Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Natasha Uspensky. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Natasha , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I came upon my purpose and calling the way so many people do, through my own journey of healing. I was an opera singer and performer in my former career, feeling very unfulfilled, and also very sick — hormonal, adrenal, digestive issues ran rampant, that were only rendered worse by being in a career that wasn’t right for me.
As I embarked on a journey of healing my body and restoring my health, a passion was awakened in me unlike anything I ever felt towards the stage. I eagerly devoured everything I could find on holistic health, nutrition, herbal medicine, and lifestyle healing. I began to share the wisdom I was building with my friends and family. And before I knew it, I found myself embodying the essence of a healer, long before I had any business doing so.
Along the way, I started a blog called The Organic Beauty, which was a passion project chronicling my journey towards wellness, as I cleaned up my eating, my environment and lifestyle. It couldn’t have been further removed from my actual career, but I found myself more eager to devote time to that project than to actually practice or prepare for a role or audition.
That was my biggest hint that I had uncovered my purpose.
When I finally realized that I had sung my last performance and needed to change course if I was to feel fulfilled and healthy and whole, it was only natural for me to look to my passion for holistic health as the genesis for my next career path. I enrolled in nutrition school shortly thereafter, and within a year, started to build a private practice, guiding women down their own paths towards healing.
When my clients ask me for advice on discovering their true purpose, this is exactly what I share with them: what it is that you completely lose yourself in? What enraptures your attention so completely that you would gladly devote yourself to it without getting paid a nickel? That’s your purpose. And for me, that was holistic health, nutrition, and Ayurvedic medicine.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I help women over 35 to transform their health, bodies and even their lives through functional nutrition and Ayurvedic healing.
Women are inundated with so much misinformation and damaging messaging about what healthy looks like, and it seems that we are on a constant quest for thinness over wellness.
It is my mission to upend this trend, and guide women down the path of healing the very imbalances that are making them feel tired, heavy, stressed out and stuck, so they can release what isn’t serving them and feel lighter, energized, balanced and radiant in their health and lives.
In the last year, I have been transitioning my private practice into a transformational online program, where women can receive the customized support, knowledge and healing that they need, in a way that is accessible. Visit me at nuhealthandwellness.com or follow me on IG (@natashauspensky) for more information!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First was definitely an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. I devoured every bit of information I could get my hands on (and still do), which imbued me with a sense of confidence that even if I didn’t know everything yet (and likely never will), I certainly knew enough to guide and support others on their journey. There is always more to learn, and true masters never stop learning, but it certainly helps us become masters at our craft to not half-ass it and learn all we can about our area of expertise.
Second was a willingness to let go of perfection and just START. I started seeing clients 14 years ago, before my website was perfect, before every detail of my program was ironed out, before my branding was perfect, and before I had an office space. I just STARTED and adjusted as I went. I think this is where a lot of people get stuck, wanting everything to be perfect before they start honing their craft. But the only way to hone is to DO. So get out and start doing.
Third was business systems. I didn’t know anything about this in the beginning and I think it slowed me down a bit. I’ve invested tens of thousands of dollars over the years in business coaching and training to support me in developing the backend systems that help my business scale and soar. It’s hard to believe that I started out with just an iPad, a Word doc and a Google calendar — but again, I needed to just START. At a certain point, the lack of knowledge around how to run a business, market yourself, create a smooth experience for your clients (and yourself as a business owner) starts to hold you back. So I’m glad I invested in these tools when I did, but probably could have benefitted from doing it even sooner!
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is a woman who is ready to feel her absolute best. She recognizes that the odds may be stacked against her as a working mom juggling a million different things, but she also knows that she deserves better than getting the bottom of the barrel, after her kids, partner, work and home get the best parts of her.
She recognizes that she doesn’t need to subscribe to the old paradigms of the self-sacrificing mom that our own mothers laid out for us — and that trying to do it all with equal intensity is literally killing us.
She rejects diet culture and the notion that she has to restrict, deprive and calculate her way to wellness. She know there has to be a better way, one that feels nourishing, healing, and pleasurable.
Above all, she is open to learning a different path, is coachable and motivated, and is ready to take responsibility for her own wellness.
She is ready to feel (and maybe even look!) better in her 40’s than she did in her 20’s, and she’s committed to being the agent of her own healing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nuhealthandwellness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashauspensky/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nuhealthandwellness
Image Credits
Kate Hauschka Melanie Maroon
