"Who I am", in a nutshell
With some academic titles already behind me, I spent more than fifteen years working in Spain, in the food and manufacturing industries as well as in educational environments. In 2013 I decided to change gears, and this would represent a significant turning point in my life.
After volunteering as a teacher in a monastery in Nepal, I returned to Spain, quit my job, and in less than three months moved to Switzerland at the beginning of 2014. Why? Because the experience in Nepal woke up a latent dimension in me that I had not paid enough attention to before.
What was supposed to be a time of retreat, teaching Math and English to the children at the monastery, led me to restlessly investigate the other (and less familiar to me) side of food: its power to take us both to the gates of sickness and away from it.
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I needed to understand what was happening to those children, from a nutritional standpoint. I didn't know at that time how much of that resonance towards them had to do with me.
I would connect the dots later.
To this new stage belong all the titles and certifications after 2013: Master in Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Health (ETH Zurich), the concept of nutrition from a holistic point of view (IIN Health Coach Certificate), food psychology, the interconnection between the endocrine system, immune system, digestive health, body and mind, etc.
But no matter how compelling the theory and its comprehension was, life also gave me some practical exercises to see if I had learned the lesson: my own journey to regain health, lost along the way.
You may ask yourself: why am I telling you all this?
Because one of the results of this whole process is
precisely this project:
A service proposal to you,
in which I want to share all that I have learned, experienced, and integrated (and what I have not), should it serve you on your own path.
INTERESTED IN WHAT I CAN OFFER YOU?
HAVE A LOOK AT:
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND & CERTIFICATES
“ME”
IN A NUTSHELL
MY JOURNEY
TOWARDS YOU
Academic background & certificates
Everything we have lived, done, or left behind has contributed in one way or another to our becoming the person we are at this very moment.
Under these "lenses", I introduce a summary of my academic credentials.
See them, not as a sample of my "official qualifications," but as an approximation to:
✶ My endless curiosity,
✶ My insatiable need to know, to deepen, to connect seemingly unconnected dots,
✶ Not to believe because it is trendy,
✶ Not to talk by hearsay,
✶ Want to go further, to contrast, to reach my own conclusions.
This is part of the energy I put on the table when I work with people in their process of re-encountering their health through the plate. Now, I offer it to you in case it serves you on your way. ❤
❀ Mind-Body Eating Coach Certification. (Institute for the Psychology of Eating; USA) 2019
❀ Hormone Health Specialist. (Institute of Integrative Nutrition, IIN, USA) 2018-2019
❀ Integrative Nutrition and Holistic Nutrition Health Coach. (Institute of Integrative Nutrition, IIN, USA) 2017-2018
❀ Global Health Specialist. (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) 2015-2016
❀ Immunology certificate. (Rice University, USA) 2015
❀ (MAS) Master in Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Health. (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland). 2014-2016
❀ (MAS) Master in Advanced Studies in Supply Chain Management. (ICIL. Ministry of Industry, Spain) 2006-2008
❀ Ph.D courses in Environmental Engineering. (Universidad de Almería/Córdoba,Spain). 2001-2002
❀ Master’s Degree in Agronomy. (Universidad de Almería, Spain). First National Award of Engineering (Ministry of Education). 1997-2001.
❀ Master’s Degree in Food Engineering. (Universidad de Almería, Spain). First National Award of Engineering (Ministry of Education) 1993-1997
The list goes on and on in permanent expansion… as the Universe! 😉
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BACK
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“Me” in a nutshell
❀ Beyond official degrees and certificates, I consider myself a "zealous health activist."
❀ A long time ago, an extraordinary human being called me "emotional Sherpa". I felt profoundly honored, and I honor him in this paragraph ❤.
❀ Speleologist of the body and human psyche. Not easily persuaded by headlines, I enjoy dissecting information from different angles until I find the perspective that "clicks" me (or not).
❀ Eternal student! I spend countless hours reading, writing, taking notes, "connecting dots", and drawing new ones. I'm so passionate about it!
❀ Norman Cousins' quote practitioner: “Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.” Confession: It could partly be due to my lazy nature! 😉
❀ Slow as a mammoth in high heels when I wake up, I become unstoppable during the day when I find the "what for" or the "for whom."
❀ Passionate for animals, with a particular accent on dogs, birds, and my new friends, cows. Living with them, I have learned a lot about being present and unconditional love.
❀ Officially nicknamed "Alpine goat," I earned the "tag" each time I put on my boots and hiked up the mountains. The reward? To contemplate the high-altitude, stunning scenery called Nature.
❀ I spend the day with a permanent "Playlist" in the background: from Bach to Muse, from African drums to Eunadi, going through (almost) every style. Conversations, moments, landscapes, walks, fragments of books, mental notes... I add a "Soundtrack" to virtually everything! ♫
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My journey towards you
Being born and raised on the southeast coast of Spain (Andalucía), i.e., being "Andaluza por los cuatro costaos," passion and spontaneity were always prominent characteristics in me. However, "Mr. Perfectionism" also entered my life very early, taking the control of the ship for many years.
Seneca said: "There is no favorable wind for those who don't know where they are going." An excellent description of my autopilot for far too long.
My hamster wheel, at a glance
In addition to the official University degrees, I got another Master's degree without being even enrolled: A Master's in denying my needs, especially those related to my body and health.
I also became a specialist in pushing my body and mind to extreme and exhausting limits, mainly due to work.
As the icing on the cake, I was proud to claim loud and clear that "I had no time to cook" ... (no comment!).
Work, responsibilities, and a somewhat exacerbated sense of "doing the right thing all the time," kept my attention outside myself, blinding my guiding light for years.
Not a single thought about my most basic needs regarding self-care.
The autopilot was still intact.
Red flags appeared along the way… and how!
My body was sending SOS signals from very early on: stress, anxiety, migraines, sleeping problems, food as a "natural" soothing mechanism...
Symptoms were uncomfortable enough not to allow a state of well-being, but still "bearable" enough to go on without further consideration. And so I did.
The "aha moment" came in the form of a cosmic punch.
The Universe is said to be a willful Master, especially if the student is stubborn and obtuse enough not to learn the lesson.
Well, my lesson about "slow down a bit, or I'll stop you short" came in the form of an intestinal disease. My digestive system lost its ability to absorb food.
L-i-t-e-r-a-l-l-y.
Was it not a sad irony that while working in the food and health industry, I was unable to nourish my own body?
The famous "aha" moment did not come to me like a ray of divine inspiration but as a cosmic punch.
What lesson did I have to learn?
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“The wound is the place where the light enters you.”
- RUMI
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My body was desperately screaming to be heard, and for the first time in my life, I was willing to do so.
What did I do next?
✿ I started a crusade on behalf of my health that led me to a path I would never have thought of.
✿ I immersed myself fully in the principles of Functional Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, hormonal health, and the functioning of the immune system.
✿ I followed many of the leading scientists in the area of nutrition and health with a holistic perspective.
✿ I read everything I could get hold of about intestinal health.
✿ I began my journey at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN) in New York.
✿ I couldn't stop diving into the vast and fascinating world of the psychology of nutrition.
✿ I started cooking daily, by and for myself. This, in itself, was a quantum leap in my recovery and my life.
✿ I discovered and understood how stress and anxiety wreaked havoc on my body, my health, and my life. Another "aha moment" that took me longer to digest and modify.
✿ I was fascinated by the "mind-body connection" and the so-called "somatic diseases." Another elephant in the room hard to accept at that time.
✿ I quit my job (another quantum leap!). This decision was the early seed of what I am now sharing with you. ❤
✿ I began (slowly but surely) to integrate the concept of "one day at a time" and the wonderful gift of the "small steps."
Having been (or rather, with the tendency to be) an "all or nothing" person, this switch was accompanied by great resistance coming from my old autopilot.
✿ I began to pay attention to my needs and express them openly to others. Not everyone liked it.
✿ I (re)discovered and made room for old (and new) hobbies, which soon became my passion.
✿ As soon as my acute symptoms subsided, I put my old hiking boots on again.
A few months later, most of my symptoms subsided. The digestive specialist literally didn't believe it.
I don't think there was only one factor that uniquely contributed to my recovery. On the contrary, I am convinced that it was the holistic approach I took, plus a relentless determination and an absolute conviction that it was not the end of my story, but the end of the way I was living it up to that point.
Here are some of the most important teachings I gained during my trip:
❤ I focused my whole life on the "outside"; however, there was no one to save but myself.
❤ We get sick from the mind, and we heal from the body. The vast "Gordian knots" of our life begin to unravel by returning the attention to our body.
❤ When your life is aligned with your inner voice and purpose, the "knot" gives way, and it is easier for the body to return to its intrinsic state of health. Tensions leave room for natural homeostasis.
And now my steps bring me to you.
HAS MY JOURNEY TO MY HEALTH AND WELL-BEING ENDED?
Not at all. I still have many things to integrate to improve my well-being. Every day is a learning experience.
The difference is that now I pay attention to it.
THEN, WHY AM I TELLING YOU THIS NOW?
1. Because along my own path, I have discovered, tested, and integrated many tools and solutions that may be useful to you.
2. To save you time, energy (a lot!), and money in your search for an effective and sustainable solution that works for YOU.
3. I don't have all the answers (by no means!), but the ones I already sorted out may help to alleviate your path.
4. Because "I've been there." I have experienced loneliness, despair, frustration, helplessness, the feeling of ''no way out,'' as well as physical and mental exhaustion in my personal quest to (re)establish my wellness.
5. Sometimes, the trip becomes more bearable with a pair of smiling eyes accompanying you, in addition to all the nutritional theories and life adjustments that might need necessary during the journey.
6. Because I discovered that what I am doing now is aligned with the authentic Teresa, and if I don't connect with her, my soul goes numb, and my passion can't ignite.