When Sally Lydia Paech was hit with a debilitating thyroid disorder, she knew she had to make a change in her life.
Over the span of roughly seven years, Sally battled fiercely against a violent case of hyperthyroidism, which saw her weight drop below 36 kilos on three separate occasions. She told me, on a recent episode of the Get Invested podcast, that she felt like her body was literally “burning up”. Not to mention that she was dealing with acute anxiety and a host of emotional issues.
Sally brought her life back to the basics, prioritising rest and relaxation over the hectic business that predominates so many of our modern lives. She delved into meditation, yoga and organic eating, spent time walking on the beach and took a holistic approach to curing her condition.
It was this natural approach to wellness that started her doing some heavy research on what may have caused her thyroid issues in the first place. In her investigation, she noticed that there was a recurring theme of artificial ingredients used in commercial cosmetics that were seeming to trigger thyroid issues.
Sally began developing her own skincare brand called OrganiQ, which used naturally sourced ingredients like mineral salt and honey from Kangaroo Island to create a line of nourishing cosmetic products. Her golden rule when it comes to cosmetics: if she can’t eat it, she’s not going to put it on her skin.
For Sally, her lifestyle and brand were something of an antidote to the neurotic stress of modern life. In our talk, she described how she finds that the rigid demands of society and the 21st century are causing many of us to ignore our better nature and continuously eat unhealthy foods and use near-toxic products on our bodies.
In the corporate world, we’re simply not giving ourselves the time to care for ourselves. Healthcare is treated as a luxury, despite health being the most important part of our lives. And education, which has been about serving a one-size-fits-all curriculum to our students, is producing adults that are stressed and unable to deal with the modern world. If Sally has her way, her company will help change that.
Moving forward, Sally is dedicated to growing her brand and promoting her vision of health and wellness spurred by yoga, mindfulness and the use of organic foods and cosmetics. Her business was born and bred on Kangaroo Island, and although she wants to eventually reach the point where she has an external factory where her products are manufactured, she wants to keep the down-home spirit of her home present in her business.
Sally’s journey is a lesson for all of us to pay attention to what we put on, and in, our bodies every day. Without a healthy and cared for body it is impossible for us to achieve the life plans we have for ourselves.
Listen to my entire conversation with Sally here.
