Lifestyle Science with Haeley Mariah: Building your confidence with mindful rituals & movement
Written by: Deepa Somasunderam
@mental_physicalexperience
All the self-care rituals that supercharge her life.
Welcome to our latest series, Lifestyle Science. These are interviews we are doing with POC leaders in the health and wellness industries where we deep dive into their lifestyle. They give us their personal guide to living well so your in touch with emerging wellness trends, nutrition and self-care for glowing mental and physical health.
Haeley Mariah is committed to helping people build confidence through self-discovery, stress management and movement. She’s a personal trainer and nutrition coach who teaches people transformational life skills by bringing together their mental, physical and spiritual health. A 2023 study by Deloitte showed that organisations continue to struggle with workforce wellbeing which makes these life skills even more essential.
Further, for minorities in the workplace, mental health wellbeing should be an increased focus. In the UK for example, a landmark report in 2022 documented the experiences of 2000 women of colour across workplaces which detailed the entrenched racism women of colour are forced to endure at every stage of their career journey and it is also documented that experiencing discrimination can make you more susceptible to worsening mental health.
So we thought chatting to Haeley about how she overcame hard times, the systems she developed and the work she does with her clients would be so useful in learning to cope with hard times and overcoming mental health struggles. And of course, she gave us all her other lifestyle tips too: her post-workout fuel, her style essentials and skincare must-haves.
What inspired you to write a book?
For almost all of my life, my biggest insecurity was using my voice and expressing my truth. As I experienced losing my eldest brother to suicide at the age of 12, I grew to silence and suppress myself fearing the pain. This fear grew into low self-worth and being diagnosed with severe depression. After years of fighting life I hit a breaking point after tearing my ACL and getting reconstructive surgery. During this recovery time I experienced a spiritual awakening and a calling to heal spiritually, mentally, and emotionally as well as physically.
@mental_physicalexperience
After years of pouring into my own holistic personal growth journey and self-reflection rituaIs, I cultivated something that I always wanted yet never believed was possible for myself - self-love.
Through sports I understood what player development was but personal growth, this journey of self-leadership, getting to the route cause and doing the shadow work felt foreign to me.
I was inspired to write my book after not only realising and accepting my own success story but after reflecting on the success of my first ever long term client after her 1 year check in.
I believed in my holistic foundation because it worked for me, but after reflecting upon the growth of this specific client where we focused on not just her fitness journey but also her mental, emotional and spiritual journey - this excitement sparked my confidence to start compiling my systems, my strategies and methods to make this knowledge more accessible for others.
I understood that this complex journey to personal growth was not linear nor smooth sailing. I wanted to create a resource and a guide for myself and for my clients to fall onto when we feel we have fallen off our path. I learned that it is a certain perspective that allows us to cultivate the self-love we desire and I finally felt ready to share this perspective on a larger scale.
This understanding is what birthed my first published book Becoming The Queen in Me: a Holistic Guidebook to Self-Love and Personal Growth. As I grew and acquired more knowledge over the years, today I am proud to share that I have recently published Be The Warrior In You: A wellness guidebook to self-love and personal growth (volume 2 is available on your Amazon marketplace).
What are your top tips for regulating the nervous system?
When I think of regulating the nervous system I think of being grounded.
My top tips for grounding yourself are to get outside and commune with nature. Take your shoes off and get your bare feet on grass to get all those negative ions from the earth.
Be intentional about frequently taking deep breaths throughout your day to increase life force within.
I also encourage the creation of a daily routine. Give yourself rituals that you are intentional about completing daily. Value not going to sleep until you give 10% minimum towards each ritual.
“Give yourself rituals that you are intentional about completing daily. ”
Tell us about mindful movement?
Through personal experiences and what I witness through my clients, I define mindful movement as the thing that allows us to connect our mind with our body. Now I know there are other ways such as breathwork, for how one can connect and develop mind-body connection.
However, as the name suggests, I like to keep it simple. It is moving mindfully. With the busy lives we live, we are moving our bodies to some capacity every day. This movement is not always intentional and for the purpose of amplifying our wellness, feeling better, more energised and more confident in our bodies.
Mindful movement is sectioning out time in your day to move your body in a way that brings your joy and choosing to be fully present for that “me time”.
@mental_physicalexperience
What are the rituals you practiced to build self-love?
The rituals that I practise to build self-love consist of morning movement, ranging from a scheduled workout, an at home yoga flow session, a walk, or a deep stretch session.
Morning meditation and breathwork, I have a meditation and breathwork playlist on Youtube that I rotate between depending on which guided meditation and breathwork I am feeling called to do that day.
Sometimes I’ll even play meditation music or find a sound bath mix on Spotify and recite my personal affirmations and pray with my eyes closed if I don’t feel like a guided meditation.
I’ve learned to really value and maximise my mornings and align my mind and body before I start my days. I also start every morning giving gratitude and thanks for a new day before getting out of bed. While I am doing my bathroom routine and getting dressed for the day I listen to my “Morning Glory” or “Spiritual Reset” playlists on Spotify which are filled with high vibrational and inspirational music.
I also value education, so one of my rituals is to read daily and listen to podcasts or audios before bed or on my drives when I am alone.
Another ritual that I practise is journaling. I journal to outlet, I journal for self check-ins, I journal to track my progress or build momentum towards my goals when I feel I need more accountability and motivation.
What are your favourite affirmations?
I AM stressless
I AM fearless
I AM magnetic
I AM an overcomer
Can you tell us three books you read that changed your life?
@mental_physicalexperience
We love your workout videos! What’s your favourite workout gear?
Lately you will catch me in a JoeFresh matching sports bra and legging set or Fast and Free leggings and a Energy Hick-Neck Longline sports bra from Lululemon with a baggy T.
What is a meal you throw together often?
I am a one-pot Queen. I love making a veggie stir fry with rice noodles or quinoa or just the veggie stir fry in a lettuce wrap
What is your favourite post-workout food?
I love making a mixed berries and kale smoothie with walnuts, hemp hearts, honey, oat milk, Sea Moss gel and bladderwrack powder
Haeley’s favourite post-workout smoothie
Blend together:
Mixed berries
Kale
Walnuts
Hemp hearts
Honey
Oat milk
Sea moss gel
Bladderwrack powder
Do you have any supplements?
I take Sea Moss Gel, Bladderwrack powder and lion’s mane pills.
Your favourite skincare and haircare products?
My go-to is Om Skin care, specifically the Blue Azul Soothing Cleansing Emulsion, Coconut Dew Hyaluronic Moisture Cream and the Marula + Cactus Nourishing Face Oil for my dry skin.
My favourite hair care products are from Shea Moisture, specifically the Coconut & Hibiscus Curl and Shine Shampoo and Conditioner and their Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen and Restore Leave-in Conditioner.
How do you wind down and get ready for bed?
I like to make a cup of tea with either chamomile and sage leaves, red raspberry and St. Johns Bush leaves or boiled oatmilk, turmeric and cinnamon before bed. I also pray and repeat chosen affirmations until I fall asleep.
Keep Reading: Lifestyle Science with Jaye No: Elite Personal Training Tips and how to fuel yourself
