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Loise Machira is making wellness as a lifestyle an everyday conversation amongst both the youth and older generation. Having been appointed the Global Wellness Day ambassador in Kenya, Loise set up a super informative day that benefited people across all ages and genders. There was a yoga session, a physical health panel, a mental health panel, a zumba class and wellness checks throughout the day. Anyone who missed this should bookmark the second Saturday of June next year.
I was honored to interview her for my segment Wellness Watch of the Travel log magazine, a Standard Media Group publication.
There still seems to be some confusion around wellness – what is wellness and what does it entail?
Wellness is the active process of making daily healthy choices that contribute to improving your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. This means you’re conscious about your well being and deliberate about optimizing your health.
Of everything else, why did you settle on pursuing wellness?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that I chose to pursue wellness. It’s a lifestyle I started embracing from when I was 18 years old and when I experienced the endless benefits it had and continues to have in my life, I fell in love with the topic as a whole and eventually taught myself everything I know. I am currently working on getting my certification in wellness coaching.
What sparked Tizi Talks?
After getting so intrigued in wellness as a lifestyle, I did a lot of reading back in university after I would finish my classes and even on weekends when I wasn’t out partying. The first time I joined a gym was when I was 18years old but I didn’t understand how it all worked especially the nutrition aspect. When I started becoming more active, I noticed significant changes not just physically, but mentally and emotionally which intrigued me. Since I couldn’t afford to hire a trainer and a nutritionist, I started reading books, magazines, blogs and watched documentaries and free web series on all things healthy living!
At some point I even enrolled in a Fitness & Nutrition Diploma; although I didn’t finish the course due to unavoidable circumstances, I discovered something powerful that blew my mind. At this point, I was only learning all of this for personal reasons to expand my knowledge of wellness. Little did I know a few years down the line, all this content would be relevant and channeled into a platform that is now growing so fast.
One day I realized that I was always the reference point to many of my friends and family when it came to health and fitness. I would always share practical and simple tips which people loved. Since I felt like I was always repeating myself, I decided to create a blog in 2015 using a platform called blogspot which people could always read and get tips. Eventually I stopped blogging because I didn’t feel inspired and was dealing with some personal issues in my life at the time. I knew that one day I would go back with a better strategy and a better name! (the name of my previous blog can’t even be mentioned in this interview lol)
In 2017, my sister insisted that I should start blogging again and introduced me to the blogging platform I currently use for Tizi. We sat down and she walked me through the site step by step. I was so happy with the platform that I decided to drive back home and taught myself how to create the blog all weekend. Building the site from scratch is a journey I took because I could not afford to pay a developer at the time. It took me a very long time for Tizi Talks to be what it is now, it never happened overnight. It has been one of the most fulfilling projects in my life.
Tell me more about Tizi Talks.
Tizi Talks is a wellness blog that inspires a culture of enjoyable healthy living while showcasing the relationship between wellness, happiness and success. The blog is the editorial arm of my wellness brand called Tizi which I am currently working on to incorporate other aspects of wellness like food, fitness and travel. Through the growth of the content, I decided to create segments that touch on each pillar of wellness from physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. The blog is divided into six segments listed below:
Wellness Buzz: This segment focuses on the holistic importance of embracing healthy living by sharing holistic trends, do’s and don’ts, along with updates on events taking place in the health & wellness industry
Tizi Talks: This is an interview series segment which brings out the fitness journey of people creating significant impact in their various industries e.g business, media, fashion among others. Its currently the most popular because the stories there are so inspiring!
Tizi Kitchen: This is a food segment where we share simple healthy recipes you can use at home. I have future plans to really create something special with this!
Tizi Review: This segment reviews products and services in the health & wellness industry. Everyone loves a good honest review, so I opted to share my opinion there.
Tizi Escape: My favorite new segment! I showcase travel destinations for the health conscious traveler because tourism is slowly shifting to wellness destinations and I am here for it! Hello, Bali !
Piga Tizi: This is a fitness segment that gives tips and recommendations of how to maximize your fitness journey with updates on trends in fitness, gyms, fitness studios, and even active wear trends.
Share with me your most profound experience in which you provided an individual assistance with wellness or nutrition.
A good friend reached out to me wanting advice on how to lose weight. He was at a very low point and it was all attributed to gaining a lot weight. Since I had never done a meal plan for anyone before, he was happy to try it and six months later, he dropped almost 40kgs. I got emotional when he sent me before and after pictures; and from that day, I knew I wanted to continue helping people transform themselves.
What method have you found effective in responding to requests for information about wellness programs and services?
The most effective method for me is definitely email communication. We live in a digital age and this allows me to work with many people at the same time from the same place.
In a couple of years, where do you see Tizi Talks?
That’s a good question. I see Tizi Talks being the leading wellness brand in Africa.
For how long have you been in the wellness industry?
I have been a content creator in the wellness industry for about 4 years.
How does it feel having been nominated for two BAKE awards?
It’s like being on a roller coaster; I honestly never expected it. I am so humbled by the nominations.
What’s your typical day like?
I currently have an 8-5, so my weekdays are pretty standard; I am in the gym by 5:45am, and try to make sure I go to bed by 10pm. When I get home in the evening, I always review my site and plan my content for the week or month. On the weekends, I love trying out new gyms and classes on Saturday morning and practice yoga on Sunday morning. After that, I spend the rest of the weekend doing ample research, gathering content and writing wellness newsletters. Writing is my outlet and my favorite thing to do after working out.
The second Saturday of June is now recognized as Global Wellness Day. How do you feel about that?
Words cannot explain how excited I am for this day to be recognized globally! On this special day, hundreds of thousands of participants in over 100 countries stop to ask themselves how we can live a healthier and happy life. I am so happy that Kenya will finally be part of this conversation that could potentially change people’s lives.
Having been appointed the ambassador in Kenya for this day, what do you have planned for the big day/what should we expect?
I have curated a wellness programme tailored to capture all the elements of both physical health and inner health through a list of activities that will be completely free. There will be wellness checks, mental health consultations, group yoga & zumba, and two panel discussions with a diverse group of speakers. The reason the event and all activities are free is because Global Wellness Day is a non-profit initiative dedicated to spreading the message that everyone has what it takes to live to their fullest potential.
Do you think there is enough awareness about wellness in Kenya? If not, how do you feel we can get there?
There is not enough awareness yet but as a nation but I believe we are taking encouraging strides to make it an important conversation. We still have a long way to go.
What would you do if you were not afraid of anything?
Probably swim with the sharks! I have always been deeply intrigued by going deep sea diving. May be one day I will have the guts to do it.
If you were not pursuing wellness, what would you be doing?
One thing most people don’t know about me is that I love cooking. I enjoy trying out new recipes and making meals for my family. So I would probably enroll in a culinary school and take my cooking skills up a notch. Who knows, I believe the world is your oyster and you should always pursue your heart’s desire! Maybe I might just do it.
Loise is a bubbly, goal-oriented and friendly young lady - who I was surprised has an 8-5 tbh. Surprised in a good way. Tizi Talks is quite the brand and for her to balance both that and her 8-5 has actually challenged me.
Should you want to reach out to Loise, both her personal and Tizi Talks Instagram are linked here as well as her blog.
