Jojo Struys shares her secrets to wellbeing

Television personality and model, Jojo Struys, is no stranger to health and fitness.

Recently named a brand advocate for the Westin Well-being Movement, Jojo has mastered the art of balancing business with leisure. From hosting and producing her own show, Jojo’s Ticket to Wellbeing, to enjoying interests such as yoga, tap-dancing, naturopathy, horseback riding and more, this author and speaker has become an icon of wellness.

Business Insider sits down with Jojo to learn her secrets to healthy living.

 

1. What does wellness and wellbeing mean to you?

It’s all encompassing - physical mental and emotional from the nature of thoughts running through your mind, as in are they mostly positive or negative thoughts, to what foods you’re putting into your body to how well you sleep every night.

2. What’s your typical workout routine?

I start my day with my own yoga routine and I meditate in the mornings to clear my mind so that I feel more grounded and prepared to kickstart my day in positive gear.

 

 

 

3. What top foods do you recommend for a healthy diet? 

Quinoa is amazing. It’s a complete protein and a great wheat-free alternative and you can toss it with nuts or spinach leaves, or any of your own favourite ingredients. I like having it with extra virgin olive oil with a dash of lemon. It’s very versatile and also power packed with nutrients.

4. What do you like best about your body?

Strange question. I need to think about this, haha! I guess it would be my hair. It’s pretty healthy. Well, that’s what the hair stylists tell me. But hair isn’t really a body part so I think I’ll say my legs.

5. What do you like the least?

My height because when I was modelling, I was too short for the catwalk so I could only be a commercial model. But now, it doesn’t really matter. It’s important to accept the things you cannot change.

 

6. You were recently named a Wellbeing Brand Advocate for Westin Hotels & Resorts, can we have a sneak peek into the activities you have planned?

My guided relaxation tracks are accessible via the Westin website. I’ve also been traveling to different Westin hotels and curating travel articles much like a journalist on what you can do in those different countries, with a wellness twist. I’m also doing wellbeing escapes and retreats where I teach breathing techniques to combat stress as well as workshops on how you can sleep better at night.

7. What do you hope to achieve as a Westin Wellbeing Brand Advocate?

I hope I can positively affect people in some way by giving them tools to let go of their daily stress and tensions. and to spread awareness on how important it is to look after your physical and mental wellbeing. You can buy many things in life but you can’t buy your health.

8. With so much on your plate, how do you balance business and leisure?

I make sure I focus on things that make me feel alive or inspired be it traveling to get away to recharge my batteries or doing something to personally enrich myself, the way I checked myself into an ashram in India this year to study yoga and expand my self-knowledge.

 

 

 

9. Many people feel they are too busy with work to focus on their health, what small changes could they make while still maintaining their current lifestyle?

It’s important to keep stretching to keep the body moving and it’s excellent for blood circulation and stretching out tired knots. There are many exercises you can do right at your work desk. Even doing simple spinal twists in your office chair can help to relieve a lot of tension from your back muscles.

10. What is the best way for someone to stay motivated to be healthy?

Once you build momentum and it becomes a habit, it’s much easier to maintain a regimen. You can also focus on the positive effects of all your efforts. When we exercise regularly, its a great feeling to have endorphins released into your system. And when we eat well, we feel lighter and not so heavy. It also helps to make the mind more alert.

11. What’s the biggest mistake that fitness newbies make?

They set expectations that are not realistic or beyond their reach so they give up too soon or lose patience. In order to achieve lasting results, you do need to put in consistent effort until it becomes a part of your daily regimen.

 

12. What’s your best advice for someone who is just beginning their journey to wellness?

Find something that works for you. Don’t do something just because it’s trendy or because other people have said so. Experience it for yourself. Find an activity you actually enjoy or can see yourself doing and don’t expect changes to happen overnight

Have patience. Stay positive and don’t give up!

 

Westin Hotels & Resorts, a leader in wellness and hospitality for more than a decade, lives its philosophy “For a Better You” through the Westin Well-being Movement’s six pillars: Feel Well, Work Well, Move Well, Eat Well, Sleep Well and Play Well.

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