All Things Skin, Wellness & Faith
All Things Skin, Wellness & Faith
The Wholistic Path: Faith, Food, and Consistent Wellness Choices
Natasha Dias explores the intricate connection between spiritual integrity and physical wellness, challenging listeners to maintain consistency in their health commitments as an act of faithfulness. She shares insights from her experience as a holistic esthetician and wellness coach while providing a biblical foundation for viewing our bodies as temples deserving proper care.
• Addressing the cycle of setting health goals at New Year's or spring and failing to maintain them
• Examining how integrity in our commitments affects our wellness outcomes
• Contrasting holistic approaches versus prescription medication "band-aids"
• Understanding our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit deserving proper stewardship
• Identifying the importance of committing our health journey to God (Psalm 37:5)
• Starting small with wellness changes instead of overwhelming ourselves with too many goals
• Recognizing the enemy's strategy of attacking our health through poor food choices
• Finding an individualized approach to nutrition through prayer and discernment
If you're interested in starting your wellness journey, I'm offering free 30-minute consultations during April either in person or via Zoom. Book online at www.allthingskinorganic.net to explore wellness plans and skincare options tailored to your needs.
Hey, there you're tuned into another episode of All Things Skin Wellness and Faith, a podcast where you'll learn simple ways to implement skincare and wellness techniques from a holistic approach. On this podcast, we'll explore practical ways to address skin health and overall holistic spiritual well-being, while deepening your faith. I'm your host, natasha Diaz, a licensed holistic esthetician, day spa owner and a faithful believer and follower of Christ, and it's time to get ready to get encouraged and empowered as we dive into to all things skin wellness and faith. Welcome back to today's episode of All Things Skin Wellness and Faith. I want to thank you so much for tuning in today as we jump into a discussion and just talk a little bit about commitment and integrity, about commitment and integrity. This, basically, this is for myself too, as I'm sitting here and reflecting on thinking about the commitments that I have personally, the commitments I have professionally. I feel like the Lord has just been speaking to me about integrity amongst those things.
Speaker 1:In the beginning of the year, we spoke a lot about goals having goals to go to the gym and to lose weight and things like that and we spoke about how we can fall off of those things. And as we are approaching up on the springtime of the year. We're kind of approaching that time again, because this is a time when people are starting to go on vacations, people are starting to, you know, think about the warm weather coming. So we're coming with those same type of beginning of the year goals to kind of eat healthy and, to you know, do spring cleaning within our homes, but also do spring cleaning within our bodies and within our health and things like that. And I want to encourage you again, I don't want this to be a redundant cycle of, you know, we go up, we go down, it's Thanksgiving, we eat what we want, we come to the end of the year, then we start all over again. What I want to talk to you guys about today is just doing things with integrity and kind of seeing the goal through so that when you get to the end of the year you can actually look back and see some progress. Now, of course, you know the Bible says there's no condemnation in Christ. So by no means am I coming to you guys, you know, to hammer you on ahead or to bring you underneath any condemnation, but more so as a motivation. And, as I said before, this is also speaking to myself, because this message, as with every message, always comes to me, for me, and as I sit with the Lord and I ponder on it, I'm like that's really good. Let me go and share this with your sons, your daughters. Let me share this with your people. So this message, like I said, is also speaking to myself as well.
Speaker 1:Now, as you guys know, I'm an esthetician. I'm also a wellness coach, slash consultant, some people would say consultant coach the title doesn't matter. Basically, in addition to helping people maintain healthy skin, the other side of my business is also herbal medicine, but it is also basically helping people, you know, stay consistent and to meet goals within, you know, their health, and so when you have clients that are coming to see you to try and remedy problems either that they have gone, you know, to see a doctor or a specialist, for it is my role as a health consultant to help them to find ways to kind of navigate these paths. Many of the times, these are situations that people have not been successful with, or not pleased with with the results that they have received from the physicians, and so they're looking for a way that either one actually works or number two doesn't have them aligned with, you know, being on a bunch of prescription medications, being on a bunch of prescription medications, sometimes with, you know, regular modern medicine. What we see is that a lot of times the solutions that they give usually entail a bunch of different prescriptions and if you're familiar with prescription medication it is really not always the best route to go. It's more so a band-aid than a true solution and really doesn't get to the root cause of the problem. Now, when people usually come to me, they're more so at the wit's end. They're more so at a point that you know I've tried this medication, this medication has given me this adverse side effect, and this adverse side effect was then treated by my physician by giving me another prescription medication and before you know it, if you've seen the elderly medication cases, you have five, six, seven, eight pills that you're taking once a day, twice a day or whatever the time may be, and then you have a bunch of adverse reactions, side effects, just things going into the body that are toxic, not really helpful, not really a means to a solution, but more so a temporary band-aid.
Speaker 1:Now, when people come to me, what I generally do is we'll look at a lot of different avenues. We'll look at your lifestyle. We'll look at you know things like sleep, rest, you know food things you're eating, going to the gym, working out and we'll pretty much just break down every area of your life and we'll come to a solution on how we can remedy these problems, not only looking at the specific problem itself, but mainly looking at everything that's going on that may have led up to that problem to begin with. So this is known generally as treating someone holistically. Now, while I am not a doctor or do I have any type of doctorate or anything underneath my belt, I cannot prescribe or diagnose, but I can certainly make recommendations for different herbal remedies or different types of things that we can introduce, even some supplements. Everything I do is recommended.
Speaker 1:I always tell people that you definitely and this is a disclaimer, yes, you definitely want to go and check with your physician and make sure that these things are okay, because just because they're supplements and herbs, they're still technically medicines. While they're a better route to go rather than traditional medicines, they can interact with specific drugs, so it's always best to check it out with the physician. However, you definitely usually almost always get a better result than with a prescription medication. Now, there is a catch to that, and that catch is pretty much what I want to dive into today. The catch is is like with anything, and it's not really a catch, it's just really.
Speaker 1:You know the truth of any situation and what it is is that you know you need to make a commitment. You need to make an overall life-changing commitment. So the difference is, with prescription medication and the way that I like to treat or I won't say treat, because I'm not a doctor but the way I like to assist in remedying these situations is going to take consistency and it's going to take a whole full circle change. So, depending on what we're dealing with whether you're dealing with something as diabetes, or you're dealing with some gut health problems, or you're dealing with something like, maybe, a thyroid or endocrine problem, whatever the health ailment may be, there is a solution that is not only going to have you take a herb or to take a pill or some type of solution that you would take to get rid of the problem, but it's going to take a lifestyle change and with that lifestyle change, that generally means that you need to make a full 360 commitment.
Speaker 1:Now, sometimes what I do see and this is, like I said, I'm preaching to myself as well, but sometimes what I do see a lot of the times, is that we'll come in and we'll be like initially, when we get started, we'll be really on fire and really excited about embarking on this change and finding a new, you know, natural, holistic way to remedy it. And we'll start off on fire, but rarely and I don't want to say rarely sometimes what happens is that fire dies as you get a little bit down the line, as you get a couple of weeks, two, three weeks, a month into it, whatsoever. We lack consistency and unfortunately, that's where things fall off. That's where you start to hear things like I tried herbal remedies, I tried herbal medicine. It did not work and really what it is? It's a lack of you know, just kind of going through all the way around. So if you are prescribed or if you are recommended, is what I'm going to say?
Speaker 1:A specific herbal supplement is going to be more than just that supplement. We're going to look at diet, which is pretty much number one. We're going to look at lifestyle changes. Are we working out? Are we getting our blood stimulated? We're looking at how much sleep we're getting, because when the body is not rested properly, it cannot heal properly. And then we're also looking at, in addition to diet, the foods that we're consuming, how we're consuming them, what type of day we're consuming them. So there is basically there is a whole 360 plan to how we're going to remedy these issues and what I find is that sometimes we'll do one or two things off the list or we'll do them all. We'll do it for a little bit but we won't be consistent with it.
Speaker 1:So generally the way I like to help people or assist people is I'll give them one or two goals at a time, you know, just to start off slowly and then we'll, you know, implement. Maybe we'll start off with, you know, just a monitoring phase If you're not really sure, with you know, your typical habits, we'll start with what I call is a habit habit tracking phase, and sometimes that's a slow start for some people, but it just gets you in the idea of tracking your habits what do I usually eat, what do I usually drink in the morning, what time do I go to sleep? Do I go to the gym? How often do I go? Just tracking your habits, so we can initially see what those habits are and what are some areas that we need to improve. Some people may come in already knowing all this information and some people may have no clue. Everyone's different, but this is generally a starting point and when we're doing health coaching, when we're doing any type of change, I always tell people and what I wanted to tell you guys is that we want to start slowly.
Speaker 1:Typically, when you go into something and you're just like doing all the things, you're just like I'm going to sleep, right, I'm going to go to the gym, I'm going to eat, right, I'm going to start taking these supplements. It's too much change for your mind to comprehend at once, and what you're doing is you're getting involved in all of the excitement of the change, but you don't really have a broken down. You know a broken down plan of why you're doing this. So you're just going into the situation with a lot of zealousness and a lot of times this is how we do with our spiritual lives too. We're just like I'm going to get up and I'm going to pray and I'm going to read three chapters of the Bible and I'm going to go to this group and that group, and you're hyper and excited about it in the beginning, but as that excitement wears off, then you don't keep up with it, and this is the same thing that we do with our wellness. This is the same thing that we do with dieting or any type of lifestyle changes, and this is why we fall off.
Speaker 1:So what I want to do today is more or less encourage you guys to be more consistent and to have a better plan, even with your, also with your spiritual life and then also with your wellness as well. I'd like to encourage people to just kind of start off, you know, slowly, and break down each step of their plan, why they're doing it and, while they're doing each step of the plan, just looking forward and seeing what the big end time goal is, and to stay consistent with the recommendations. If the recommendations are for one week, you know, to not eat these specific foods or to track, and then we're going to come together and meet again, well then, on that second appointment, we want to try. I understand that life happens, but we want to try and not push things off just because we no longer have that excitement, because now these things may seem like a slow start or you really can't see or fathom in your mind how this is going to bring or facilitate change. If you made a commitment to reach a goal, if you made a commitment to say, okay, I want to heal my gut health, I want to improve my gut health, I want to see my skin improve. So the reason my skin is not completely improving is because of my gut health, and I know that I need to lay off the sugars. I know that I need to you know, do a food tracking list and I need to track what I'm eating for X amount of time and get it back. Then I want to encourage you to stick to those goals. Same way, spiritually, if you know that you want to get deeper in your walk with the Lord and you say that you know you're going to wake up and you're going to be consistent to spending X amount of time with God at 3 in the afternoon or 6 in the morning or whatever you have identified, I want to encourage you to be committed to what you're doing in order to see the change.
Speaker 1:A lot of the times, what happens is we fall off, and I've noticed this with myself too. We fall off for one day and then we'll have a justified reason which will be legitimate, but the majority of the time, what happens is, if you don't get back up and get back on the bandwagon from that one day, then it's going to be so much easier for you to push that one day into two days. Two days goes into three days. So it is best for you to put all your might in it to operate with such integrity and such what's the word I want to use I guess you could say perseverance that you're not letting anything you know take you off that path, because once you fall off once it's hard to get back on, and then when you fall off twice, you know it just kind of becomes like a redundant, repetitive cycle and it's hard for you to get back on.
Speaker 1:This takes me to a scripture that I wanted to use or reference that pretty much lines up with this very well. It's Psalms, psalm 37, 5 in the NLT, and it reads commit everything you do to the Lord, trust him and he will help you. So as we operate excuse me, as we operate in these new areas, as we have these new goals, whether they're in wellness or whether they're spiritual, we want to commit everything that we do to the Lord. What does that look like? I would say, before you embark on a new journey anything wellness, spiritual, personal, financial, whatever it may be that you go into it prayerfully. When you go into it prayerfully, you're already setting a foreground, because what happens is we have an enemy and anytime we want to do something that is positive, or anytime we want to progress or move forward in a certain area, it is his number one goal to hinder us, to delay us, to keep us from whatever that is Okay. So you already need to go into it prayerfully, setting the foreground, setting the pace, committing everything that you want to do unto the Lord.
Speaker 1:So prayerfully, going in, just seeking the Lord and just saying okay, father God, I have committed to do this, whatever the changes. I have committed to losing weight, I have committed to spending more time with you. I'm going to need your help in sticking to this. So, father, god, I ask that you guide my steps, always incorporate scripture into your prayers, because it makes it so much more powerful. So, whatever scriptural references you have to, whatever situations, whatever promises that you have in the Bible, for example, if I was to have a prayer along these lines, I would say Father, your word says that the steps of a righteous man are ordained by the Lord. You have already predestined me on this path. So, father, I ask that you help me to go forth with this plan. I ask, father, that you help me to go forth with this plan. I ask, father, that you help me to stick to this plan, to not be easily thrown off of the plan, off of this plan, by any tactics or schemes of the enemy, something along those lines. But you just want to lay the ground first and you definitely want to acknowledge the Lord in everything that you're doing, acknowledging that you cannot do these things on your own, acknowledging because the word even says apart from me, you can do nothing.
Speaker 1:So this is a lot of times why we set ourselves up for failure, because we go into these things and we go into these things in our own might, in our own power we don't go in realizing that everything that we do is in a partnership with the Lord. So if we want to go into something, if we want to be successful in anything, even if it's something that he has ordained or predestined us to do, we need to partner with him to execute. So that's why, step one, we need to go into it prayerfully and then we need to identify what is it that we're looking to get out of this situation. What is our why in this situation? Why are we doing this? Do we want to be more healthy? Do we want to grow deeper roots with the Lord? Do we want to rectify a health concern or a health issue? And then I would you know, as we started off in that first step with prayer, I would go back and I would say again, in the different prayer, after I've started on the journey, after I've outlined what exactly I'm going to do this, whether it's partnering with a health coach or health consultant like myself, whether it's healthier skin, you know, committing to making sure that you know I'm taking off my makeup at night before I go into bed. Whatever it is that you're doing, what is your why have an outlined um outline goal of why it is that you're doing this? So that when you don't feel like doing these things, when you're like, oh, you know, I really don't feel like tracking these foods right now, I really don't feel like washing my face, I really don't um feel like, you know, I'm keeping this appointment, you know, or whatever it is that you don't feel like doing, you have that goal, that vision of your goal in your mind, of what you're going to be missing out on. As you say, I don't want to do this. You have that vision of your why in your mind and then just really understanding that as we do these things, especially as believers, everything that we do, we want to operate with a level of integrity. So it is not just about our health, it's not just about our skin.
Speaker 1:First of all, the Bible says that our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit. So everything that we're doing, we have to realize that we house the Holy Spirit within us. So if we house the Holy Spirit in us, do we want to keep the Holy Spirit in a shack or do we want to house the Holy Spirit in a really nice, fine home? So therefore, that also ties into your why. Why are you doing it? Because I house the Holy Spirit within me. So therefore I'm going to take care of my body because my body is a temple, a home of the Holy Spirit. And then because we've been entrusted with these bodies I mean, these bodies are temporary.
Speaker 1:Again, I'm speaking on bodies, but this could relate to finances, this could relate to relationships, everything that we do and every way that we operate as believers, we do everything unto the Lord. So the Lord is all seeing, all knowing excuse me, that word always gets me messed up omnipotent, if I said that, right, which means he's always there, he sees everything and he knows what's going on at all times. So if you're operating in a way as a believer, that you know that your God is there, our God is there all the time, watching our every single step, don't we want to be pleasing in everything that we do to him? So Colossians 3.23 tells us that we need to put our heart and soul into every activity that we do as though we're doing it unto the Lord, because, as believers, every way we operate is unto the Lord. We, as believers, are supposed to operate in a way that the world looks at us and sees that we are set apart, that we are different. This is how one of the ways, major ways that we go out and evangelize, by the way that we live our lives.
Speaker 1:Oftentimes, when we live with integrity like this, you'll hear people say you know, there's just something different about you, there's just something that the way you operate. This brings me back to a story, and I've actually I'm not saying that I'm perfect, because you know we all fall short. But there are times when you know I'll do something like that. For example, one time I went to BJ's and the lady checked over my receipt, like she usually does, and then I got to the car and I realized that there was like five things that she had missed, five things that I did not pay for. So I immediately went back and I said, you know, I didn't want to get in trouble. So I immediately went back and I just kind of said, you know, there are a few things that you miss here that I didn't pay for. And she was, just like she was, so taken back by that action, that fact that I went back and the fact that I wanted to pay for these items when I could have just gotten off my car and taken off. And that is a prime example.
Speaker 1:It's not that, you know, I want to brag or I want to toot my own horn or anything, but I just want to say, like I could have gotten in my car and I could have taken off and I technically didn't do anything wrong because I did not intentionally steal those items. But if my father in heaven is staring down upon me and I want to do everything that is pleasing to him, then I know that I did not pay for these things and I know what the right thing for me to do is, as I operate as a believer. So this is what I'm saying is like we just want to make sure that we have integrity with everything that we do. Now, like I was saying, going back to respect, back to, you know, the whole wellness and the skincare thing, we want to have integrity with how we're taking care of these bodies, these earth suits, as I call it. These bodies have been loaned to us on a temporary basis. For the temporary time that we're here, we have to do our best to take care of them so that we can live out our lives here on earth, so that we can go forth and do the job that the Lord has intended for us to do.
Speaker 1:If we are not taking care of our bodies, if we're not eating right, if we're not exercising, if we're not doing everything that he's called us to do, which is take care of our bodies as a temple of the Holy Spirit, then we're cutting off his glory and we're cutting it short, because if we don't take care of our bodies, then what happens? They deteriorate, sickness and disease can enter. I mean, oftentimes, you know, we want to pray and we have a lot of wasted prayers, I say over sickness, when really what it comes down to is we didn't do our job, taking care of the things that we need to take care of knee surgery, or to pray over diabetes or to pray over whatever it is not realizing that what we should have done to begin with is gotten exercise, is making sure that you know our knees and our joints are strong, is making sure that you know that our eating is in balance so that, as we, you know, go through day-to-day life, that we don't have to worry about having prayers for, you know, to help us to find solutions to diabetes or whatever it is ailments that we're dealing with. If we start back at the root with our health and our wellness and everything, if we just start at the root and start to take care of our bodies the way we're supposed to, then we wouldn't have to get down the line and have to pray prayers of healing and bind spirits of infirmity and everything else. So it all starts, you know, at the beginning. So with this message, you know, like I said again, not for condemnation, not to come down on anyone, but just to encourage us to be more intentional with how we're taking care of our bodies, be more intentional with the foods that we're eating, be more intentional with our supplements and just making sure that we understand the gift that we have been given of life, that we understand everything that we have at our fingertips.
Speaker 1:We have so much information and sometimes I honestly think that we have too much information out there, which is why I love to do what I do, because it's like everyone and this is a whole other subject. I don't want to go down a rabbit hole with this, but everyone has their idea of you know what's the best thing, whether it's better to eat carnivore or plant-based, whether it's better to eat, you know, paleo or whatever it is, and I always say whatever you're going to do with regards to those things, I try to eat as plant-based as possible. And when I say try to eat as plant-based as possible, I do eat plant-based, and this is just a side note. I do eat plant-based, with the exception of cheese, because I haven't found a cheese that resonates with me, but my eating plan may not necessarily be the best eating plan for everyone. Again, I want to advise everyone to go into the proper plan for your lifestyle and your bodies according to the leading of the Lord.
Speaker 1:The way that I ate, the way that I eat, is not like. I don't claim to be a vegan. It's not because you know all the animals and we're killing the animals and all these things, because, honestly, I don't believe that if we are not killing the animals ourselves to consume them, then another animal is going to kill the animal in the woods to consume them, because it's just a life cycle and the way of life. I don't believe that. I do believe that eating plant-based is a healthier option and I do believe that not everyone has to do the same thing. Now, when it comes to my client, I absolutely advise them to eat plant-based and, of course, there are different health situations where not every single plant and vegetable is good for every single health situation, so there's a little wiggle room within there. But I do advise people to prayerfully go into the best eating plan, the best workout plan, the best plan for your life. To go into it prayerfully, because that plan is specific to you and Jeremiah 29, 11 says that I know the plans that I have for you, so that means that the plan that he has for me may not necessarily be the plan that he has for you.
Speaker 1:Now, the Bible does speak a lot about eating and there's so much controversy, you know, among this, amongst this. This is not my plan. My plan is not to come on here and to cause division. I mean there are different parts in Leviticus that says what meat to clean, what meat to not clean. I base my eating base off of. You know the initial plan in Genesis. In Genesis, he says I gave you all the plants and the seeds and everything to eat. That is what I base my eating off. That is what he has prayerfully led me to. That may not be the plan for you. I'm not here to tell you that you're going to go to hell if you eat meat, but I will tell you. Like I said, I advise you to take care, the best care of your body that you can, and so that is what the whole gist of this whole episode is is just to help you to be more consistent with everything that you're doing and making sure that you're paying close attention to your health and wellness. It is also important. I just want to encourage you right now because what I'm seeing a lot of, and what I'm hearing a lot of from the Lord in my private time is that the enemy is working hardcore, and he's really working hardcore to deceive people, and even hardcore devoted, you know, love the Lord on fire, holy Spirit, baptized Christians are being duped by the foods that they eat and the ways that they take care of their bodies.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I feel like we're not taking it 100% serious. I feel like, you know, we may do our Daniel fast here and there at the beginning of the year. We do our juices, we do our fruits, we do our vegetables, but once that period is over that 21 days or whatever period that you have set aside is over, we often, you know, say we're going to keep up on this and we speak about how good that we feel. But how often do we keep to it? And from what I'm seeing, it's not often at all. It seems like people end up going right back and have you know many, many excuses. You know why. They can, you know, just kind of eat, go back to old eating patterns.
Speaker 1:I just want everyone to be aware that the number one way that I see the enemy working right now is through our foods, through the consumption of the foods, the processed foods I mean. Even being a so-called vegan, you can still eat vegan junk food. When I say I would never claim vegan, because all vegan means is that you're not eating anything from an animal, it does not necessarily mean that you are eating healthy. There are still all kinds of non-animal based processed foods out there that are not going to keep you healthy. So claiming vegan is I don't know. I find that to be a little bit gimmicky to me. For me, I try to eat raw, plant-based whole foods, not too many processed foods, because I mean, really a frozen pizza can be vegan, but it's not necessarily the best thing for your body. So, like I said, my whole thing with this episode, my whole point of view with this episode, is just to encourage people to be more mindful of what you're consuming and to be more mindful of our vitamins, our nutrients, our supplements, and to do research.
Speaker 1:I mean, the doctors are there for a reason and the doctors, they definitely have a place, but I don't think that we should be in a place that we're just, you know, putting the doctors in a place of God. God can certainly work through these physicians, and this is not to say. You know that this is the sake for all physicians, but a lot of them are just more so pushing temporary solutions rather than, you know, getting to the root cause of things. And, like I said, we have a lot of information. We have a lot of, you know, health coaches and consultants. There's a lot of information that's accessible out there. So I mean even myself, if you have questions on any of this.
Speaker 1:Like I said, in addition to being a licensed esthetician, I'm also a certified clinical herbalist and also a health consultant. I would love more than ever, you know, to help you guys on this journey, but definitely check into things before you just take, you know, firsthand the word from your doctor. So I'm going to wrap this episode up there for now. Like I said, I do wellness consultations online on Zoom as well as we can do them over a phone call. I think Zoom or in person would be the best way. If you are interested in any of those services, I definitely encourage you to check out my website. You can book a Zoom consultation, an initial consultation. I am doing a free 30-minute consultation either in person or on Zoom, for the month of March is over for the month I'm sorry to say March, for the month of April, so you can go and book that online at wwwallthingskinorganicnet. After that, there are wellness plans, there are skincare plans that you can sign up for. That will make it, you know, affordable for you to, you know, kind of get on track.
Speaker 1:But, yeah, definitely would love to help you guys on this health and wellness journey and just be on a path of, you know, taking care of your bodies the way God intended. All right, guys, I'm going to wrap it up for there right now. As always, I pray that you guys are blessed, I pray that you have been edified by this episode and I encourage you to just evaluate your eating, evaluate your health, evaluate, evaluate, evaluate and, after you evaluate, take the necessary steps to implement and to make a change. Like I said, I'm here to help you if you need it. God bless you all. Until the next time, be blessed and be a blessing. Ciao, for now, bye.