We were lucky to catch up with Natalie Garay recently and have shared our conversation below.
Natalie , we are so happy that our community is going to have a chance to learn more about you, your story and hopefully even take in some of the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Let’s start with self-care – what do you do for self-care and has it had any impact on your effectiveness?
Over the years, I’ve played with various tools and methods for self-care before setting a daily routine. It’s simple, but it helps me start my day. It grounds me, it gets the sh*t out that’s swirling in my head. My groundbreaking routine consists of coffee, journaling, and meditation. 🙂 I also see an amazing acupuncturist and chiropractor, and I swim laps regularly.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My work all started with becoming a mom, being a mom has shaped who I am and the work I’m doing in the world. Through my own experiences, I’ve learned a lot about physical and mental health, and I felt that it was important information that people should know, so it became my goal to share everything I’ve learned.
What I learned as a mom and as a Pilates instructor is that moms aren’t given the necessary tools and information about how to rehabilitate their bodies after having kids, or about how to support their emotional and energetic health.
For this reason, I’m writing a book and launching a podcast both due out this year titled, ‘WTF Happened to My Body? How to Fix the Aftermath of Having Kids.’ I add a touch of humor to everything that I create, but this is some serious shit.
I’ve also discovered that as we age, we’re unaware of how to care for our bodies to live optimally. After a couple of family health crises, I decided to go back to school I’m currently in school completing prerequisite classes so that I can apply to Bastyre University to study Naturopathic Medicine.
As a solo mama of 3 daughters, I have a lot of compassion for moms flying solo, so I try to support women-focused organizations through all of my projects. Currently, my product company, You Need {ther • happy} donates a percentage of each sale to the San Diego Rescue Mission and a couple of other organizations,
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities that are important for everything, especially when trying to accomplish big goals or dreams are persistence, resilience, and definitely some risk-taking. Taking the risk may not always pan out but you learn and grow from it, then you try again. Keep going, keep an open mind, and be willing to learn. Everything is a continuous learning opportunity.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
They saved my ass! Time and time again, my parents have always come in to save the day when shit has hit the fan. From helping me with business challenges and start-up funds to being the best grandparents and babysitters during my early solo parenting days, they have played a role in all of it! I can’t even imagine where my girls and I would be without them. We are incredibly grateful for all they’ve done.
My hope and goal are to be able to pay this forward and help women, especially moms who may not have this type of backup support by donating money and services to women-focused organizations who are there to help moms when times get tough.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nataliesayswtf.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nataliesayswtf
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/nataliegsayswtf
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Nataliesayswtf/
- Other: www.tiktok.com/nataliesayswtf
Image Credits
Amber Lynn Photography
