If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll know that we recently spent the morning hanging out with former-journalist and all-round wellness guru, Victoria-Anne Tessa. While we there, rummaging through her Kit & Ace-filled workout wardrobe and organic beauty stash, the Green for All Seasons editor was just back from her summer wellness workshop series at Soho Farmhouse. After being diagnosed with coeliac in her teens and an immense system collapse in her late twenties, she’s made it her mission to educate herself on all things health and wellness but also to share everything she’s learned too. That’s where her talks and seminars come in.
Talk to her for five minutes and she’ll have a whole host of fitness classes she’s recommend you try but self-love through taking the time to keep active isn’t the only message she’s promoting for keeping your mind and body in check. There’s healthy eating (aka stopping into food porn destinations like Bodyism, 26 Grains and The Goodlife Eatery), taking small steps with easy, achievable lifestyle changes (Ella Woodward would be proud), not to mention sleep and actively surrounding yourself with positivity, too. We caught up with her to find out more about her own wellness journey away from that rose-tinted vision of health-aided medium called Instagram and the tips and tricks she swears by on the daily.
ON WHAT INSPIRED HER TO LAUNCH GREEN FOR ALL SEASONS: I am coeliac and I ended up in hospital a few years ago with a collapsed immune system so that part of my journey definitely played a part. I was suddenly thrown into a space where I had to think in a completely new way about my health. I was fatigued and had very little energy. I could barely get out of bed without physical help. So I started educating myself, reading everything I could get my hands on about nutrition, health and clean beauty. I was willing to make sacrifices to feel well again. I found lots of wellbeing-inspired sites but none that I felt focused on the sum of all the parts together that also took into account beauty and elegance as well as healthy living. I wanted to combine the two. The philosophy of the site is simple: it is about self-love and care to inspire a conscious lifestyle. It is about curating a personal “green” story, so that when you click on you are suddenly immersed in a wellbeing journey, which will hopefully inspire you to create your own.
ON WHY WE’RE ALL MORE CONSCIOUS ABOUT BEING MINDFUL: I think people are having a bit of an awakening. Before we would all walk around not feeling quite right but also not talking about it to anyone. Now more of us are saying, hold on a minute, there is another way and are starting to see how great we might feel if you try different things. Being more mindful about our health isn’t a gimmick; you can almost instantly feel the results of a healthier lifestyle so just making the tiniest changes and seeing the impact that makes helps with awareness. For me, wellness means getting up each morning something I love for myself whether it’s eating well, putting the right products on my skin, exercising or growing mindfully or surrounding myself with positivity.
ON HER WELLNESS JOURNEY: I am a coeliac and haven’t eaten gluten since I was a teenager so I suppose I had a head start on clean living quite early on. Like with most people though, when I went to university I wanted to be like everyone else so I slacked off a little and got ill again. Eventually the cycle stopped and I realized as I became older that feeling great was not a compromise, it’s essential! When I started listening to my body things changed massively. The moment I started being kinder to myself and taking the time to mindfully add healthy habits to my routine everything changed in the most positive way. Today I live by setting myself micro goals. They make creating a balance feel easier to implement – small, achievable steps that are easier to stick to. Food-wise, I am pretty in line with Michael Pollan’s view: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” I love his books, and his show Cooked was amazing. I suppose my approach all comes from my Israeli mother. She was brought always drummed in the idea of moderation. From an early age she exposed me to alternative healing methods, and when I was little and the other kids were eating junk food, I was feasting on avocado, cherry tomatoes, olives and cottage cheese!
HER WORKOUT ROUTINE: I try and go to the gym and do a class at least three times a week. When I can fit in a yoga session, Idaba is my favourite studio in London and they have some great teachers at Triyoga in Covent Garden too. To clear my mind I go for a run – pounding the pavements always throws up a new perspective for me. For a fun boost to my week I try and hit a Psycle class – instructor Sal never fails to cheer me up and get me rocking! No matter what I’m doing, I’ll always eat half a banana and some nut better or half an avocado before I start working out, followed by carbs or clean protein afterwards.
ON THE THINGS SHE’S TESTED IN THE NAME OF RESEARCH: I’ve tried a raw diet, gone vegan, do the 80:20 and 5: 2 diets, not to mention countless cleanses, detoxes and colonics. You name it, I’ve tried it. I wanted to try them all out and see how they affected my body so I could really advise my clients based on personal experience.
FAVOURITE HEALTHY FOODIE SPOTS IN LONDON: Chucs in Westbourne Grove for their new healthy breakfasts. The terrace evokes the glamour of Cannes and their menu reminds me of LA and the matcha pancakes are incredible. I love Bodyism for their Paleo bread and The Goodlife Eatery on Motcomb Street is brilliant for dreamy gluten-free and dairy-free carrot cake and hot food. I’m also a big fan of 26 Grains in Covent Garden for their delicious breakfast porridges and salads and The Detox Kitchen for their gluten-free courgette egg muffins when I am on the run.