In conversation with Ruby Barber, Studio Mary Lennox
What is your definition of health?
It's hard because it is always changing. The more I understand about myself and what my body needs, and the more I learn just from living, I am constantly refining what I think healthy is. It is such a learning process and I am still trying to understand a lot of what it is to be healthy for me. You have to feel comfortable in the way you are living and you have to feel confident in all of your lifestyle choices and feel like they are giving something back to you as well. That's kind of having a healthy lifestyle to me, you know, making sure that everything I am doing is giving back to me and not taking away from my quality of life.
Do you have any kind of recollection of the first time you really had to take your health into your own hands?
Yes, when I moved overseas. I didn't have the same doctors and where I grew up in Australia, I knew my doctor since I was a child. Going there just felt like someone already understood me and they knew more about me than I did. When I moved to Germany, that was the most stressful time in my life and the time when my health was most problematic for me. I guess from the stress of moving countries and adjusting to a new life. I was starting a business and just being in a totally different environment. It was the first time I really had to start analysing how I feel. I had things in my health that have been unexplainable by some western medicine, so I needed to look into other alternative ways to treat certain things.
Not ever having solutions to some things was a big thing to take on board and helped me realise that it's more about managing how you live and not everything can always be perfect. I really had to start learning about that stuff for myself and taking my health into my own hands.
When you chose the areas to work on your collaboration for Ora Collective, did any of the pillars jump out at you and make you think that you need to work more on that area?
Definitely! The Ora Circle reminded me that with every pillar I was stopping to work on, I needed to be proactive about bringing more positivity into my life. It was a good thing to review because there are always areas of improvement. Your priorities change depending on your circumstances.
Recently I decided to move house which was a massive thing because I had lived in the same place for 8 years. I was really ready to move and I felt that for maybe 2 years before I actually did it that the weight of my home environment was definitely impacting me a lot. I had a criteria of what would improve my home life situation and it took ages to find the right place. Finally we found a really nice new place and the improvement on my health and mental capacity was huge. I'm so grateful I did that because I am enjoying my home life so much more.
How did your move affect your health?
It didn't reflect how I felt about myself. There was nothing wrong with the other place but I didn't choose it for myself. I do spend a lot of time at home because I have a really long day and when I am here, it's really important that I feel really relaxed and comfortable and I just wasn't for so many years. I never wanted to go out around my neighbourhood. I lived on a main road and now I live somewhere quieter and closer to nature and this alone has made such an improvement on my mental health. The trees, plants and flowers that are in this house are so beautiful and being outside really is rejuvenating for me here. I can see birds in all the trees, and there's rabbits and squirrels. It gives me so much joy everyday and I can't imagine living without that now.
One of the core pillars of the Ora Circle is creativity which is obviously a very big part of your day-to-day life, and an area which a lot of people struggle with. It's actually one of the areas that people have the worst time with and I always feel very curious about people who have the amount of creativity that you have and if you have any advice for them on how to approach creativity?
I am really lucky because I have a creative outlet and I feel really supported to pursue any crazy or creative idea I have. I suppose it’s important to find a space that you find really comfortable to do something that is just for you and is just creative, even if it's good or bad. So much of my work is doing things that don't work out and learning something. Making the time to do something that you wouldn't normally do or experimenting with an idea that you have is very helpful.
Creativity is a weird thing because even though I am in a creative industry and I am creative everyday in my job, it's also something that I wouldn't really use to describe myself because for me, it's just going through the motions of my day. I guess you also have to relax into it a lot and don't overthink it. Quarantine was a really funny time for that because I think so many people were experimenting with creative outlets and so many of my friends did their first pinch pot with clay or other things that were cute. It was nice to see more people cooking, open to giving things a go and having fun doing something like that.
For Ora, you chose 4 topics: relationships, home environment, joy and creativity. What was the outcome?
I chose to use the distorted and blurry effect with a bit of fluidity and movement to it because that's my approach to understanding these things in my life and being open to them and it's always changing.
So you are saying that because there is no one definition of health and it's always changing that it can't be one in-focus picture?
Yes, health is not a stationary concept so that's why.
“You really have to be investigating so many different aspects of your life to really try and find a solution that feels comprehensive enough for your problems”.
What do you think of the health and wellness industry today?
I would say it's kind of overwhelming in a lot of ways because there's a lot of information out there and a lot of access to the information. We know more about our bodies and health than we ever have before and it's an amazing opportunity to really learn about what's specific to you with all the technology we have and professionals we have in the industry. At the same time, it's still a little hard to navigate for someone who isn't really sure how to approach this stuff and it's not at the forefront of my life. My health has been good most of my life and only when I am getting older I want to put health at the forefront of that. It's a process of learning how to take all the information and use it in the right way.
Sometimes there are so many possible causes. When you are considering stress and mental health and all these external factors in your life that can contribute to your health problems, it's so hard to pinpoint and that's also why it’s not a stationary concept in a way. It’s not just one thing and not just one thing you can fix. You really have to be investigating so many different aspects of your life to really try and find a solution that feels comprehensive enough for your problems.
Do you think stuff is changing in the industry and what would be your ideal future for this industry?
I guess more integrated processes. Often when you have something that you want to go to the doctor for, in my experience in Germany, it has been quite a matter of fact and it can’t take all these different considerations about your life into it. It’s almost like you need therapy, a naturopath, an acupuncturist, and you need everything to get a doctor's appointment. It felt like you could address each part of your problem and there isn't a clear spot for that as far as I can see. I can imagine more practices that integrate many different aspects of health and could allow people to have a comprehensive overview.
Do you believe it's possible to create a more inclusive and equitable health and wellness industry?
Yes, I would hope so. It's always shocking to find out how exclusive that it can be. That's really a troubling issue that definitely needs attention.
Do you have any favourite health mentors that you follow?
I am not really following this kind of stuff. I check in on it every once in a while if something gets recommended to me. You are one health person that I call!
“I really put a lot in place to make sure that the start of the day is relaxing and calm”.
Do you have any ritual when you get back from work that is free to unwind and relax?
My rituals really take place in the morning. I really like to have time in the morning when I wake up. Even though I start work super early, I always give myself two hours in the morning so I don't rush the start of my day. That’s time that I'm not already checked into work and am having two really long coffees and making sure I have time for a long shower. That really helps me with the rest of the day. There's nothing worse for me than the feeling of when you wake up and you overslept the alarm or something and you have no time, so I really put a lot in place to make sure that the start of the day is relaxing and calm.
When I get home I like to eat early because I start work early and my mealtimes are always on the early side. If I wait too long for dinner, that disturbs my sleep a little bit. An ideal day for me is getting home after work, having a nice shower because I am working with plants and flowers all the time, cooking a really nice dinner and eating it all before 9:30pm then being able to watch a show and get into bed.
If there is one thing you know you should change to improve your health, what would it be?
Often I think managing stress or finding ways to manage stress would definitely improve my overall health and my relationships and everything in my life. That's probably the hardest thing to feel in control of.
When was a time in your life where you felt your best?
It's a hard question because I have just been more aware in my adult life, so it's been harder to feel my best because I guess I became so much more aware of my body in the way that I notice every small change. I am more aware when I feel my best now, consciously, but when I was younger and I didn't really monitor myself so much, I felt my best because I wasn't over-analysing anything either.
Exclusive posters for sale
This collaboration has been designed in line with Ora’s purpose of accessibility. Studio Mary Lennox has donated images of the wonderful floral creations produced especially for Ora Collective. These will be sold as four posters. All money raised will go directly into the “Ora Fund”, an initiative which enables individuals who do not have the financial means to be able to access content on Ora Collective. Through this fund, everyone can avail of our content and work towards optimal health.