Wellness Travel Coaching and Independent Luxury Travel Consulting with Dr. Noreen Nguru

Please give us a brief introduction to who Dr Noreen Nguru is and how you got your start in Wellness Travel Coaching and Independent Luxury Travel Consulting.

I’m the daughter of an international lawyer and high-powered Kenyan diplomat so I grew accustomed to traversing the globe at an early age. During this impressionable time, I learned the true richness of being a global citizen and I guess I never grew out of the wanderlust!

As a young Black female doctor navigating misogynoir in highly competitive medical fields, I would occasionally feel stuck and stressed about the realities of the profession that I’d loved since I was a little girl. On top of that, I also wasn’t entirely sure how to create a lifestyle that both fulfilled me and allowed me to impact as many people as possible.

Travel for me was an escape, an adventure, but was more about wellness than what it seemed like on the outside. I would decide to change my reality by travelling and completely changing my surroundings to gain a fresh perspective on life and to explore my innermost thoughts.

I remember standing at the base of Mt Batur on my penultimate day in Bali in 2017, with the early morning sunlight dancing across my upturned face. That’s when I finally felt it. Peace, contentment and connection. Connection to the breathtaking landscape towering above me, to the locals sleepily setting up their market wares for the day and most significantly, to myself. With that sudden clarity, I realised that somewhere along the line I had fallen out of alignment with my mind, body and soul’s purpose. Burdened with the pressures of achieving career milestones and trying to meet everyone else’s expectations of me, I was burnout and merely existing.

Looking back, the trip was the catalyst for positive transformation in many areas of my life. And as I began to research the multitude of mental, physical, spiritual and scientific benefits that travel provides when we slow down and holistically explore our inner selves as we explore the world, I bolstered my knowledge by training as a travel consultant, becoming certified in cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness and the foundations of What The Doctor Recommends and prescribed wellness travel were laid.

Today, I support high-powered females like myself, battling imposter syndrome, burnout, stress and anxiety to connect with the essence of what makes them feel alive by using a range of psychology tools to help travelers break through self-limiting beliefs, realign their purpose, discover their innermost wants and needs when traveling, rather than just following the herd. My wellness travel prescriptions guide travelers to have purposeful individualized travel experiences that are meaningful as we work together using cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to achieve greater levels of wellbeing, happiness and personal fulfillment through mindful discovery.

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What is the Prescribed Wellness Travel movement? 

What makes What The Doctor Recommends an innovative disruptor in the wellness travel industry is that I view prescribed wellness travel to be the next frontier, the next evolution, if you like, of wellness. 

Preventative and Lifestyle medicine is a fast-growing medical speciality in the UK with more millennial physicians especially, advising basic lifestyle changes like adequate sleep, nutrition and exercise to holistically treat our patients. Even more so now, in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, I believe choosing to build wellness attributes into travels to allow for active rest, self-improvement and rebuilding mental reserves after this truly unprecedented event we’ve all lived through will help individuals better manage life and work stress moving forward. It’s the most enjoyable prescription you’ll ever receive!

Just as I prescribe medication to improve physical health, after my own experiences using the transformative nature of mindful travel to heal from professional burnout, stress and anxiety, I prescribe personalized curated wellness travel experiences to help burnt-out high-powered female professionals boost their mental health and build lasting resilience to the pressures of work and life, because I know it works.

The life coping skills that are built during the trips are long-lasting and transferrable to the workplace and day-to-day living.

That pretty much sums up my heart-centered mission!

How does travel help with mental health?

One of my favorite quotes is by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions”. 

It’s been scientifically proven that new experiences – particularly ones that allow you to immerse yourself in a different culture – improve neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to form new connections and pathways) increasing productivity and creativity in the process.

Travel, when done intentionally and mindfully, can facilitate a seismic mindset shift that allows you to gain clarity on who, what and where you are in life. The newfound perspectives gained through exploration, authentic interactions, vibrant cultural exchanges and thought-provoking experiences sparks imagination, forces introspection, builds resilience and reinforces tolerance.  If you integrate these discoveries into your everyday life and recognize that the positive changes do not automatically end after the tan fades,  travel can be a hugely transformative experience.

Travel is the new self care, how can people participate in travel for self care regardless of their budget?

There is a big misconception that wellness travel is automatically expensive but there are many ways to infuse self care/wellness attributes into any budget or style of travel. Self-care on your travels can mean meditating and rising with the sun for a beautiful start to the day. Reconnecting with nature with an idyllic hike and picnic, a visit to thermal hot springs, a cooking class, an art class for self-expression, checking into one of my Release and Restore retreats. So many ways! 

What is a Travel Coach and why would you recommend that travelers consider investing in one? 

In my experience, people return happiest when they travel with specific goals and motivations in mind. They often gain a greater sense of confidence and purpose. With a Travel Coach’s help, they are supported to translate the lessons learned to their now and completely shake up their old lifestyle.

Coaching is distinct from therapy, in that it tends to focus on helping functional people improve their lives, rather than treating people with clinical issues – although those lines aren’t always clear.

Instead, travel coaches focus on helping people find their “why” for travel and how to travel with intent. Travel coaches help to put the power back into the hands of the traveler through empowerment, mindset work, guidance, support, in-depth coaching, desired results, strategic planning, intuitive travel, education, and transformation.   Every travel coach is different because as travelers ourselves, we all have unique experiences, knowledge, skills, passions, interests, followers, and areas of expertise.

What are some of Dr Noreen’s wellness and travel tips for beginners?

Acknowledge where you are right now and next, where you would like to be. After reading this article, settle down with a notebook and write 5 things you would like to invest in to create a better version of yourself by January 2023. Then sit back and reflect on what you’re currently doing that’s holding you back from living a better, happier life. Most of us have something. It may be something obvious, like smoking, drinking or doing drugs. Or it may be something more subtle, like binge-watching Netflix every night instead of doing something more productive. Now write 5 actionable steps that you can take, starting from tomorrow, to work towards the goals you’ve just set.

Besides the questions above, can you provide other information as well you think would be perfect for our readers.

A quote I live by is: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind” – Anthony Bourdain

One key recommendation I’d like to leave The Official Black Magazine readers with is: do not fear change. Do not fear challenging yourself. And don’t fear the rush of jetting off to a foreign land, alone, at least once in your lifetime.