I help stars e vulnerability show off a pe Embrace y.. not just erfect life
Wellbeing podcaster Jill Ritchie tells Anna Burnside how she used meditation to quit a stressful corporate job and become a life coach to celebs
TODAY’S Jill Ritchie is winning at life. She interviews stars such as Rachel Stevens and Natasha Hamilton for her podcast She Loves Herself and her life coaching business is fully booked into the new year.
But this time three years ago, Jill, 40, was stuck in a corporate banking job she hated.
On the surface, her life looked great. She and her partner Daryl, who also worked in financial services, had just moved into a new house. They had two lovely little boys, Eden and Jude. Inside, she was a sleepless ball of anxiety. Jill said: “When you are in a leadership role, you don’t want to show that you’re stressed.
“There was a real stigma around being off sick with stress. I had a lot going on, my mum was really poorly at the time, I had really young kids, I was trying to work long hours and keep up with everything.”
The doctor offered a prescription for antidepressants. Jill was not keen.
She said: “For me, I thought there had to be a better way. Taking medication seemed like sprinkling unicorn glitter over a pile of s**t. It wouldn’t get to the root of what’s causing it.
“I would have to stop at some point and the problems would still be there.”
Instead, Jill did something that was so out of her corporate banking comfort zone that she kept it a secret. She started meditating.
Jill said: “No one, not a single person in my network, meditated. Everyone thought it was weird. So I never told anyone.”
Getting up at 5.15am for a 30-day beginner’s meditation guide on YouTube was a game changer for Jill.
She said: “Things started to shift for me. It was transformative. It calmed my nervous system down a little and led me on to self-development books.”
Rhonda Byrne’s book, The Secret, was the most influential.
Jill used Byrne’s technique of visualising the life you want, then “manifesting” it, to map out the changes she wanted to make.
She said: “It’s about taking responsibility and showing up each day. I went all in.”
Hiring a life coach to help her through this process convinced Jill this was the job she should be doing herself.
She said: “Within three months, I had replaced my corporate income working part-time hours as a life coach. At the time,
I blamed other people for making me feel like that but it was me. I was never supposed to be there.”
Helping individuals achieve their potential gave Jill a level of satisfaction she never found on a balance sheet. But she soon wanted to reach beyond her personal clients. She realised that celebrities, with huge followings, could be a way to do that.
Jill said: “So many people see them on
I want to be the evidence fo people who are feeling rea right now, you can turn it a
social media and feel, ‘My life is s**t, I don’t look like this celeb, I don’t have everything they have’. But what we see is the highlights.
“I wanted to work with celebs to help them embrace vulnerability on their platforms, to allow regular people to feel that they are normal. I wanted to regularise vulnerability and normalise mental health rather than only seeing the polished, finished article.
“There’s so much pressure on them not to show their vulnerable sides. But no one
feels great 100 per cent of the time. I wanted to show that side.”
After visualising working with some famous faces, sure enough some manifested on Jill’s Instagram page and she began coaching a couple of them.
The podcast was an obvious next step to help Jill connect with a wider audience.
She said: “I have been fully booked since July, I can’t see any new one-to-one clients until next year. What can I do that’s giving back? I want to be creating content that’s going to transform people’s lives.”
She Loves Herself has fortnightly chats with her famous clients, talking about the ugly side of celebrity and how they cope with the pressures of living a public life. Then there’s a weekly 10-minute tough love session to gee listeners up for the week plus a recorded coaching session.
Jill said: “The podcast is just another platform to help people realise they’re not alone. They are not stuck, not broken, they don’t need fixed, they just need to put one foot in front of the other and surround themselves with people who want you to win.”
It’s already a huge success, No3 in the UK’s mental health podcast charts. “It’s helping all
or ally stuck around
these people,” said Jill. “It’s incredible that it’s up there with Fearne Cotton’s The Happy Place and all these celebrities.”
As well as learning from the content, Jill wants listeners to see her unknown name up there in the top 10.
She said: “A lot of famous people have podcasts. I want to be the evidence for people who are feeling really stuck right now, who are feeling overwhelmed in their jobs, I’ve been there too and you can turn it around. Your life can turn around so quickly. “It doesn’t matter who you are, if you start to speak your truth and do the things that make you feel good and take action, you can create incredible things. “I want to show people that you don’t need to be famous to have a top 10 podcast. “You don’t need to have come from money to make money. It doesn’t need to be hard work. “There’s this idea that success requires blood sweat and tears. It doesn’t. “It does require effort but if it’s feeling too hard, you’re pushing a door that says pull.”
She Loves Herself is available on all major podcast platforms
ORGANISING your first winter sports holiday can be a bit intimidating.
You don’t want to be that “all the gear, no idea’’ person on the slopes and it does have a reputation of being an expensive break.
So, how much is it going to cost? What clothes and equipment do beginners need? Where is the best resort or country? How can you get in shape for what is, after all, an active getaway?
We asked the experts at Crystal Ski Holidays for handy pre-trip tips and their favourite resorts for learning...
BEFORE YOU GO Core values
Although you might think your leg muscles are the most important thing for skiing and snowboarding, it’s actually your core that does most of the work. Strong and stable core muscles will help you pick up skiing quickly and maintain stability as you glide down the mountains. So, about 12 weeks before your holiday, try exercises such as the plank, the bridge, leg raises and sit-ups three or four times a week to help strengthen this area.
Cardio care
Skiing and snowboarding require a lot of energy, so it’s a good idea to do a little cardio in advance to build your stamina.
Try power-walking, swimming, jogging or virtual Zumba classes (look on YouTube).
On balance...
On the slopes, it’s important to centre your weight and not lean too far forward or back, so improving your balance will really help.
One- leg stands, grapevines and heel-to-toe walking are good exercises to try.
Leg work
The core is important but, of course, your legs are too. Get them in shape and flexible with squats, lunges and stretches.
Kit chat
You can get last season’s kit at reasonable prices either online or in discount stores.
You could borrow from friends and family, or hire before investing, in case skiing is not for you.
You will need: thermals; warm, well-fitting socks; fleece or jumper; jacket (make sure it has a zip pocket in the arm for your lift pass); salopettes and gloves (with clips to attach to your jacket, or link them with a long piece of elastic to feed through your sleeves).
Chair aware
When you fall, get up, dust yourself down and get back on those skis
Don’t be afraid to ask operators or instructors for advice about getting on and off chairs and button lifts, it can be tricky.
Rays awareness
Protecting your skin is just as important on a ski holiday as it is on a summer break as the sun’s UV rays reflect strongly off the snow. Take a high SPF cream for your face, and remember the cold air will dry your lips, so pack a good lip balm.