W.TRIBE WELLNESS CENTRE, Tuggerah
If your emotional, social and mental health are important to you, think about exercise.
It’s a well-documented fact that what’s good for your body is good for your brain – and for your mental health. Sarah Wills’ focus at W.Tribe is to look at improving women’s wellbeing by supporting not only women’s physical health but also their social and mental health.
The big choice that members of the Tuggerah Business Park centre have each week is which of 35 classes focussing on strength, yoga, dance and mindfulness to enjoy. There’s also help with nutrition, and regular meet-ups to complement this program. And if you can’t (or don’t want to) attend in person, think about joining their online community.
As a mum, Sarah also knows it’s important to help other mothers find support and ‘me time’, which is why there is also a free creche and a baby/toddler room. Although the centre is all about creating a space for women to feel comfortable, Sarah has started welcoming the husbands and partners of her members. Specific classes have been opened to the men, who must attend with their wives, allowing couples the chance to bond.
Reliance Drive, Tuggerah wliveonline.com
EATSENSE, Erina
‘You are what you eat.’ Deep down we all know this, but busy lives too often get in the way.
Nicole Saliba, the founder of Eatsense, wants to cut through the misinformation around healthy eating and encourage people to prioritise themselves and their health long-term. Nicole doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach.
Her main philosophy is using food as medicine to help prevent, treat or manage medical conditions. And after having worked out of multiple sites across the Central Coast for the past seven years, Nicole is delighted that her supportive dietetics practice has become so popular she’s now opened a new Erina clinic. She’s designed the clinic to be a welcoming, positive space.
‘It will enable us to provide the best possible streamlined experience for our clients,’ Nicole says.
The Karalta Road clinic has multiple consultation rooms where a team of dietitians can meet with patients to create realistic healthy living plans that take into account medical issues and lifestyle choices such as insulin resistance, cardiovascular disease,high cholesterol, polycystic ovary syndrome and Coeliac disease. Eatsense dietitians also work with vegetarians and vegans to ensure their plant-based diets are nutrient-rich, as well as with children and pregnant women.
Shop 20, Elizabeth Court, Erina, 30 Karalta Rd; eatsense.com.au
BUMP for pre- and post-natal healthand fitness
Feel good about yourself in a one-of-a-kind experience, a guilt-free place where you can take time-out to work on getting your pre-baby bod back. Whether you choose a personal training program, workshops, or Reformer pilates, you can do so in a luxe studio in the company of like-minded mums. And of course there’s a creche for bubs – from six weeks to eight years old. You can even enrol with bub in BUMP BUBS interactive baby development classes where you and your little one can learn, play, and explore together in a multi-sensory and safe environment.
You can start with a one-week trial for the BUMP CLUB membership for $19.
310 Central Coast Hwy, Erinabumphealth.com.au/central-coast/
LIFE MEDICAL CENTRE, Erina
If you like the sound of a holistic health approach – so that your biological, psychological and social wellbeing are all taken into consideration when you go to a doctor – then consider Life Medical Centre at Erina.
‘Our whole approach with the practice is whole-person care… we look at all aspects of a person’s life,’ says the centre director, Dr Michelle Reiss.
Despite the lifestyle focus, Michelle is keen for locals to understand that all treatment is evidence-based, not alternative.The in-house team consists of GPs, some of whom are lifestyle medicine-trained physicians, nurses, dietitians, a life coach, psychologist, a clinical pharmacist and an exercise scientist offering onsite classes.
‘Through the technology that we now have, we can look at gut health, we can look at the effect of stress, lack of sleep and a sedentary lifestyle, and the effect on metabolism and on inflammation,’ Michelle says.
She adds that lifestyle medicine takes into account social situations including whether the patient is in a domestic violence relationship and how that impacts on their health. It also addresses the causes of chronic disease rather than managing them for life. For example, a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis doesn’t have to be a permanent label.
‘It can be reversed,’ Michelle says, ‘and one of our big passions is to create awareness in our community.
’Classes at the centre have been very well received because a lot of people are anxious if, for example, they carry a lot of extra weight or are self-conscious because of physical barriers such as knee pain.
‘…We really just want to make a difference and awareness in the community that there are other options,’ says Michelle. The centre, which opened in Erina in March, has been designed to be homely, and offers a traditional GP service (with bulk billing for under-16s), as well as lifestyle medicine.
8/2 Ilya Ave, Erina; lifemedicalcentre.com.au
WORDS JENNIFER ENNION
