In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it’s easy to overlook the most fundamental aspect of our existence: our health. Yet, nestled within the ethos of “Feel your best,” Dr. Barbara Schoeman champions a profound message of self-care and empowerment. With a focus on holistic wellness and the transformative potential of internal cleansing, Dr. Schoeman embarks on a mission to guide individuals toward optimal health and vitality. In Dr. Schoeman’s philosophy, the path to wellness begins with a fundamental shift in mindset: taking responsibility for one’s health. By offering practical guidance and empowering insights, she seeks to equip individuals with the tools they need to cultivate harmony between body, mind, and soul. Through her pioneering work, she inspires individuals to embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, ultimately unlocking the profound healing potential that resides within each of us. Join Mystic Mag and read more.
Can you share an example of a time when you consciously took responsibility for your health and experienced a positive outcome?
I can single out specific times, but for me taking responsibility for my health is a day to day journey. I take responsibility for my physical and emotional balance daily. The moment I can feel that something in my health is not what it is supposed to be I take action, take the responsibility and do something about it. When I wake up in the morning and I feel stiff I know my acid level is too high and I start taking lemon juice and antacid capsules for a few days until I wake up and feel the morning stiffness has gone. If I do not treat the symptom immediately, it will escalate until I have more serious problems. I might start getting heartburn or painful joints or gout or arthritis.
When I feel bloated and I have unease on my tummy I know my digestion is not what it is supposed to be and I immediately start taking slippery elm and digestive enzymes and probiotics until I feel the condition is under control again. If I do not act immediately I might have a bowel infection or a colon infection within a few days which will be harder to treat than taking action when I first realize something is wrong.
Even with my emotions I take action as soon as I realize I am not emotionally at my best. To be emotionally healthy means that emotions have to be in balance and there are easy ways to test oneself to determine unbalance and by doing something immediately to restore balance the overall mental state will be healthy, balanced and in control.
This is what it means to take responsibility for your own health and also the health of your family. It is to be hands-on every day to prevent health problems from escalating to a point where it becomes too much of a problem to handle alone by yourself. The saying “prevention is better than cure” is so true and we can save ourselves from a lot of serious health problems by taking responsibility on a daily basis to look after ourselves.
This is part of what I promote on my website and why I urge people to contact me with their problems no matter how small it may seem. If someone feels something is wrong and they don’t know what to do, I am here to help them and to teach them how to get to know their own bodies and read themselves physically and emotionally and teach them how to know what to do when. Most people feel something is wrong and they just ignore it and by the time they cannot ignore it anymore it has become a huge problem that could have been prevented.
How do you prioritize self-care in your daily routine, considering both physical and emotional well-being?
Self-care is a constant process. Sometimes it requires a few minutes to test yourself with a questionnaire or spend a few minutes thinking or journaling on your own state of well-being, but more than that it is being aware of how you feel physically and emotionally. It does not take time to know you are feeling pain somewhere or to know you are feeling sad. It is there without wondering about it. We are sometimes so busy that we ignore those feelings or try to ignore them.
Taking responsibility means NOT to ignore those feelings that something is not totally 100%. It means to acknowledge those feelings and then start working on them to get to the underlying problem so that something can be done about the problem right away. I can help people and teach them how to know what to do when they feel a slight problem.
What type of services do you offer?
I offer different ways to analyze physical and emotional state of wellness either by helping people to analyze themselves or by doing online assessment for them. It includes reading the eyes and completing a questionnaire for physical well-being and for emotions doing a Bach flower assessment and completing a questionnaire. I offer dietary help and help in making lifestyle changes.
I offer solutions for the areas of imbalance either be it physical or emotional.
How do you integrate mindfulness practices into your routine to nurture your mental and emotional well-being?
I teach people how to journal about their health and emotions on a daily basis. By spending time thinking and meditating about your health every day one cannot be anything other than mindful about your body, mind and soul and thus your overall well-being.
What role does nutrition play in your approach to feeling your best? How do you ensure you provide your body with the nourishment it needs?
Nutrition plays a HUGE role in feeling your best. The digestive system is THE most important part of feeling your best. You are what you eat. It is very important to have a healthy eating plan and I help people establish that in their lives.
EATING HEALTHY IS EXPENSIVE AND TROUBLESOME is one of the myths people believe and why they do not try to eat healthy. People also say they do not have the time to make healthy foods.
I help people through eating plans to establish a healthy eating routine and my goal is to show them that eating healthy is easy, does not acquire lots of time and money and can be so rewarding in the journey to health and happiness.
How do you incorporate physical activity into your lifestyle to promote overall health and vitality?
Physical activity is very important in a healthy lifestyle, but there are a lot of misconceptions about exercise. If you want to exercise for a healthy living it does not mean that you have to be able to run with your comrades. In physical activity one has to compete against yourself and only yourself.
If you are used to doing no exercise or physical activity, then walking around the block will be exercise for your body. For a comrades runner walking around the block will not be exercise and he or she might laugh at the idea, but do not mind them…. For your inactive body it will be.
If you are used to walking only 1000 steps per day, then pushing yourself to 1500 steps for the day will be exercise for your body.
The secret is to do some physical activity every day. For example…, if you did no physical activity and you start walking around the block every day, you will soon realize that it is not enough anymore. As your body gets used to the distance you will want to walk a little bit further. Maybe within a few months you would want to walk the distance faster and then you do that. Compete against yourself. Do a little bit every day and you will give your body the exercise and physical activity needed to stay healthy. Do not let anyone tell you what you do is not good enough. As long as you can challenge yourself with a LITTLE BIT more than what you are used to you will be fine.
