Eleanor's Story
A year ago today, I knew it really was time to change my lifestyle and the only person that was in control of making that change was myself. I had bad skin, my hair was starting to go grey (in my 20’s) and I was bloated. I was trapped in a perpetual vicious cycle: if I lost weight, my skin would break out because I was poorly informed about diet, I would undereat or follow fad diets, then I would tip to the other end of the scales if I was drinking too much and not sleeping properly. Working in the media industry was fun but it was very much a work hard play hard culture. I didn’t sleep much and as much as I tried to improve my health I just couldn’t.
Discovering yoga was the best thing that happened to me. I wasn’t aware that there could be a mind body connection previously. Once I acknowledged that my body was not designed to cope with this hectic lifestyle was probably the best decision I have ever made in my life for improving my health.
These days there are so many social pressures to have it all- to look good, to have the perfect career and to party hard especially in London. I know that there are many other young professionals suffering in the same way that I did, which is why I decided to start Urban Temple. Essentially to offer mindfulness to people’s hectic lives.
Now almost 7kg lighter, with clear skin and much happier. I am a complete advocate for my lifestyle. I probably only go to 1 yoga class a week at the moment but it's enough. I don't follow any diet, I eat what I want. I am mindful and in my eyes that is key to living well.
About Urban Temple
Urban Temple offer various events within Shoreditch and the City. We have our monthly wellness talks on Thursday evenings at The Truman Brewery where we discuss relevant topics within the wellness industry, everyone is invited to participate in the debate and have their say. We run Monday evening Meditation events on a roof top overlooking the city at The Qbic Hotel in Shoreditch and as of Autumn we will be running Pilates and Facials evening events at the brand new The Light Centre in Monument right in the heart of the city (where I started my wellness journey 7 years ago and also trained as a Pilates instructor.
Advice to Small Business Owners
I would say that the best advice that I can give to small business owners and people setting up their own business is that you must learn how to switch off as you there is a very little structure. I always put my phone on airplane mode before I go to bed. Also a good tip is to remember to schedule in me time. I book in spa visits to really relax and treat myself. When you are setting up your own business it is easy to work every day. Recently I have started making sure I go away for weekends to visit friends or family and this is a good way not to obsessively look at my phone. Sometimes I will turn my phone off at the weekend. Another tip is to have a phone curfew- for example no emails or whatsapp after a certain hour. Read a book!