Meet Wellness Guru: Lorena Puica, of 'iamYiam'

This week we have a super inspiring treat for you as our Wellness Guru is Lorena Puica, Founder of 'IamYiam' or 'i am why i am' to those of us who aren't down with the 'tweet-speak'.

'IamYiam' brings together quality Natural Health practitioners in London of natural health with consumers and makes it easy to book the best experience for exactly their needs using a unique algorithm based on over 110,000 academic research papers and genetic markers which helps pinpoint which therapies and therapists are best suited to an individual depending on their requirements, be it sleeping better, reducing anxiety, lowering stress, recovering from injury or enhancing overall well-being.

1. Tell us about yourself Lorena , and how you got to be where you are today?

I grew up as a mildly autistic child in Romania - with an entrepreneur mother and a physicist father. While I’ve had other health conditions, the most challenging for my parents and myself was my Asperger's . So my father decided took an executive decision to try 'the untried' with a novel approach: one that would engage different areas of my brain . He enrolled me in gymnastics , painting , ballet , aerobics , tennis , and martial arts.

All worked quite well until my father passed away when I was 17. Two months later, I left home with €300, a strong thirst for knowledge, and the desire to enhance people’s quality of life. After four degrees in Economics and Business, a published book on Micro-finance and a very successful career in investments - I yet again faced a health challenge that appeared insurmountable. And Doctors in the UK and in Germany concluded that the only solution was to remove my thyroid … at the age of 26. I strongly disagreed, and decided to explore alternative remedies. After a couple of years of engaging with yoga, meditation, acupuncture, Ayurvedic treatments and so, so much more - my thyroid was cured and I recovered. Hormone therapy and ill health became a thing of the past.

I realised in the course of this journey, that there are many skilled natural health therapists who are practicing, without the benefit of business and marketing skills; and that there is also a sea of professional men and women who would like to delve into natural health, but are deterred because is seems too esoteric.

So, after my last extreme adventure of running 7 marathons on 7 continents in 10 days for charity. I returned to London end of Feb 2015, left my job in Investment Management in June 2015 and in July 2015, founded 'iamYiam'. 'iamYiam' is a science-backed well-being hub, with the mission of enhancing health & well-being of 1 billion people by the year 2025 both through the 'iamYiam' business and through our 'iamYiam' Foundation that provides natural health therapies in schools and retirement or care homes.

2. Tell us how you spend your working day?

I wake up at 5.30am and start the day with coconut-oil pulling, followed by Yoga and Meditation. I also love starting my day with a swim to move and energize my entire body.

Then i start to prepare for the day ahead, my meetings and goals for the day. From 9am I join the team and am in the office or out for meetings. I always have lunch with my team - a different team member prepares lunch every day. Its our time to catch-up and talk about hat else has happened in our world. We even have a dedicated 'fun-storming lunch on Wednesdays to keep it fun. For the rest of the afternoon its meetings and desk work, but i try to have at least 1min meditations like staring out the window or going for a brisk walk.

In the evenings i like to invite friends or business partners for a vegan dinner which I or my friends cook. And i love going for a swim to clear my head before sleep. I always end the day doing my coconut oil-pulling while reading. I'm currently re-reading a book I read about seven years ago, 'The Happiness Hypothesis' by Jonathan Haidt.

3. What inspires you?

Making the impossible possible . I feel we have many limiting beliefs and I am very keen to explore as many of them as possible.

4. What’s your goal in life?

Simplify and beautify peoples journey through life . I have decided to bring that goal to life with 'iamYiam' - with the mission to enhance the health and well-being of 1 billion people by 2025, through our business as well as through our 'iamYiam' Foundation' that provides free natural health practices and therapies into schools and retirement or care homes.

5. What does Wellness mean to you?

I look at well-being as achieving balance across the following eight dimensions : Health, Self-image, Emotional well-being, Intellectual well-being, Financial well-being, relational well-being, occupational well-being, and spiritual well-being.

6. What advice would you give to a person looking to transform their life?

To first discover what they love and enjoy doing on a day to day basis, and then as a function of their experience to date and their current ecosystem, identify what are the most viable options or roles that enables them to do what they enjoy to the largest extent possible . Realistically speaking, it will always be a combination of things we love doing and things we have to do.

7.How did you come up with the concept for IAMYIAM.com?

As per the story above, i’ve had severe health issues ever since i was little . The latest one was my thyroid condition . After exhausting all the options in traditional medicine i refused surgery and so dived into natural health . On that journey i realised the potential in natural health therapists and practitioners, as well as the desire from professional men and women to engage with these practices. However, there was no place to go for science-backed , simple and reliable natural health solutions . That is why 'iamYiam' was born, it aims to simplify and clarify ones journey to natural health and we achieve this by leveraging academic research (over 110,000 academic research papers built into our proprietary algorithm ) and genetic science ( looking at over 34 parameters across health, fitness and nutrition) .

8. Tell us your Top 3 Tips for Wellness?

1. Daily meditation - even if it is only for 5minutes in the morning or evening

2. As much as possible - using natural / organic food , cosmetics & nutrients ( I have a policy with all cosmetics and skin nutrients : if it is not organic/pure enough to eat - I will not put it on my skin either

3. Consistency in a weekly health practice - be that yoga , pilates , massage , acupuncture … a few times a week in a consistent manner is the best prevention and health tip I could give !

9. So what’s next in your career/life?

To continue to grow the 'iamYiam' community entered around natural health and well-being, awareness, understanding and integrity.

To find out more about 'iamYiam' click here

#Wellness