Meet Mallorie!

Hello! And welcome to Uplift for Her. I created this space to be able to really dig in to the important health and wellness topics that we don't talk about enough. I want to simplify the approach women take to their health and wellness. There are SO many ways that we get information and it can be really overwhelming to figure out what information is right or wrong and where to start with all of it. I'm here to help you simplify!

First, introductions. 

My name is Mallorie and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. My husband and I have 2 adorable little girls--with one more on the way! I grew up in the Seattle area, went to Brigham Young University for my undergraduate degree in music education, then back to Seattle where I completed my medical degree at University of Washington. I completed my intern year of residency in Richmond, Virginia, then moved to Salt Lake City where I finished residency, met my husband, started my career as a doctor, and had 2 beautiful babies. Phew! 

I have been an OB/Gyn for the last 10 years and have loved my work. I am in the middle of transitioning out of my private practice into a different style of practice where I will be able to spend more time with patients and help them work on the key lifestyle elements that may be keeping them from feeling their best. I will be able to incorporate the conventional aspects of medicine I find helpful with what I have learned in integrative and functional medical training to be able to do what I'm most passionate about: help women feel their best. I mean, if we're not helping women feel their best, then what are we doing? Just putting bandaids on little problems. I want more for women. Women deserve more. 

What is wellness, anyway?

As a doctor, I talk a lot about health, but not nearly enough about wellness. I define wellness as the routines and habits that help us to feel our best and be our best. I use 6 wellness pillars to help simplify things. The 6 pillars are Emotional wellness, Physical wellness, Spiritual wellness, Intellectual wellness, Environmental wellness, and Social wellness.

If we have one pillar that is being neglected, we will not feel our best or be our best. In order to feel our best, we have to feel like our pillars our balanced. That doesn't mean they all need the same amount of time commitment! Sometimes you'll spend a lot of time in one category and the others will be still be ok. Other times you'll notice a few places that could benefit from your attention. By categorizing the different aspects of our lives, we can efficiently evaluate how we're doing and how to make improvements. My first podcast episode reviews these pillars in more detail so you can see how it works. 

And the health part of health and wellness?

Yes, I have a simplified approach here, too. I am a big believer in how cool the body is. Our bodies really are pretty good at doing their job if we give them the basics of what they need. I like to think about it as our 5 health pillars. Our 5 health pillars are Body movement, Nourishment, Stress management, Sleep, and Exposures. Most of them are self-explanatory; exposures may not be as familiar for some people. I think of exposures as the things we don't want our bodies to be exposed to, or at least keep it to a minimum. This would be things like smoking, air pollution, pesticides, etc. With all the health advice available, it can be difficult to know where to begin. But if we go through just these 5 categories, we can immediately find where we should focus our energy.

As a side note, you may notice I don't use "diet" or "exercise". I want to keep the focus on what we should be doing and avoid all the negative connotations that come with those buzz words. Instead of choosing which special "diet" is best for you, let's help you make a plan for how to best nourish your body. Instead of exercise, which so many associate with weight loss and something unpleasant, let's talk about what type of movement your body wants and what type you enjoy. I prefer to focus on the building and healing aspects of our health and wellness. 

So, where are these everyday tips you were talking about?

Today, I want to get you started with my number 1 favorite tip for health and wellness. Are you ready? The one thing I think all people should start with, no matter where they're at in their health and wellness journey, is meditation. I know this isn't always very popular. Just this week I had a patient tell me "I just don't really think it's real. It just seems too...out there." If this is you--stick around for one more minute.

Here's the thing: our brains want to solve problems for us. It wants to keep us alive. It wants to help us feel the right emotions. When we're stressed, it tells our bodies to secrete cortisol; when we look at our baby, it secretes oxytocin; when we eat something delicious like chocolate, it secretes dopamine. Our brain is constantly sending information to our bodies.

But do you know what else our brain is doing all the time? It is non-stop taking in information. Think of a regular day: do your hair and make-up, make the kids lunches, make a grocery list, meal plan, scroll social media, work, arrange pick-up for the youngest while you take the oldest to soccer, argue with your spouse, make up with your spouse, scroll social media again, listen to a podcast, watch Netflix. That's. A lot. For your brain to process all the time. So how does your brain have any sort of time or capability to think about the more important problems, problems like: what do I want out of life? How can I help my daughter feel more loved? How can I improve my skills to get that promotion at work? How can I feel more fulfilled? How can I improve my relationship with myself. 

We have to give our brains just a little bit of time and space to work through these things and I think one of the best ways to do this is through meditation. It doesn't have to be long! Even just starting with 5 minutes--or 1 minute! can begin to let your brain breathe, so to speak. Give it a minute to process. 

Do you know what else happens when we meditate regularly? We keep our stress hormones in better balance, which allows us to cope better. It can improve our self-image and our outlook on life. It can help with depression and anxiety. It improves your concentration. It can increase positivity. It helps with sleep. It can help with pain. It can help us stay healthy.

True physical, emotional, mental benefits. Which is why, it's my #1 health and wellness tip. You can get started with some really great guided meditations like on the apps Calm and Headspace. Other health and fitness apps like Peloton and Asana also offer guided meditations. Or you can find them on YouTube. If that seems too far out there for you, just close your eyes and count your breaths until you get to 50, and you'll still be off to a great start.  

This is me!

I am really excited to be here and share with you. I am always open to questions if you have something specific you'd like me to address! I'd love to get to know you too. Leave me a comment and tell me what your #1 health and wellness tip would be!