Serenity Health - Health and Wellbeing Coaching

21/08/2026

These blood tests need to be part of your annual blood test ladies. From the age of 35-50 and onwards.

Fasting insulin - to see what your blood glucose measures. This tells you whether you’re on course or not to develop insulin resistance and diabetes.

TSH, Thyroid antibodies and reverse T3 - most doctors only check TSH and this doesn’t tell you much. Thyroid antibodies are vital to check to see if you have an auto immune disease. These commonly develop in and around menopause and 80 per cent of auto immune diseases are in women.

AMH - blood test to check how far through perimenopause you are and gives you a rough idea when you’re going to reach menopause. This is a very accurate blood test.

Oestrodial and progesterone - because you really do need to know your levels of these. Levels do vary in perimenopause but at least you can tell you’re in peri! And once in menopause you need to know levels for symptom control.

Testosterone - can really bottom out after menopause and can affect libido and muscle strength.

Morning cortisol (before 9am) - to see if stress is affecting your life and therefore probably your hormones.

DHEA - precursor to testosterone and oestrogen - if low, you’re probably low in the other hormones too.

I’d also add in iron too. Iron often becomes low during peri as you can have massive bleeds especially as the hormones start changing. Then women hit menopause tired, depleted and lacking energy often forgetting to check their iron levels. You want a good quality iron supplement. I can recommend a good one as otherwise stomach upsets and constipation can occur as iron can be quite inflammatory.

Be the chief executive of your own health ladies.

Stay strong, well and energised.

23/07/2026

I love this quote. Learnings from life really do unfold as you live.

My biggest learning over the past few years is to give your mind as much care and love as you do your body.

There is so much focus on exercising the body but far less focus on exercising the mind. In my opinion this needs to be done daily alongside physical activity. Consistency is key.

Learning to meditate takes time and practice but is amazing once you learn how to. Deep diaphragmatic breathing is essential to regulate the nervous system. Getting to the root cause of why you get stressed too is vital. A lot of people use this word heavily “it’s so stressful”. Why is it stressful for you? What are the beliefs you are telling yourself. What’s the story running in the background? Getting to these and dealing with them can take time but is so worth it. Slowing down, resting, making time to do nothing. All vital in everyday life.

The more you pack in, the faster you go, the more your nervous system gets stuck in fight or flight, affecting your whole body - your sleep, your relationships, your mood and your quality of life.

Slow down, rest, be still, be comfortable with silence and look after yourself. Your nervous system and your overall health will thank you for it.

Your health is your greatest wealth. Treasure it like gold.

28/05/2026

Just so you can decide about alcohol for yourself…..

Did you know alcohol raises cortisol?
Did you know if majorly negatively affects sleep?
Did you know even drinking one unit of alcohol increases your likelihood of getting cancer?
Did you know that alcohol makes your body more acidic and all diseases thrive in acidic conditions.
Did you know that the polyphenols that you are supposed to get by drinking red wine can be obtained by just eating berries and red grapes.

Read these slides by Mark Hyman and decide for yourself.

Serenity Health. Your health is your greatest wealth. Treasure it like gold.

25/05/2026

Your nervous system needs rest, not constant stimulation.

Most people live in survival mode for so long in the modern world that they don’t know how to even begin to rest and that begins feeling normal.

Deep rest means making you a priority. It begins with sleep, silence, slower routines, deep breathing and just being slow.

The modern world is just constant stimulation. Pings from phones, constant demands, ever increasing pressure to keep doing.

Setting aside time to just be is something I now prioritise. This weekend I had a retreat. Just myself and our 4 legged fur friend. Silence, solitude, Yin yoga, breathwork, meditation, journaling. Time to pause, reflect and be grateful for the wonderful blessings in my life.

There were lots of reasons that popped up this week whereby I could have cancelled. But I chose not to. And I’m proud of myself.

Make silence and rest a priority.

You are so worthy.

Health is your greatest wealth. Treasure it like gold.

13/05/2026

“Without great solitude no serious work is possible.” — Pablo Picasso

A very fitting quote following my Art class today. In solitude doing my Yin yoga after work today. In waterfall pose, one of my favourites. Legs in the air, highly restorative. With my blue sea coloured boulster as support.

What solitude are you allowing into your day today?

29/04/2026

I’ve become a total addict to Yin yoga. 🧘

Yin yoga is a slow movement style of yoga incorporating deep breathing with slow hold poses.

Slowing down and dedicating time to do this style of movement has been transformative in many ways. I now try and do it as much as I can in my week.

I used to think slow movement wasn’t for me. But now I think and visibly see that most people need more “slow” in their day.

My lovely friend Lucy has set up her own website and Yin yoga is part of this. She has an online library which is an incredible resource of not only Yin but other styles of yoga too. You can do the classes from your own home at a time convenient to you. And for a great price.

Check it out here. Click on her “Shore Studio online library”……

You may become hooked like me!

Yoga, Pilates and mindfulness with live classes, on-demand practice, retreats and reflections — guided by experienced teacher Lucy Taylor

03/04/2026

Medicines have their place. But they were never designed to reverse chronic disease. They manage symptoms, often while the underlying dysfunction worsens.

If we want to reverse the chronic disease epidemic which is both mental and physical, we need to stop asking what drug treats this and start asking why the body lost balance in the first place.

The answer isn’t in the pharmacy… it’s in how we eat, move, sleep, connect, and live. It’s in how we think, move, sleep, perceive and believe.

It’s in our soil, our food system, our communities and our kitchens.

And when we stop and ask ourselves the question….why, we often know the answer. Deep inside us we know why we are where we are. But often we feel we can’t make the change. But life is all about choices. I know many people choose to work long hours to earn the cash to pay for their mortgage on their large house. Whilst maintaining many other payments for things they really don’t need and could survive without.

What can you simplify in your life to take the pressure off? What changes can you make to allow more time for you, to stop, rest and breathe? What activities can you do that distract you from thoughts of work? How can you get more fun into your day? How can you be more present? Can you downsize to cut mortgage payments? Do you REALLY need that new iPhone or smart watch?

Life is all about choices. Choose YOU!

Your body will always stop you and force you to make choices if you don’t make them yourself.

Be the CEO of your own health. You are so worthy.

Serenity Health. Your health is your greatest wealth. Treasure it like gold.

Get in touch if you want to make some changes but you don’t know where to start.

Gill - Qualified Health and Wellbeing Coach with Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

[email protected]

02/04/2026

I listened to an amazing podcast today by Stuart Sanderman, author of Breathe in, Breathe Out. Take away was just the reminder to have these things daily in your life …..

Breathwork

Stillness

Movement

Nutritious eating

Sleep

Boundaries

The stillness one is something that I’m personally always working on as I like to be super active. But I’ve changed my habits a lot over the past couple of years.

I was still in the park last night marvelling at the beautiful Autumn colours at the end of the day.

Which one of these things do you find more of a challenge than the rest…..

Serenity Health. Your health is your greatest wealth. Treasure it like gold.

29/03/2026

Well worth a watch and listen.

Research highlights the importance of regular movement breaks throughout the day especially if you have a desk job.

Movement is medicine.

Your health is your greatest wealth. Treasure it like gold.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AqWnj4uRr/?mibextid=wwXIfr