Having been on my own personal health journey for many years now I have come to unquestionably respect + appreciate the importance of a truthful, effective + loving approach to my wellness as a whole. As part of this continued path for me, I have been genuinely inspired by the work of today’s interviewee. I am so honored to introduce you to Rhian Stephenson, someone at the absolute forefront of the well-being industry. Founder of ARTAH, a whole-body holistic wellness company based in London but with a Spanish retreat location, Rhian is a force to be reckoned with + a wealth of important knowledge in her approach to healthful + conscious longeivity around our minds + bodies, cutting out all the BS fads that have, unpon the precieved ‘failures’ of their targets, made so many company’s their billions. I spoke with Rhian about her own journey + the practices that keep her feeling well, energized + at her best..
HSF - Rhian, tell us about yourself + your journey to date... beyond the brand, who are you?
RS - Well I’m originally from Canada where I trained as a trained Naturopath, Nutritionist and Medical Herbalist. I grew up as a competitive athlete so my love for health and fitness started at a really young age, and its contributed to why I have such a holistic approach to blending movement with nutrition + healing practices to create overall health. Before I started Artah I was the CEO of Psycle London and led the brand for 7 years before moving back into functional medicine, so I've been lucky enough to be able to blend both of my loves in my career path to date. I have a young daughter named Maisie and as I write this, am 9 days away from delivering my next daughter... so lots on my plate!
HSF - And on the brand, ARTAH is such a beautiful, nurturing + wholly authentic culmination of your expertise. For anyone yet to experience ARTAH though, explain if you would the vision + philosophy of the company + how it came to fruition...
RS - As a child I was extremely sick. From chronic bronchitis and sinus infection to stomach migraines and debilitating headaches, I was never well and always felt different to everyone else. I was processed through just about every specialist in the traditional medical system but nobody could find a cause of my symptoms, so I was labelled a 'sickly' child with a weak consitution and always sent home with painkillers and antibiotics. Finally when I was in my late teens, my mother took me to a Naturopath who discovered I had an allergy to caesin (a protein in milk), numerous vitamin deficiencies and chronic inflammation. After about 3 months of working with her I was a different child - I had energy, my symptoms had virtually disappeared, and over the course of the next year my academic and athletic performance skyrocketed. This was when I realised that the food you eat can change your life, and that just because there is an absence of disease it doesn't mean that we are healthy. This is what got me really excited about getting to the root causes of imbalances and helping people cultivate optimal health. When I was at Psycle, we saw thousands of people per week and even though they were falling in love with movement and getting fitter, so many were still plagued with similar issues of imbalance - IBS, skin issues, menstrual problems, disrupted sleep, anxiety, hormonal imbalances... all of these things were still so prevalent even with a population of people who were invested in health and fitness. So with Artah I wanted to bring everything together and make the principles of functional medicine more accessible - from practitioner grade supplements to nutrition plans and retreats, we really want to empower people to live life in their best health.
HSF - Have you always been so passionate about health or have there been challenges that afforded you a fresh perspective on what it means to feel good?
RS - My experience as a child helped me understand what health really means, but I had another challenge that helped me empathise with what people are up against after I had my daughter. I was going through an extremely stressful work transition right after I gave birth which caused a huge amount of anxiety. Coupled with sleepless nights, breastfeeding, the pandemic, recovering from a c section, and the general challenges that new moms face, I was in the worst place I had ever been. I could feel that there was something underlying going on that had been brought on by this experience, but when I went to the Dr they wouldn't do any tests and just offered me anxiety medication. I think that it's really challenging to advocate for yourself when you're a patient, especially when you're in a vulnerable state, and if I didn't have the background I have I would probably have just left it there and gotten worse. I tried to push for blood tests but ended up going private, and it turned out that I had post-partum thyroiditis and anaemia, so once I found that out I could work on getting back to health. I think we're taught to accept that feeling bad can just be normal or in our head, which is incredibly disempowering and holds a lot of people back from experiencing great health.
HSF - You work holistically on all elements of people’s health, from the physical to the mental. For anyone wanting to begin to feel better in themselves, where do you suggest beginning? It can be daunting for many...
RS - I think it's really important to start off with the right mindset - which is that this approach takes time and you don't need to do it all at once. I often see people 'fail' because they try to implement everything all at once in an incredibly extreme manner and then be perfect from day one, but we don't expect this from anything else in our lives and it's a hard standard to live up to. So, once you know it's process, I think a great first step is an audit. Go through physical health, emotional health, nutrition, and movement and see where you are compared to where you want to be. From there you can start to create actions. There may be some really obvious things that stand out - that you can change right away for immediate impact while you work on others. It's important to get onto a good nutrition plan because of how impactful that is for emotional health and then build in from there.
HSF - What are your tips for building a strong routine around wellness as a lifestyle, a mentality of longevity in a way..
RS - Mentality wise, the most important thing is to move away from thinking solely about weight and aesthetics to understanding the enormous impact that wellness has on emotinoal health, relationships, longevity and disease risk. Connecting wellness to happiness is important - this will help you feel confident and consistent in your choices and the habits you wish to cultivate. I always recommend that people set 3 non-negotiables. These can change as your lifestyle changes or throughout the years, but it helps you commit to positive behaviours that you know will be additive to your health. I also think it's important to set aside time for yourself a few times a year - whether you want to call it a cleanse, a reset, or a retreat - to focus on yourself and feeling good. We often neglect the rest and restore aspect of wellbeing and I see so many people who burn the candle at both ends but never take time to replenish - this is totally unsustainable. Finally, I think it's important to realise that we are responsible for our health - and if we want it to come through for us we need to invest in it.
HSF - Do you have a morning +/or nighttime routine?
RS - At night I always take 10-20 minutes to unwind with a little bit of stretching and yin before bed. Because I run my own business, it's so easy to be on email right up until I turn the lights out, and when I do that my sleep is terrible, so I need to set a screen limit and get back into my body before I go to bed. I've also noticed that since my baby I am far less tolerant to coffee in the morning - it makes me incredibly anxious. So, everyday I have 500mls with our Cellular Hydration before I do anything else and this really energises me and sets my mood on the right course. Other than that my routines have pretty much been focused on baby/toddler care for the past 2 years!
HSF - What wellness products or tools can you not live without? Anything you think is worth investing in?
RS - If you really want to invest in a larger product, I would recommend the Joovv light. It's a red and infrared light therapy box which I have found incredibly helpful for mood, energy, skin and sleep (especially throughout the winter!). In terms of other things I can't live without, I obviously am pretty attached to my supplements. Enhanced Nootropics, Essential Omegas, Essential GLA and Cellular Hydration are my go to. Finally I love bodywork, so one of my favourite tools is the bed of nails acupucnture mat.
HSF - Gut health is thankfully becoming a more recognised + integral part in the conversation around long-term health, what is your philosophy on it?
RS - I'm really glad that the importance of gut health is finally being recognized. From a functional medicine POV and from a traditional medicine POV - whether you're looking at Ayurveda, TCM or any other traditional form of healing - gut health is integral to every aspect of health. This notion was quite misaligned with allopathic medicine, where everything was viewed of as separate. Now we know that the microbiome influences everything, from the neurotransmittors that govern our mood and signalling that influences appetite, to inflammation, immunity and insulin balance. This doesn't even take into effect one of the most important actions of the gut, which is the digestion and assimilation of nutrients, so ensuring our gut health is on track is fundamental to any health goal.
HSF - We live in quite a high energy world now - for many there is a lot of anxiety in the everyday - how can the ARTAH way of living play a more positive part in our mental + emotional health?
RS - A simple and impactful way to influence our emotional health is to balance blood sugar. When our blood sugar and metabolic health is off we can literally feel unhinged, so cultivating a positive and consistent approach to nutrition is one of the most important things we can do. The Artah philosophy strives to empower individuals to understand and take control of health, energy and mood. This doesn't mean that you need to be perfect, but it means that you build awareness and knowledge around how your body actually works so that you're able to interpret the fluctuations that naturally occur and kow what levers you can pull to get back on track or reset when you need to.
HSF - On the idea of beauty + wellness in general I find it so destructive that women have been sold the idea of “beauty” being the goal. There’s a false sense of necessity in it to ensure one’s success in life; something you can attain in the next procedure or detox, moisturiser, or mask. I guess so much of the industry has been all about the aesthetic for so long. I love to see this shifting toward an importance around feeling good + living healthily in a more holistic way. Beauty from the inside out, I guess. I really admire brands that prioritise wellness as a form of beauty + empowerment. Thank you for being part of that for women. It’s an important adjustment. Do you see people’s mentality shifting when it comes to the value of overall well-being from the inside out? Is that a driving force behind ARTAH or something that naturally results in what you do?
RS - It's something that's inherant to our philosophy, because being truly well isn't about hitting a goal weight or having perfect skin. When we're solely focused on aesthetics, it's so challenging to maintain and can be incredibly destructive. When we're focused on health, energy, fulfillment - this is when we naturally start to see changes in everything. Our attitude, demeanour, resilience, relationships - everything improves when we are well and healthy. Things like a healthy weight and good skin will be a natural side effect of creating a healthy internal environment. Don't get me wrong, it's ok to want to look good, but not at the expense of feeling good or true emotional health.
HSF - What do you do to stay mentally well?
RS - Daily movement is probably the most important - I love running and it really helps me feel grounded and happy. But I also need dedicated time to rest and recharge, I find it really exhuasting to manage a business as a new mom so I need to make sure that I have enough time to chill out and take time for myself. I use supplements as a way to ensure I stay happy. Right now with a business and kids, I don't sleep as much as I'd like and I definitely need more of the nutrients that support stress. Magnesium, methylated b vitamins and ashwagandha are in our Enhanced Nootropics which I take daily. I also use Cellular Hydration for energy, mood and concentration and feel a big difference when I don't take them.
HSF - Do you have any non-negotiables in your day?
RS - Movement and nutritious food are my non-negotiables. I learned long ago that eating the wrong foods makes everything harder, so I'm actually quite good at buckling down and taking care of my nutrition when I'm stressed because I know how much harder evreything else is when that is off track.
HSF - Your favourite piece of advice or approach to live by?
RS - A good friend of mine once said to me 'you can't eat an elephant in one sitting.' I love this piece of advice - it reminds us that big things take time so we need to be kind to ourselves and a little more patient.
HSF - If you had one more hour in your day, how would you spend it?
RS - Well right now I'm pregnant with a toddler.. so the honest answer is I'd probably sleep! But honestly, as a mother running a business, I never feel like I have enough times for friends and social connection, which definitely affects me. So, I'd want to spend it with friends, whether it be a walk, a fitness class, cooking together or just chatting.
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