Hey! My name is Amy..At the age of 16, I became the National Powerlifting Champion in Ireland, competing internationally at the World Powerlifting Championships in Texas & at the European Powerlifting Championships in Denmark. I spent several years learning about the importance of Health and Fitness. Strength training for me was a way to channel the anger I felt growing up due to a lot of trauma I had experienced as a child, it was a way for me to cope and it became a way of life for me.
Back in 2015, strength training, especially powerlifting, was not common among women and I often found myself being the only girl in the weights room. My training was so unusual for a woman (lifting 150kg+ at a bw of 55kg) that I was bullied a lot. Many people said I would grow massive and 'ugly' muscles and ultimately look like a man. This knocked my confidence a lot but I knew the science behind strength training since my degree of study was in Biomedical Science. I physically knew this was impossible as women don't have enough natural testosterone. Strength Training strengthened my mind and body, and I felt like I could handle daily life easier, since I put the hard work in during training, everyday life felt attainable.
After completing my BSc in Biomedical science at the University of Limerick, I became a qualified ISSA personal trainer to further my knowledge even more.
Through my first hand experiences competing at a high level and my own mental health struggles, I also understood the importance of psychology, especially our mindset in sport and everyday life. During my Bsc, I completed my thesis in neurobiology where I studied the genetical and environmental causes of Autism and the behavioral consequences, deepening my understanding of behavioral science. I then went on to study Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) practices and starting implementing them to my everyday life to increase gratitude, reduce stress and achieve my goals.
At the age of 21, I graduated and worked for three years within a multinational medicinal company where I advanced my skills immensely within the world of wellness. In 2022, I quit my job, gave up my house, and headed across the world on a travel expedition from Ireland to the Middle East, living in my Land Rover Defender with my boyfriend. We wanted to train in different Brazilian JiuJitsu academies across europe and live presently among nature, practicing yoga, meditation and foraging herbal teas, overall embodying holistic wellness. Life on the road forced me outside of my comfort zone. Living every day in the extreme cold and hot climates, being immersed within many diverse cultures and embracing immense knowledge on different ancient and modern hollistic healing modalities from several healing traditions around the world allowed me to truly find my purpose.
Through this expedition, I reestablished the connection to the natural world I was missing from my life. I was craving to dig my fingers into the earth. I found solace in feeling and smelling the soil. I washed and bathed myself in many rivers. I foraged my own herbal teas and created my own apothecary on the road to heal our bodies. Everything that followed was a natural progression. I focused on being in rhythm with the cycles and seasons of nature. I started to eat organic foods seasonally and create my own skin-care and cleaning products. Meeting and sharing our experiences became our work, and I realised that I was doing what I loved, sharing knowledge about holistic wellness and living close to nature.
Living among the elements, I built a lot of resilience within my life, which encouraged me to help and support other women in the Middle East. When most people were scared to visit this part of our world, I felt like I had to be there to stand beside these strong women around the world to help them in anyway I could
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Why did I choose this lifestyle?
In our modern, fast-paced era, women and men are stressed and under more pressure than ever before, and as a result have lost the essence of being sensual in many ways. Sensuality is
about having a connection to yourself, moving your body to the rhythm of music, living and embracing the present moment without being worried about the future and living in the past. Life is about structuring your life in a way that you can indulge in all the things that make you feel like you aretruly alive and living life at this beautiful present moment.
I truly believe that supporting ourselves holistically is an integral part of our self-care, health and our overall healing. Hollistic wellness and self-care nourish us so that we can continue to love and help the people closest to us.
At Anam Saor, we hope to inspire you to treat your life and ultimately your bodies with intention and love on your wellness journey, offering support to your Mind, Body & Soul and encouraging you to not give up as you
traverse the peaks and valleys of life.
The process is not linear but rather a process of taking those steps led by our instincts and intuitively guided by the knowledge and support given at Anam Saor.
I planted the seeds for my healing and growth years before I returned to truly tend to them. It is deeply rewarding to connect with yourself, to truly tune in and connect with your soul, to hear the whispers of what your body ultimately needs from you everyday.. so lets plant the seed of growth today together so you can return home to your purest self.
OH HEY, FOR BEST VIEWING, YOU'LL NEED TO TURN YOUR PHONE