The Beauty of Authenticity with Sarah Britton, Founder of My New Roots
Today we talk to holistic nutritionist Sarah Britton, Founder of the iconic health food blog My New Roots, wellness platform Grow and Co-Founder of Golden Circle Retreats. Her always inspiring, never dogmatic way of teaching is truly something special and makes you not only excited about healthy food but also about LIFE itself.
Let’s dive into this amazing conversation with Sarah about the power of elemental breathwork, attuning to the pace of nature and the beauty of truly being yourself.
A note from & Spirit Founder Isabelle:
“There are people you meet who fundamentally change the way you see the world. I can wholeheartedly say that without Sarah and the amazing retreat she created together with LY Founder Mikkala, my life wouldn’t be the same and this magazine wouldn’t even exist. I’m honoured to - 5 years later - sit down with her again and share her wisdom with you in today’s interview.”
Let’s start with our favourite question: Sarah, when do you feel most beautiful?
I feel the most beautiful on a summer day coming out of water, hair knotted and full of seaweed, skin salty and bronze, and not really wearing anything! I feel the most myself, the most ‘me’ when I’m with the elements, connected to nature without barrier. No dress, makeup, or material thing can make me feel as beautiful as I do when I’m the most undone, the most stripped bare, one with nature.
What does it mean for you to live authentically?
Living authentically looks like being true to myself and my values, living in accordance with what's important to me and shutting out the noise of the world that may tell me something different. It’s so easy to get caught up in outside expectations and the opinions of others. Really, my whole career has been about living authentically to my voice and figuring out what is important to me, then sharing that with my audience and community. The moment I get off track, following the voice or opinion of someone else, I lose the plot. In these instances, I return to my internal compass, and these are the times I’m most successful and most proud of my work and myself.
You have always been very open with your community. Recently when you made the change to reintroduce animal products into your diet. How can we learn to speak our truth more often and to make that a core principle of our lives?
This is a perfect example of when I felt so strongly called to share something and was so worried about how my audience would perceive me, how their opinions would change. Following my internal compass once again led me back to myself and this sharing was so warmly received by so many and in a way feels like a deepening of the relationship I have with my incredibly supportive and loving audience.
It’s one of those things easier said than done to “speak our truth” for most of us. The first step is practice. Start with something small, share your preferences – like green tea over black but always settle for black because of someone else? Choose green today! Always sweeping the kitchen and wishing someone else would do it every so often? Ask! These small steps can lead to a greater alignment with who you are and allow you to feel more confident in speaking what’s true for you.
Another key piece to this is having a community of people around you that will support and empower you to live authentically with who you are too. If you are constantly getting shut down or receiving criticism when you try to live authentically - it’s so easy to be demotivated and to perceive that your truth doesn’t matter… it DOES! Surrounding yourself with people who will support you to find yourself and your voice and catch you without judgment as you learn and grow, is so important. Surround yourself with people who believe in you - it helps you believe in you too!
You just got certified to teach breathwork. What kind of breathwork do you teach and what do you think is so special about working with our breath?
I follow and facilitate what’s called Elemental breathwork. This style of breathing is focused on music and attuning our bodies, minds, and spirits to the elements through the beauty and flow of music. Earth, water, air, and fire each build with the tempos of different music and they all increase as we go through a session. I think what’s so powerful and special for me, that if we’re here on this planet, we’re breathing, we all carry around this tool everyday with us and it’s accessible to everyone. Some forms of movement and ‘exercise’ are only for people who are able-bodied, experienced, practiced, or coordinated, and with breathing, you’re practicing everyday and it’s one of the vital aspects of being alive - you’re already a pro!
With focused attention, changing rhythms, and researched techniques, you can venture off into a completely different realm. It’s so powerful and some of my peers have had incredibly spiritual and awakening experiences through something so simple, something we do all the time! Breathwork has the potential to lead to major breakthroughs and I’m so excited to continue to share with my audience and community - a perfect example of something that’s truly and authentically me.
Breath is spirit coming into us. The word ‘inspire’ comes from ‘in-breathing’. When we are breathing inspiration into our bodies in a conscientious way, remarkable things are possible. And it’s not only the power of breathing, but the realization that a thing you’ve been doing since the moment you were born can blast open your doors of perception and can have big impacts on the rest of your life too. Tap into this power anywhere: on the bus, in a meditation space, sitting at a desk; breathing can completely change your state, regulating the nervous system, which is the foundation of health. Stay tuned for much more about breathwork in the coming months and years here at My New Roots.
What are some of your favourite beauty and wellness rituals?
I just love taking care of my skin. I got into it many years ago through Nadine Artemis and Living Libations - her book Renegade Beauty is a must for all looking to learn about their skin and body in a deeper way (and / or just to read gorgeously poetic prose).
At this point, I only use Living Libations products**, but throughout my life I would put cream on my face at night sometimes but didn’t take time to nurture that part of me. I thought it was self indulgent to stand in the bathroom preening and primping but as I get older, I’ve really started appreciating my skin on a deeper level and recognized it’s not really about vanity at all. I love taking 10-15 mins in the evening to wind down and to use my several tools: like Gua Shas (traditional jade, mushroom shaped ones of white jade), dry skin brushes (for face and body), a reflexology wand, and more. Of course none of these are required for a skincare routine that you love but these really have elevated my relationship to my nightly routine.
Every morning I start my day with a facial dry skin brush, and morning and night I anoint my skin with beautiful oils that smell amazing - from real ingredients that transport you to different places and times. Sometimes I’ll put shimmer on my cheeks, a tint on my lips, but I keep it very simple. Finding natural products I love and knowing what my skin needs as the seasons change is truly nourishing to my being. Knowing I ‘get’ to take care of my skin everyday is a privilege that I don’t take for granted.
**Use code mynewroots15 for 15% off all LL products.
You inspire us to make healthy choices every day. What is a simple change we can make today to nourish ourselves better?
Get in the kitchen! Cooking is an opportunity to slow down and tune into what our bodies are needing. It’s a ritual we can connect to multiple times a day if we want / can. We can buy as much healthy food, take-out, prepped meals as possible and still be missing the connection to what we’re eating. Eating is an intimate act, if we’re not contributing our energy and care into our own nourishment there’s always going to be something missing. It’s important to know that not all have this privilege, but if you do have that space and can carve out the time to make a meal for yourself (even once a week) you’ll be more deeply nourished physically, mentally and spiritually. It’s the most empowering feeling to feed those you love and who love you back - taking care of yourself and loving yourself. Even if it’s a piece of toast, food is transcendent - it’s way more than macros, calories, etc. it’s joy, pleasure, nourishment, medicine.
How can we invite more calm and beauty into our lives?
Nature has all the answers. I go outside to go inside, to find more beauty and calm in my life. I’ve gotten to know my nervous system and how she works over the years, and I know that screens and phone time are not great for mine. They ramp me up and when I step into nature I almost immediately co-regulate with plants, animals, insects, the elements. They live and move at a different pace, they are slow, nature does not rush but yet everything is accomplished! That idea is true and relieving for me. I try to remember to live, be, work, and play with the pace of nature. Again, this is luxury for most though it should be a human right, preserved for us all. Even if you can find a weed growing in a crack of the sidewalk, a houseplant, etc. sitting with this growing and living part of nature for 5 mins can really change your state. Attuning your awareness to living things around you can be really powerful and not just for our nervous systems but when we put ourselves in the way of beauty everyday - look at a flower, leaf, or feel the sun on your face - we can also see the beauty in ourselves. It’s reflected back to us. We are nature.
What do you love most about the work you do?
This is a hard question! I appreciate the most that my work lets me express myself creatively in many different ways. Visually through photography, through written word, through physically creating recipes, through my senses smelling and tasting the vast ranges of flavour. It all can be challenging at times, and frustrating like anything else, but the contrast helps shape my desire.
Knowing that what I create in my kitchen will travel all over the world makes me feel deeply connected to others - this is such an honour. The energy comes back tenfold. It’s a miracle to visualize all of us stirring a soup together and feeling like a real community though we’re so far away. It’s so humbling to know we’re all over our stoves at the same time, feeding ourselves and our families the same foods with tweaks and adaptations, with love and care - how cool is that?! This connection is remarkable and I love that aspect of my work very much, too.
What are some health and wellness topics that you find particularly fascinating right now?
I’ve been diving deep into a few things right now. Getting to know the mechanics of metabolism, understanding and respecting blood sugar on a deeper level is really key for me, and also mineralization is something I’m learning about as of late. These are all things we can ignore for a while and suddenly our bodies are like ‘what's going on here’!
Revisiting some material I learned in school and marrying that with new research, remembering and rediscovering, coming back full circle is a real joy.
What are you currently reading?
I was given Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist for my birthday and what a gift it is. I am rereading this pivotal story and excited for the magic to unfold. I don’t read a lot of fiction and it’s a real treat to learn in a passive and creative way as opposed to the concrete, fact-based non-fiction I usually read. Learning through story and narrative is something I think we all could use more of in our daily lives. Get back to the magic and wonder around us!
GROW
Explore cooking videos, live classes, exclusive recipes, inspirational interviews, energizing exercise classes, and projects for your home and garden – by Sarah Britton, founder of My New Roots.
Dive into the world of Grow and learn more about Sarah’s unique approach on healthy living and nutrition. Never dogmatic and always inspiring.
Using code &SPIRIT* you can explore the world of Grow for one month and learn how truly nurturing yourself can look like.
Sarah was interviewed by Isabelle Brockbals, Founder of &Spirit.
Photo Credit: Sarah Britton, My New Roots.
*Affiliate Partnership.
**Affiliate Partnership.