Exhale is a collection inspired by luxury, not of opulence but of time, space, clarity, and creating moments of being present. It has started a conversation both in the office and with our customers about their journey to wellness. As a woman led woman run business the juggles of work, family, friends and health are all too familiar. The first in our Women in Business portrait series, we connect with mama and business owner Lauryce Moore, the powers behind The Wholesome Co.

On meeting Lauryce, her passion for women's health and wellbeing is evident immediately. Forget keto and paleo, it is about hormones, skin, energy and feeling good. Food as medicine.

Originally a food technologies teacher, being at home with baby Indie (now 2) and making her own blends for energy and milk supply provided enough space and excitment for Lauryce to start The Wholesome Co. Motivated to share the goods with other women she has introduced blends to help manage stress and support skin health. Although there have been website and warehousing hiccups, her learnings are fast and clearly fuel the ambition. Now on the hunt for sustainable packaging and preparing for baby number two - She is undeniably a do-er!

The Saben team caught up with Lauryce to find out her top tips on promoting beauty and wellbeing from within…

Many women lead busy, stressful lives and often have limited time for any additional nourishing routine, do you have any tips for finding simple ways to fit in a new regime in?

I think for me the simplest way is to not try and follow the latest diet and wellbeing fads. Try not to do everything or too much at once.  Keep it simple. Do what works for you. I recall when I was younger I would try and follow a diet and throw out all the food in my cupboard to replace it with the ‘diet’ specific foods only for it to not last longer than a week. I now know that this was not right for me. Adding in something good each week rather than taking everything out at once is more balanced.

Personally, I like to have a smoothie every day or add my health blend to a drink. I make time for this every day as I know that the ingredients in this help nourish my body. It also means if I am busy, on-the-go and not eating the best I know that I have at least still given my body the fibre and fats that it needs.

I also make sure that every night I cleanse my face with natural skin care. This is super important to me and something I have done since teenage years.

What foods can we put in to our bodies that will improve the look and feel of our skin?

Glowing, beautiful skin is something we all desire. Many women hunt out the best skin care in hopes that it will magically fix their skin needs. While using natural skincare has its advantages it ultimately comes down to what you eat and what you put into your body. The skin is the largest organ in the body! One that we need to pay more attention too.

This is something I am so passionate about. There are so many amazing everyday foods that have so many benefits to our skin! My favourite would have to be omega fatty acids. You want these in your diet because they help keep your skin dewy and luscious! Often people who have dry skin or eczema are lacking in these crucial nutrients.

You can find omega fatty acids in foods such as; chia, flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, and also in fish and avocados Having these every day is super important. Having the food rather than a supplement or vitamin is also so much better in my opinion. It's why I created my Health Blends. I wanted to make it easy to get the goodness of foods into my diet!

Another ingredient that I am always harping on about to everyone is the misunderstood Psyllium husk - This is a form of fibre that works wonders! It is known as the ‘broom’ for the body. Fibre is really important to help the body get rid of any toxins. Poor digestion can result in the detoxifying systems struggling. What then happens is that the body has to filter these out in other ways and one of the quickest ways is through the skin.

Citrus foods rich in Vitamin C are also another of my top picks for glowing skin! - Vitamin C is more than just the vitamin we need to take when we come down with a cold. It helps build collagen and therefore helps keep skin smooth and elastic. Try eating more kiwifruit, blackcurrants, blueberries and broccoli. I love camu camu as a source of vitamin C as this fruit is naturally high in vitamin C

How does reducing stress in our lives affect the way we look and feel?

Stress is something we all know about right? Stress is all too common now and something that we just brush off as an everyday feeling. We feel stressed if we can't make it to the supermarket in time, sitting in traffic and being ‘busy’.

What many women don't realize is that stress can affect our hormonal system which can result in a vicious cycle of symptoms. Weight gain, poor skin, anxiety, headaches, low immunity and more. Stress is one of the biggest culprits affecting our hormones. It is really important that we take time to stop and realise what effects our busy life has on our body. When we become so busy our body cannot cope and it thinks that we are constantly on the go and in danger, this leads to the release of the stress hormone adrenaline. This is the short term get-me-out-of-danger hormone. The thing is the stress of everyday life such as reading an email in the night, not stopping for a lunch break and all those everyday tasks we dread is causing us to make adrenaline when we don't need it.. the result: our hormones switching off.

The great thing is that there are lots that you can do to help reduce the effects of stress. One of the best tips I could give anyone is to breathe. Sounds pretty simple but it is something that so many of us do not do properly, particularly when we are feeling stressed. I’m talking about big deep belly breaths. These are the kind that tell your body you are safe and not in danger and help instantly relieve any stress you might be feeling. You need to do at least 5 big deep breathes into your belly and then slowly breathe out.

Implementing strategies to help manage stress is super important. You will notice a difference in your mood, sleep, hormones and more!

Some of my top stress reducing tips are:

- Start deep belly breathing
- Try gentle walking or yoga, or implement a wind down strategy for the end of each day
- Enjoy a herbal tea such as chamomile, rooibos or green tea instead of coffee
- Introduce the amazing herb ashwagandha to your diet. A herb known to help reduce stress
- Eat more Vitamin C rich foods.
- Try not to eat on the go. Be more mindful of your down time and use this time to switch off and relax.

Lauryce will be hosting a workshop about womens health and wellbeing in store with Saben. Spaces are strictly limited. To reigister your interest please email brooke@saben.co.nz

For more from Lauryce, visit: thewholesomeco.com or stay tuned @TheWholesomeCoNZ

Lauryce wears highly coveted Frankie handbag in season favourite chestnut tan.