them because I work from home.

As much as I love the work I do, I will always prioritise my family so when I’m put in a position to choose, I feel this pang of guilt.

So today I was feeling really frustrated because I’d been interrupted for a few weeks in a row and I was getting fed up but I didn’t say anything.

My stomach getting all twisted inside because I wasn’t expressing how I was feeling.

When I did try to, I couldn’t find the words.

So I used a method that helped me process my emotions so that I could communicate with my family in a way that didn’t make them wrong.

I was able to set boundaries lovingly so that they understood that they were still important but they had to respect my time too.

So what’s the method Merly?

It’s called the NOW method.

N stands for name

One of the fundamentals of processing our emotions is to be able to identify and name the emotion we’re feeling.

To help you find the vocabulary for your emotion, you can refer to the emotion wheel.

Once you have named the emotion, notice how it feels in your body.

Do you feel hot or cold?
Heavy or light?
In your mind’s eye does it have a colour and shape?

The more you can describe it, the better this exercise works.

O stands for open

Step 2 is about opening up and allowing the emotions to be.

Open up your body to allow the emotion to be there for as long as you need to.

You can use your breath to visualise where the emotion is residing, it could be in your shoulders, jaw, fist and stomach.

Where do you feel you lock up, tense or experience the feeling most?

W stands for write

Lastly, once you have observed the emotion in your body, write it down.

Explore with curiosity and enquire within. You can ask questions like what caused the emotion to rise, how is the emotion impacting your thoughts and where to now?

The NOW Method is such a useful tool to help us process our emotions and begin to reduce some of the stress in our daily life.

Being able to manage stress is one of the core basics for balancing our hormones naturally. For more stress busting tips, you can download The Core Basics Guide for Balancing Hormones Naturally here.

The ABCs of Focus and Becoming More Productive

This week I was featured on the Women On Business blog discussing 3 decluttering hacks you can apply at work for a more productive day.

I mentioned in this post that there’s a myth that humans, particularly women are great multi-taskers. Although yes we can multi-task but at what cost?

A study of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD using a neuroimaging and cognitive testing showed that when our brains are distracted it impacts our ability to focus and reduce productivity.

But you don’t need to have ADHD to know that.

My husband who proclaims he’s such a great driver with amazing spatial awareness says that it’s only when I’m in the car he seems to lose his pizzazz.

As I was saying, I don’t know about you but often when I walk into a messy room or office, I immediately felt overwhelmed and it’s usually because I feel all over the place, I don’t know what to do or where to start.

One of my mentors, Milena would say “what’s the most important thing for you to focus on today?”

It helps cut through the chaos and gets straight to the root of what’s important now.

Have you ever tried to just sit and think nothing?

No matter how hard you try to think absolutely nothing, a thought will pass by, sometimes it’s thought about thinking nothing!

It’s a perfect example of how our brain is continually scanning your internal and external environment even when you’re focused on a task. For example, you’ve decided to sit down and read a book before bed and whilst engrossed in a chapter, you remember you need to turn the light off on the front porch or set your alarm on for tomorrow.

So what can you do?

The ABC Method

One neat little hack you can do to help you maintain focus and prevent distractions is to use the ABC method.

A stands for aware.

When you thought comes into your mind you are aware of your options to either focus on the distraction such as stop reading the book and set your alarm or you can choose to let the through drift by.

B stands for breathe.

Take a deep breath and consider your options.

C stands for choose.

They make a decision; will you stop to set that alarm?

For more tips on being more productive whilst reducing stress, download The Core Basics Guide for Balancing Hormones Naturally here.

Discover how to reduce PMS symptoms in just 5 days – online event

GO VITA Rouse Hill is my local health food store that has an extensive range of products and brands to support women in their reproductive years.

I’m excited to have them partner on the Discover How To Reduced PMS Symptoms in Just 5 Days Challenge starting Friday 6/11.

They have a special gift for challenge participants only.

Click here to register for the event

However, if you are not local to Rouse Hill Town Centre, no worries you can still register for this online event.

See you there!

What you need to know about your cervix and 3 things to do to increase your cervical wellness

I did a poll in my community support group about what you would guys would like to know more about and I got a yes for cervical wellness, HPV and pap smears.

So here goes!

Firstly, do you even know what your cervix looks like?

Honestly they only time I ever thought about the cervix was in sex edu class in highschool or when I was going to have a baby. Seriously, it blows my mind that my child’s head come out that way. That’s the magically thing about it all, how everything just comes back together.

So we’re told the cervix means the neck of the uterus in Latin. It’s the passage way between the uterus and the vaginal canal. It’s about 2-3 cm long and cylindrical in shape.

What’s the purpose of the cervix?

Good question! Some people say is a gateway to the uterus for sperm to travel up when you’re ovulating aswell as a barrier to keep unhealthy stuff out of your body. But the cervix is more than just a door.

Did you know that your cervix feels different than the walls of your vagina? The cervix is firm in texture similarly to the tip of your nose while your vaginal walls feel more like the inside of your mouth where your cheek is.

It’s a place where transformation happens.

Quite literately. The cells of your uterus travel throughout the cervix and transform into different cells and this process is very delicate. If you can imagine a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, this is a vulnerable stage in the process. When women are having a pap smear, the test is checking for abnormalities is cells transformation that haven’t quite got it right.

HPV stands for human papillomavirus which is a common sexually transmitted infection that can disrupt this delicate process and increase the chances of developing cervical cancer too.

Choosing to get a pap smear is a personal choice. For many women, it can be a very uncomfortable or even painful. But if you are concerned about your reproductive health and have concerns about fertility, you can request the service of a female midwife to do this test.

As someone who has had some really painful and uncomfortable pap tests, I know how vulnerable and even degrading it feels when you get a practitioner who isn’t sensitive to how it feels for the patient. Personally, I’d prefer a midwife.

Can you touch your cervix?

Many women don’t know that they can touch their cervix. In fact, your cervix rises and falls throughout your menstrual month. It’s at its lowest position when you are menstruating.

I recommend you start to get to know this part of your female anatomy and develop a connection to it. It’s a part of the body we don’t see and it’s difficult to feel the sort of sensations you might feel when touching the back of your hand. Symbolically it represents the circle of life, death and life plays out each month with each menstrual cycle. When you view it from this perspective, like I said, it’s not just a door!

Mindfulness Practice to Tapping into Your Cervical Wisdom

Right now, take a moment and bring your awareness to the mind’s eye inside your head. Imagine a small round rose quartz crystal emitting beautiful energy from that place. Then image this crystal drop straight down to where your uterus is, then deeper into the bowl of your uterus. This is where your cervix is. Bringing this awareness can get quite grounding and a way to bring healing attention especially if you’re wanting to balance your hormones and boost fertility.

If you think this seems all too woo woo, then check out The Connection doco that details the science between the body and mind connection when it comes to health.

3 things you can do to increase cervical wellness:

Eating the colours of the rainbow. Photo by Ella Olsson

Self-examination – It’s important to know what your cervix looks like. Just seeing it can give you a sense of connection to your body by simply acknowledging it. If you choose to have a pap smear, ask to see it with a small mirror. Curious to see what a cervix looks like? Click here to see photos.
Self-exploration – If you’ve never felt your cervix, have a feel. This part of the cervix is what we call the face of the cervix. Being able to feel your cervix, you can start to get attune to sensations and developing more of an awareness to that part of the body. The cervix sits within the root chakra and is responsible for your sense of safety and security in the world. When there is an imbalance, people can experience anxiety and fear. Using the mindfulness exercise above, is all about bringing awareness to this place and begin to clear any sexual or birth trauma and fear of infertility as well as the actual act of giving birth.
Boost your immune system and reduce stress – When you have a strong immune system, you are giving your body a fighting chance to kill any harmful bacteria and viruses from your body. When it comes to food, think about eating the colours of the rainbow. Stress not only lowers your immune system but what most people don’t know is that the vagus nerve connects your brain, throat, heart, uterus together and terminates at the cervix. Studies have shown stress increase the risk for women developing cervical cancer and I believe it is because of the relationship of these organs have with each other. Happy mind and heart leads to a happy cervix!

If you’ve enjoyed exploring this topic on cervical wellness, share with me what you found helpful in the comments below and say hi!

Want to have a deeper relationship with your reproductive organs and menstrual cycle? I’m running an event called Discover the Missing Link in Reducing Your PMS Symptoms in Just 5-Days. Click here to register, starts Friday 6/11.

How to take back control of your life

It’s 10.59pm and I’ve been staring at my computer on what to write because I got caught up with blogging the “right way” and went into a big rabbit hole of self-doubt.

Can you relate?

Well this is my blog, so I can blog anyway I like and so I’ll just keep typing and hope for the best!

But it does bring me back to one of the regrets of the dying explored more deeply in a book written by Bronnie Ware, where they wished they had the courage to live a life true to themselves and not the life that others expected of them.

So imagine, you’ve come face to face with the knowing that you’re on your last days on earth and you hear yourself say “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

I want you to take a moment, close your eyes and imagine this scenario clearly.

Say these words out loud to really feel the gravity of these words.

Then come back.

Life, at least the way I know it is chaotic and busy with two little kids. It’s so easy for me to get swept away with the day to day life that the year can feel like it flew by. My mind constantly somewhere else other than right here in this moment.

That’s why bringing my attention to the breath, my senses, what I can see, feel, smell and hear helps bring me back to the here and now. Incorporating mindfulness helps me stay true to my compass.

Being mindful can give space in our day to get present to areas of our life that we want to honour.

What are our dreams, desires and aspirations that are deep within that has been supressed because we’re too consumed about what others might say or think?

Maybe you’re in a job that is literately destroying your soul but you stay because of the money, you could be in a toxic relationship but preserve because it’s not the “right time” to leave or you find yourself late at night loading your body with all the stuff that’s triggering you to have major health problems but stress is to debilitating that you need the quick fix just get through it.

You’re waiting for the right time to change, whether that time comes, who knows.

I don’t have the answers for you and that’s the most powerful thing about this because only you can create a life that is true to yourself.

How do you know when you’re not in control?

It just feels icky because everything is hard and not in flow.

I’m actually thinking about my client who told me last week that she’s feeling like she’s found her frequency! You can read more about her recent testimony she wrote half way through her health coaching program with me.

So coming back to reading this sentence again, “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me” I really get that no one can live my life except me.

Who knows maybe in the future, we can transport our consciousness into another body but right now as far as I know, this mind, body and spirit has me at its command.

Exercise:

So I dare you to just explore perhaps in a journal this week, is to imagine yourself at the end of your life and start writing just a few things you regretted not doing on the left hand side.

Then on the right hand side of your journal, pick one and write small actionable steps to making some of those things a reality for you.

For example, maybe you always wanted to learn to speak Spanish, play the piano, write a book, get a tattoo, be on stage at a TEDx talk, go to uni in your 30’s or live in a tiny house.

What’s one thing you could do tomorrow that brings you that one step closer to making it a reality for you?

For more support on how you can use mindfulness to help you overcome the overwhelm and get present to designing a life without regret, join my 5 day challenge click here.

Merly’s Superfood Smoothie Bowl

I tried to name this smoothie based on it’s content and well it was just a bit too hard so instead you just got Merly’s Superfood Smoothie Bowl.

*By the way, it’s pretty much impossible to make a smoothie bowl without making a mess!*

I’m writing this up because I got a few requests on my personal Facebook and Instagram so here goes!

Below is serving for 1 person, which you can make in a Magic Bullet / NutriBullet Blender or similar, otherwise you can just multiply the ingredients depending on how many you serving in a normal size blender.

smoothie bowl Base

Ingredients for smoothie base:

1 cup of plant based milk of your choice – we used almond milk
1/2 of a large avocado
1 serving of pea protein powder
1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries
1 scoop of wholefood superfood mix with marine greens – I like to use Green Qi
Optional – add any crushed supplements, here I used Immune Health for my son (this is our family’s herbal medicine ESSENTIAL that can be given from age 2 years)

Blend the ingredients and pour into a bowl.

Side note, you could add honey or soaked dates in the smoothie base however I prefer to have control of the level of sweetness with my toppings instead.

Toppings

Toppings you can really put anything you like but here is what I used:

Shredded coconut and chia seed to sprinkle – as much as you like
1 scoop of nut butter – I tried the Wellness Road Power Mix of 5 nuts & seeds spread. You can get this from Coles only as it’s a Coles home brand, the family seemed to like it
1 handful of paleo granola – I love Goldenvale’s Paleo Granola with honey pecan which you find only at Aldi
Chopped up dates or drizzle of honey for sweetness or both!

Then sit back, scoop and enjoy.

Let me know if you tried it and snap me a picture tag me on Instagram.

Do you have a thyroid problem?

I have a client and in her first coaching session she said that she thinks she has a thyroid issue. As an Integrative Health Coach my role is not to diagnose, treat or try to cure any medical health conditions but what I do know is that a client’s intuitions is often right.

McCall McPherson is the founder of Modern Thyroid Clinic and TEDx Speaker and shares that women especially new mothers tend to make excuses for why they are feeling exhausted because of the new reality of being a mum.

They might be overweight, constantly exhausted, experiencing brain fog, depressed and have a low sex drive and blame it on the kids but in fact, if could be to do with their hormones and particularly their thyroid.

Statistics show 1 million Australians have an undiagnosed thyroid disorder and that ten times more women than men worldwide will be diagnosed with some form of thyroid disorder.

Thyroid health is so important because when it’s not functioning properly, it is the beginning of hormone dysfunction and significant hormone dysregulation.

What Causes Thyroid Disorders?

According to the Australian Thyroid Foundation, the many causes of thyroid disorders include:

Iodine Deficiency
Autoimmune Disease
Viral and bacterial inflammation causing thyroiditis (subacute thyroiditis)
Familial Disorders
Nodules which have formed on the Thyroid Gland
Benign and Malignant (cancer) tumours on the Thyroid Gland

So if you feel that your declining health could be something to do with your thyroid, then the first step is to get a full round of tests.

You can visit your local GP or I would recommend looking at finding an Integrative Functional GP.

The Australian Thyroid Foundation recommend diagnosis using biochemical testing include TSH, T4, T3 and Thyroid Antibodies.

McPherson shared that sometimes misdiagnosis can happen even with an Endocrinologist because of inadequate lab tests and ranges of what is considered “normal” can vary between labs.

So if results come in negative and you feel that there is something wrong with your thyroid, then it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion.

It’s important to get tested because the long term effects of having a dysfunctional thyroid can lead to diabetes and elevated cholesterol.

What’s the difference between Hypothyroidism (under active Thyroid) and Hashimoto’s Disease?

Although both have something to do with the thyroid, they are very different.

Hypothyroidism is a dysfunction of the thyroid in which everything in the body slows down and dries up.

While Hashimoto’s Disease in an auto-immune condition which can lead to hypothyroidism but it’s when the body is mounting an immune response and attacks the thyroid cells.

What you can do now

There are some immediate dietary and lifestyle changes you can do to help with supporting the thyroid and balancing your hormones:

Remove the top #2 inflammatory foods for 3 months which is dairy and gluten
Increase detoxifying and alkalising foods such as your dark, leafy greens for fibres, marine greens and garlic
Eat quality fats because they are the foundation for hormone production
Use herbs and essentials oils to balancing hormones such as wild yam, chaste tree, roman chamomile, ylang ylang, lavender and geranium – I personally use and have seen amazing results with my clients using the Balancing Cream
Take some really good quality multi-supplements and colloidal minerals
Incorporate a mindfulness practice to help reduce stress

In addition, when buying food try to get organically grown food. If this is a stretch to your budget, see if you can buy locally sourced from the farmer’s markets.

Sometimes it costs a lot of money for farmers to get certified organic so it’s worth starting a conversation with farmers and you might find some they use very little pesticides on their produce anyways.

EWG’s Clean Fifteen

Even still, that can be an effort especially if you’re already time-poor, so using the Environmental Working Group Clean Fifteen is the 2020’s Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce is a really useful if your shopping at Coles and Woolies.

These foods you can safely buy with peace of mind as they will contain the least amount of pesticides:

Avocados
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Onions
Papaya
Sweet Peas Frozen
Eggplant
Asparagus
Cauliflower
Cantaloupe
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Cabbage
Honeydew Melon
Kiwi

Check out EWG’s Dirty Thirty where you can at least try to get these organic wherever possible.

Live Clean

Lastly, consider switching your bathroom, cleaning and skincare products over to safer natural products.

Modere is a Live Clean Company and does an extensive range of clean label products for the whole home that our family has been using for almost a decade. Use my discount promo code 7022017 at AU www.modere.com.au NZ www.modere.co.nz USA www.modere.com EU www.modere.eu

For more support, you can download my free 7 day hormones cleanse. Stay tuned on my Instagram @merlyhartnettcoaching as I will be launching an additional free resource on how 5 Simple Strategies to use Mindfulness to Conquer Chronic Stress.