Claudia Dumond is a Holistic Health Coach & Founder of Minimondo with over 20 years experience in health & wellbeing. Her own experience has inspired her to empower others on their journey to wellbeing and to find ways to truly fall in love with a healthy lifestyle. She’s always loved motivating others to be their best, as a Personal Trainer of 15 years, a Managing Director in multiple Advertising Agencies and most importantly as a mum. She knows what it takes to make the positive changes necessary to truly nurture her world and now, through her unique approach to coaching, courses and products, she’s empowering women to nurture theirs.
Marie gives an insight into understanding with vibrations and frequencies matter when it comes to your skin and wellbeing. She takes you on a journey of how the environment we surround ourselves in and the people we associate with can impact our mood and health.
Claudia Dumond is a Holistic Health Coach & Founder of Minimondo with over 20 years experience in health & wellbeing. Her own experience has inspired her to empower others on their journey to wellbeing and to find ways to truly fall in love with a healthy lifestyle. She’s always loved motivating others to be their best, as a Personal Trainer of 15 years, a Managing Director in multiple Advertising Agencies and most importantly as a mum. She knows what it takes to make the positive changes necessary to truly nurture her world and now, through her unique approach to coaching, courses and products, she’s empowering women to nurture theirs.
Marie gives an insight into understanding with vibrations and frequencies matter when it comes to your skin and wellbeing. She takes you on a journey of how the environment we surround ourselves in and the people we associate with can impact our mood and health.
Welcome to Good Vibes Only. I am your host, Marie Reynolds, and I'm joined today by the gorgeous Claudia Dumont. She's a holistic health coach. Claudia helps women fall in love with the healthy lifestyle, in particular, mums and women who feel like they've lost their sense of identity she can help women find balance and create new lasting habits. Welcome, Claudia. Hello, Marie. Nice to meet you. It's a pleasure to have you. So if you can just explain what your background is and what you do. Yeah, sure. I'm Claudia I set up a company called Minimondo, which is all about offering holistic health coaching and courses predominantly to women and mums. I've been in the health and fitness, industry for about 20 years now. I started. Teaching step classes in the gym, if anyone remembers those. I remember them only too well and I've got no coordination whatsoever. So when they were clapping and stepping to the right, I was skipping and hopping to the left. Yes, I used to love those classes, they were so much fun. So that was kind of where, where I started. And then I became a personal trainer and I set up a women's outdoor fitness group in London. I always felt like, Men could connect through sports and fitness. Maybe they could go out and play football or they watch a lot of sports. And there's always that kind of connection for men. And maybe for women, it's just a little bit less obvious, maybe more so today with, the rise in yoga and, and things like that, but back when I started, um, My outdoor fitness group, there wasn't really a lot, going on. So I set that up to bring women together through being healthy and thriving, which was amazing. And then, I became a mom and that kind of, brought a lot of change. In my life. And even though I was very fit before, actually, that was something that just kind of almost disappeared when I had kids. I don't know why. I think I just kind of went all in on motherhood or what I thought motherhood should be. Yeah. Cause there's a lot of pressure, isn't there? When, you first become a mom of what you should be and what you should be doing to your, baby and your body. And there's ever such a And also the hormones obviously kick in. Definitely. I've always been a bit of a perfectionist and I think maybe less so now. Um, but you know, when the kids were young, I felt like everything needed to be done perfectly. And then that becomes very overwhelming. And from there, I then started to take more of an interest in holistic wellbeing. I I'd say before that it was predominantly through a kind of fitness angle. Um, And nutrition, but yeah, that, that kind of got me interested in holistic wellbeing because I really had to reassess how to get myself back on track and feeling genuinely healthy and happy again, um, after having my kids and just putting myself first a little bit more, which, you know, is a common theme for moms. But that's where mini Mondo was born, out of becoming a mother and kind of going through these. It's big changes. It's absolutely fantastic. It's such a brilliant idea because I think a lot of the emotions that go on with being a new mom guilt is one of them guilt for having that time for yourself and it's really important to connect with other people, yeah, it's very, very important. So just explain what Minimondo is and what you do and the type of courses that you offer. Yeah, absolutely. I predominantly offer health coaching, so holistic health coaching. Through generally one to one, it could be a kind of introductory call or generally I'll work with clients on a longer term period, ideally at least a three month period because changes take quite a long time to, embed and to stick. It's really programming thought patterns, isn't it? Yeah, exactly. And also I really like to look at well being in a really positive way. I think well being is sometimes seen as something really boring, a burden, lots of rules, lots of things you can't do and can't eat. And so I really like to. Flip that on its head and view wellbeing and try to work with my clients to, to shift even that mindset that actually putting yourself first and being healthy is showing love to yourself. And that's kind of where it all needs to come from. And so I've also created, a course that's really close to my heart called the gorgeous mama reboots. I love that title. Yeah, so mums who, maybe just feel a bit stuck and can't quite turn things around to feel healthy and happy and kind of thriving again. so that's, my signature course. And then I have a mini course, like a little introductory course called New You, Crafting Your Wellbeing Blueprints. So that's kind of a, a bit of a kickstart if you just want to. watch a kind of 30 minute video with some worksheets and activities just to get you thinking about what's important to you. And therefore, what actions should I take that are going to get me to where I want to be? And it's just a very quick, And are these online courses or are they in person courses or how do they work? Yeah, so those two are online and I also work with clients to take people through those courses on a one to one basis. So we would literally work through together, a coaching one to one approach. But if somebody wants to do it in their own time, and it just feels more comfortable than they can also take those courses as, video online courses. And what about, pregnant mums? Do you sort of like do any coaching for mums to be and then like easing them into the transition? Yeah, I think that's a really important point because actually, you know, prevention is sometimes better than trying to reverse something that's already happened. So I think pregnancy is a really important time because you can actually, start to bring these healthy habits in during pregnancy. And actually, if you, if you've worked through those in the nine months. You hopefully will stand a better chance to keep those going. Yeah, it's almost like building a foundation, isn't it? Because I don't think Yes. No matter who tells you how lovely it is with childhood and birth and everything, no one can prepare you for what is about to come. Oh, completely, completely. And I'm sure people tried to tell me, but, you just can't ever understand, you know, no one can ever say to you, Oh, you know, when you did this thing in your life, it's like that, you know, there's just nothing to compare it to and some people, you know, some people go into motherhood and, you know, flourish and, and, and works amazingly. And others, you know, it can be a challenge. It doesn't mean you don't love your kids, but just keeping, a little moment for yourself in motherhood is really important and you hit the nail on the head, it is about, grounding techniques. And I kind of like to think of them as anchoring as well. You know, those two words are really important because actually these healthy habits that you can bring into your life, you can come back to all the time, anytime. You can kind of steer off course a little bit. And then they kind of need to anchor you back down and they're all tools and techniques to just bring you back to reset and grounding. And I think when you have a baby, especially when you first have a new baby there's so many people that, that give advice and especially midwives and what you should and shouldn't be doing. And it's so important to. Understand that you know your baby better than anyone else. Yeah, and to trust yourself that that is true. I think I read so many books and I was asked the question recently, what would I do differently? And I think I would just not read books. Because it really meant I stopped trusting my own judgment and intuition. And actually, if you just say no, I have to go with what feels right here and really listen to what's going on, you're likely to end up on the right path. I think, I think that goes for everything. I mean, even through different stages in a woman's life, going through things like menopause or anything like that. Especially now on social media, everybody's an expert, at the end of the day, you're all individual people, and you have to go on this journey. It's lovely to have advice, but trust your own instincts and trust your own intuition. Yeah, absolutely. And that's why I set Minimondo up because whilst you can learn a lot from social media, I think if you're not necessarily in the industry itself, it can be sometimes hard to differentiate between someone who, who has qualifications and that is really important to me. And of course you can learn from your own experience, but I think what I have done is, is bring those two together. I have the. Qualifications and the credibility and people can trust that what's being said is, is, something that they can follow and authentic exactly. But of course I have my own experience that, um, you know, I kind of took myself through my gorgeous mama reboot course and tried different things. And I think nowadays, if you're not in the industry to really know where you're getting your source of information from. So that's really important for me. In setting up my business. Yeah. If you've got a platform, and you've got followers, then people think, Oh, so and so said this, but actually they've got no experience. Yeah, no qualifications and actually that kind of leads me on to, my whole approach to holistic health is very much about bio individuality. And sometimes that's quite difficult for people to understand because they want to follow something, you know, like, Oh, what's. Latest diet because it's easy kind of to follow, but actually if you realize that you are an individual and make wellbeing as fun and joyful as possible, you can actually test and learn lots of different things, test and try and tweak and see it a bit as a game, enjoy it, but ultimately. It is about listening to your body. It is about, for me and for what I do, it is about choosing more natural things. You know, it's kind of going back to basics a little bit. Listen to your body, choose natural, have a bit of fun, find the joy, you know. It's not really about the latest diet, you know. That's right. No, you're singing my song, I'm telling you. Don't worry, I'm right on the same wavelength. So I had a look at your, your website and I loved the little ones that you were doing with your little boy, you not only do these techniques for pregnancy mums to be new mums, it's literally managing the tasks of being a mum. So explain what these little videos are that you were doing so that was a COVID project actually. We were all stuck indoors and we couldn't really, go out and keep fit and, as we maybe would have done before. One of the things I think is challenging for anyone with well being is finding time. Yeah. And a lot of mums, always say they just don't have time. But one of the things that I think is one of the most. Wonderful things to do is to do things with your kids. So the fitness videos were all about right. How do we as a family stay fit and healthy? And so we made, I mean, I don't really like to show my kids on social media. So I got them to dress up in superhero. I loved that I think that's really good because it it makes it all part of the adventure and fun for kids yeah exactly and even sometimes they watch the videos and because they're a bit older now you know they're like oh yeah that's me so that was that was a lot of fun that was so much fun putting those together but I really believe in in Bringing the family and trying, if you feel like you really don't have time, try to combine things. So a walk with the kids. Actually, that's a beautiful moment, especially if they're a little bit open to have a real connection, have a conversation. Kids sometimes like to talk more when they're not looking at you, right? That's why conversations in the car are sometimes quite good, you know. But a walk with the kids, a bit of exercise at home. We literally yesterday all did a fitness video together, so we all were on the rug doing sit ups and they're having fun and we're having fun and actually we're kind of educating them as well. It's also quality time as a family, which is really important as well Tell us what the main challenges of a new mum I like to kind of call them myths, actually, because there's sometimes stories that we tell each other. So you said it earlier, mum guilt, that's, that is huge. You think you have to be there with your child all the time. One of the other things that is a challenge is, Mom's wanting balance and whilst, the kind of goal of balance is an important one, actually that's sometimes is a myth in itself. So maybe as a new mom, you do have to be there for your child from the offset for the first three months. And so your priorities change a little bit but then that needs to kind of not last forever. So maybe it's the first two or three months to feel comfortable as a new mom. And then you'll have to start shifting your focus a little bit, maybe back to yourself. So that kind of myth of, I need to find balance and trying to do it in finding balance, everybody's trying to do it all. Actually, that's a myth in itself. That's not, achievable. So actually it's about saying what is. A priority and what's important to me right now. And what are the two or three top things I really need to be focusing on. And over time that will ebb and flow and it will shift into different priorities. And so you find your balance by accepting what's important right now. And what's important further down the line. Yeah. So balance is something that people, you know, women come to because they're trying to get it all done and feel like they need to get it all done, but it's impossible. The mum guilt is kind of a myth. A lot is spoken about it now in terms of the more you give love to yourself and the more you care for yourself, the better mum you will be. I mean, it's absolutely true. Your child will benefit, if you're happy and if you're stable and rested, then obviously your children and your family as a whole will benefit from it. Yeah, exactly. You do design thinking techniques. Can you explain a little bit more about that? Yes, absolutely my other life that I lead is in advertising and I've worked in advertising for about 20 and one of the techniques that is used within advertising to brainstorm new products or new ideas is this design thinking technique. Um, and and so I've taken that technique and brought it into health coaching because in marketing and in advertising, it is all about the customer. It's about understanding the customer. Who are they? What is their persona? What are their needs? What are their wants? and actually that's what we should be asking ourselves. So there are a lot of tools and techniques that use these kind of focus to turn on ourselves. Okay. who is it that you want to become? What are your needs? What are your wants? And then out of that, you can start to identify. 10 possible actions, actually only four really aligned to who I want to become and what my needs and wants are. That starts to feel a lot more achievable, rather than trying to do everything. So it really is about getting focused, but a lot of the design thinking techniques is about, turning the attention on yourself, and also creativity. So one of the things that, I found over the years is if someone has a want or a desire to lose weight, maybe they will start a new diet. And that kind of lasts for a little bit. And then after a while it stops and they go back to what they were doing before. Then they might try another diet. So we kind of repeat the same patterns over and over again. Actually, the tools that we use in design thinking allow you to start thinking outside the box a little bit. So it really is about creatively thinking and trying to think differently to solve the same problem. so that people are not on this hamster wheel of repeatedly trying what feels like something different, but is ultimately the same, right? One diet here, one diet there, and not really getting the results, but with these exercises that I work with people on, we just have a bit of fun and get creative and brainstorm and really think about what are the actions that somebody can take that are going to help them achieve what they want to achieve in a fun way, in a joyful way, in a sustainable way. So I find it works really well to kind of. Turn what we use in big business onto onto ourselves. That's really interesting. I do something called the non emotional contract and it's all about,, not overthinking and putting things down in, a specific plan and seeing what you can do with and what you can't deal with. thinking about sort of like a mum's role. What age groups do you coach up to I mean, honestly, it can be, from, as you say, pregnant women, right through to, women with teenage kids, because each stage is different. And our kids change, and we think we've got it sorted. And then they change again. And then we think we have it sorted again. Women going through their transition of motherhood of becoming a new mother and everything, I remember someone saying to me, your child will go to bed one day and you'll wake up and you'll think who the hell is that who's taking my child and I thought that's not going to happen to my living. No way. And she woke up and I just thought. Oh my God, I don't know who this child is. And I'll tell you something, the different stages of how a child grows and how you as a mother has to adapt to that and, and the dynamics between the children, either, you know, boys and girls or whatever, it's really difficult. And another stage that I found, I think actually it was, it was the worst stage of motherhood. That was when My daughter went left for university and I literally felt bereft. It was almost like a grieving and like my daughter's like 26 now and even now I still look at her pictures and you don't realize it's like a grieving of a childhood. Yeah. You know, even though I'm so unbelievably proud of her, she's amazing. She's just an amazing young woman, but you grieve for that childhood. And someone said something to me once, and it was the only thing that really resonated. They said, your children do not belong to you. They pass through you. You just guide them up into adulthood and you have to then let them go. I had this overwhelming sense of like I'd abandoned her at uni and she was on her own and she was out there and she's this fragile little bird and actually She's as strong as anything and she's been amazing. I think, you know, honestly, the way that I see it is also these are really key moments of change. Mm. Um, and whenever we, as people go through moments of change, those moments can sometimes just knock us off course a little bit. Yeah. So, whether it is the becoming a mother part, which obviously can affect very much your identity because of who you were before and after. Or whether it's when your children leave home, you become an EMP nest. And, that's still a real moment of change. And one of the things we touched on earlier is about how having these kind of healthy grounding, habits to come back to, to kind of feel anchored because it is in those moments of change that you kind of need to remember those things and come back to them and, they will change for everybody over time. And one of the important things that I work with women on is saying. What you're doing today may not be the things that you'll do in 10 years time. That's fine. You're finding what's working for you now. And then as your children grow, and again, you go through moments of change and you change, you might have, a love for something that starts to grow that was never there before or. You might not like the same foods and so you'll have to kind of change what your what's making you feel healthy and grounded and, it's similar kind of approach at any stage really. And what I really try to do is empower women to, as we've said, kind of listen to what is going on and trust that they. know what to do. but I'll work with women to kind of work through those things. Yeah, Tell us what, your website is, your social, handles and where people can reach out to you and what courses you offer. Yeah, sure. So my website is, www. weareminimondo. com. the Instagram handle is at weareminimondo. On, Facebook as well. And the two main online courses, if people wanted to do them in their own time is, the New You course, and that can be found on my website. And the gorgeous mama reboot cause, which is also on my website and, people can book coaching sessions via my website as well. So if it's a kind of introductory 90 minute call, we will work through techniques as slightly a faster pace because it's one call, but it's a really nice way to get an introduction to how I coach and just work through some of these themes that we talked about around, What is it that you want to need? Who is it that you want to become? I'm really getting clarity on that. And then having a little bit of creative brainstorming around what might be the things that, that you could do to, to try in your life. And I use that word, intentionally because sometimes we try things and fail and then stop. Actually, it's all about trying and. tweaking. And so I work with clients to, to work through those things as well. Perfect. Well, listen, Claudia, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you today and it's been really interesting to see what you do. And I love what you do. I love that you mean involve the children and the family as a whole. So check Claudia Dumond out and thank you so much Thank you so much, Marie. Such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you.
