Interview: Lola Berry, mindful nutritionist

Lola Berry is a colourful, adventurous and with a healthy dose of Aussie eccentricity, Lola Berry is definitely not your average nutritionist. She blogs, tweets, writes and talks about good health and whole-food, and her knack for translating the most technical information into easy-to-follow advice has made her one of Australia’s most popular nutritionists. Her September 2012 release, The 20/20 Diet, guides readers through a 20-week process that Lola promises will help them reap major health benefits. The 20/20 Diet became the number one diet book in Australia within weeks of its release.

Armed with enthusiasm and tonnes of ideas, Lola has made it her mission to help as many people as possible live a healthy, fulfilled life. She has been a guest nutritionist on Channel Ten’s ‘The Circle’ show and is a regular guest on TV shows such as ‘The Project’, MIX 106.5’s nationally broadcast ‘Body and Soul’ radio show and a contributor to numerous magazines and newspapers. Lola is based in Melbourne, where she runs her own nutrition clinic.

Join Lola Berry on her meditation team and get your friends and family to sponsor your challenge HERE 

1.    What led you to meditation?

I felt like there was something missing in my life, I guess could say I was a bit melancholy, and I’m a pretty bubbly person by nature. I then experienced a few bumps in life; heartbreak, career low points and battled an eating disorder whilst working in the public eye. I knew there had to be something more to life of this existence. I felt I could only help and inspire others once I had helped myself. So that’s how I found mediation, or it rescued me, however you’d like to look at it.

2.    What value has practising meditation brought to your life?

Well in those tough times, it helps to put things into perspective but honoring the moment and understanding that there is a purpose for everything even the tough times, it all helps to makes us much stronger. It also brings me balance, I live a fast-paced lifestyle and it can get really easy to get caught up in things, you lose perspective and sometimes yourself. As weird as this sounds, meditation seems to ground me.

3.    How has meditation supported you in your professional life?

So much, If I don’t take time out for me to meditate then I can’t cope with stress as well.

When I meditate I feel like the message I’m spreading is much stronger, it’s like anything is possible.

As a nutritionist, health is key to success in my career, and I notice when I don’t take time to meditate my health can start to slip and before you know it, then my mood and relationships suffer.

It also helps me to see other people’s perspectives and let go of negative situations. In the past I would have brewed over and over, but now I let it go, learn the lesson I need to from the situation and move forward.

That’s how I moved through a recent career blow, I lost a big tv show pilot to be shot in London for a worldwide network, it fell through literally a week or two before I was expected to film, then a week after that my UK agents dropped me. Now for the first few hours after I got let go I was a mess, I’m not going to lie, but then I took some time out, mediated in nature (my favorite place to meditate) and wrote the UK agents a thank you letter. And then I just let it go, knowing that something more amazing was on it’s way. Without meditation I would have let that really bring me down, affecting my self-esteem and self-worth.

4.    What are the biggest obstacles to your practice?

I believe making the time for meditation, just like any aspect of health takes discipline. You have to make a deal with yourself that you want to be the best version of yourself. And that takes a commitment. For me, I thought I’d always need to meditate in some kind of sacred space, but then I realised that sacred space is everywhere and always available for you to tap into. My favorite word in the entire world is “biophilia” and that refers to the healing power of mother nature. So it’s my favorite place in the entire world to meditate, anywhere in nature.

5.    What is a quote that most inspires you and why?

Where do I start there’s so many amazing quotes. I love this Rumi quote “set your life on fire, seek those who fan your flames” and this by Lykke Li  “the human heart is the only substance in the universe that can become stronger after it’s been broken.”

But my all-time favorite, I was really depressed and I contacted an old friend who knows me so well but we aren’t in each others lives any longer, but I didn’t know who else to talk to, and these were his words “don’t waste anymore time dwelling on the past, you can’t change anything that’s happened so move forward, spread your wings and don’t look back.”

6.    What is a book that has opened you to new ideas and inspired your growth, why?

I love “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle, and anything Osho!

7.    What Mindful Music do you listen to (ie. music that grabs your full attention and brings you into the moment.)

For me I’m drawn to passion, so it can be anything that I feel like I can connect to. I listen to so many different types of music from monks chanting to Radiohead, Father John Misty, Dead Man’s Bones, Sigur Ros, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Cinematic Orchestra, there’s even this amazing army choir called the “Russian red army” their amazing songs are so emotive. But if you want to YouTube a show-stopper, look up “Higher Love – James Vincent McMorrow”.

8.    Why are you being Mindful in May?

Because it’s the only way to be.  My goal is to be the best version of myself that I can be, meditation and mindfulness helps me to live this goal.

Feeling inspired? Click here to find out more about Mindful In May 2021.