karina on realizing her path to wellness
KARINA BLACKWOOD
WE SPOKE TO OUR CARAVAN AMBASSADOR ON REALIZING HER PATH TO WELLNESS
Can you tell us about your journey and where you are today?
As a teenager as well as being a young adult finding my way in the world, I had terrible eating habits! You know how you feel like you are invincible and can do whatever, whenever, you want? That was me, all the way! I would grab a very unhealthy cappuccino from a machine, one of the ones that made it with white sugar, fake vanilla, and dry powdered milk, every single morning. I wouldn’t have anything else the rest of the day while I was working and then I would grab whatever was quick, easy, and crunchy for dinner before crashing into bed!
That routine was horrendous and I ended up with IBS. I was told by my doctors that I would need to take pills for the rest of my life and that shook me to the point where I knew that I needed to make some serious changes! While I had been doing yoga occasionally, in an attempt to get exercise into my life, I knew that I needed to change my overall diet habits as well as my outlook on life. I decided to take Yoga Teacher Training and it completely changed how I viewed my time in the yoga studio as well as life in general.
What is your experience with wellness?
As I mentioned above, I squeezed wellness into my life in very small doses and most of the time completely ignored it. Once I discovered how my health was being affected, I made many changes to the way I was living. I changed how I ate, I started to view yoga in a different way, and I took a couple of trips to India to enhance my experiences even more. I discovered that there is nothing better than learning about both yoga and astrology in the fascinating country of India!
My regular life experiences have changed tremendously since I started focusing more on my health and wellness. Instead of staying out partying all night long, I head to a local yoga class or simply go to bed by nine. I have found that I love my life more than ever now! My favorite part about my new routines is that I have made so many like-minded friends in yoga classes, my Instagram and at the CARAVAN Wellness Party. This is a huge reason I love events like this because I get to meet so many people who also transformed their lives and have the same outlook on life I now share as well. I get to learn new about new wellness trends, meet new people, and try healthy-ish cocktails such as rum and kombucha that still taste delicious, and so much more!
How do you fit wellness into your morning routine? your work life? your nightly rituals?
I absolutely love my new wellness routines with CARAVAN Wellness and I feel that they complete my days and nights! I used to spend hours doing work and couldn’t fall asleep after staring at the computer all night. Maybe I do a breathing practice that I’ve learned from the Mindfulness and Breathing series or when I feel like I need a nice stretch I choose to do yoga.
“These days I like to turn off all my electronic devices and focus on my health.”
Now I have a nice routine in place that I have found to be so helpful. I love to meditate, especially in the morning, because it helps me prepare for my day. Instead of feeling rushed and off course first thing in the morning, I play one of the classes from CARAVAN. After a short meditation, I feel calm and ready to conquer whatever the day brings me! I am also big on Ayurveda and see a practitioner that has provided me with certain daily rituals that I love, my personal favorites are oil pulling and Abyanka self-massage. The message is quite relaxing at the end of a long day, which is why I try to do it every single night.
How has incorporating wellness into you daily routine improved your lifestyle?
I can’t believe how long I went before changing my lifestyle and routines! I used to work too much – spend hours studying or partying – and hardly got any sleep. Now, I make sleeping a good eight hours each night a priority and take a holistic approach to everything that I do. I love teaching people how to do Yoga and Pilates and encourage them to try new healthy habits. I share all my tips and tricks on my Instagram @blissedhappiness. My goal is to continue on my health and wellness journey while learning more about crystals and astrology at the same time and share this knowledge with people. My journey is still young, and I know that it will just keep getting better, as I continue to grow on my wellness journey.
What are your favorite CARAVAN classes?
I love the two visualizations for meditation classes that are available through CARAVAN Wellness, especially since they are so easy for me to access whether I am at home or traveling. I also love so many of the relieve stress classes because I can turn them on and just feel the stress of my day fade away almost immediately. I can’t really pick a favorite teacher. All of your teachers are excellent! While I feel that I have a good handle on my health and wellness right now, I love that all the classes on Caravan Wellness can help keep me on track to become even healthier! I love being able to take Caravan Wellness with me on my health. journey for support and motivation at any time of the day!
find karina on instagram
