Fall Back In Love With Your Life Thanks To Claire Baker

I introduce to you all the amazing Claire Baker! 

This beautiful woman is a Certified Coach, Writer and speaker who guides vibrant women towards a life ripe with greater confidence, less stress, improved relationships and clear complexions. She will have you falling back in love with your life!!

Claire believes in the power of exquisite self care for radical self expression. Through her authentic and empowering blog, eBooks, online programs and live workshops you can consider Claire your personal advocate for living an energised, playful and heart-centred life. We chat to the lovely Claire about her life, coaching, creativity and this wonderful journey she is embarking on…

SSC: So lets begin with a little bit about you. How would you describe yourself in a sentence? What gets you up in the morning? And what do you love to do for yourself outside of your business?

Claire: In a sentence? Here goes: A recovering-perfectionist, big-hearted Virgo who is mad for writing and deep connection; enchanted by the world and in love with the Adventure Of Life.

I’m a morning person, but coffee helps—and my dog, of course, begging to be taken for a walk! I’m currently filling my outside-of-business-hours with German lessons, yoga, writing, reading (I’m halfway through a mission to read a book a week for a year), playing with my fur baby Zuma and planning the next step in my own personal Adventure Of Life—moving to London!

SSC: Tell us about your amazing business ‘This is Lifeblood”, where did the idea and name originate from and what is it like working for yourself?

Claire: My sister and I sat down one day in mid-2012 to brainstorm some ideas for a blog I wanted to create. The word lifeblood just kept coming back; to me it means the essence of life, the stuff that pumps through our veins and inspires us, brings us joy. That’s always been the intention of my blog, and naturally, my business.

My business is a puzzle made up of a few different pieces. I work with women privately in 1:1 coaching, in my online programs and workshops and I write eBooks and record audio content (meditations, eBooks, audio workshops etc.) all designed to amplify the importance of SELF CARE and SELF EXPRESSION in our lives. Basically: to do our best work in the world, we need to feel our best. I’m passionate about the intersection between creativity and wellness, and I love sharing this with women who are ready to find their own flow, in all areas of their lives.

What is amusing however is that my focus of work right now is in the area of menstrual cycles and encouraging women to understand, embrace and adore their cyclic changes each month. So naturally, I’m having plenty of conversations about blood! But no, ‘This is Lifeblood’ itself isn’t a nod to that, as some people have wondered! A welcome and lovely synchronicity though.

SSC: What was the turning point for you in changing your life and going down the path you are on now? Had you always seen this future for yourself?

Claire: Oh God, no! However, I can look back and see where the common threads have been, and where multiple ‘turning points’ have revealed themselves. I think that we all have a few of these over our lifetime, and if we’re lucky, we’ll pay attention to them.

The turning point for me in terms of health and self-care came when I was 17. I was diagnosed with acute liver inflammation and lost my wellness for the first time in my young life. That’s when I discovered the power of holistic health and healing, and once you know that stuff, you can’t un-know it!

Then at 26, after a few years of travelling and studying and having no real idea what I wanted to do with my life (I was drinking a lot, constantly comparing my life with others, denying my creativity, seeing guys who just weren’t that into me…), my younger brother was in a motorcycle accident that left him with a severe brain injury. It was a difficult time and frankly, it woke me up. Things changed dramatically after that: I cared far less what others thought and really began to follow what my heart wanted. Simply, life is short!

It’s interesting looking back (and important to do) at the common themes and threads. I have always wanted to be a teacher and I just realised very recently that what I’m doing now, in its essence, is teaching. Just not quite the classroom I had envisaged! I’ve also wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, and I still have plans to pursue the writer/author element in my business further (and soon).

As far as education goes, my tertiary education was in visual arts and business, then I was a retail buyer for a few years before studying holistic and integrative health. And I certainly haven’t finished my education, formal or otherwise. So yes, the dots line up (business, teaching, creativity, writing, health, connection…) but I certainly haven’t had a ‘vision’ for it all from the beginning, so to speak. I’ve just continued to follow my curiosities—at least most of the time.

SSC: You talk a lot about your inner artist and creativity being our soul expressing itself. How important is creativity to you? And what ways could you suggest others to bring creativity into their every day lives?

Claire: To me, creativity is simply our soul’s expression in the world. As kids, we express our creative energy so freely but as we get older, it tends to get left behind in the marvelous mess of Being An Adult.

Rekindling my creativity in my mid-20’s changed my life in every which way, from my blog to my business; from my sexuality to my self esteem; from finances to friendships. EVERYTHING. We get to know who we are through creative exploration; there’s an unraveling that occurs when we play and create and make. It’s so simple, so accessible—and yet, so rarely do we explore it if we don’t pursue a ‘creative career’.

My tip is always to start by getting to know your inner artist; what does she or he like to do for fun? What kinds of things did you make as a child? If you were to head out on an artist’s date on your own for a few hours, what would you do? I love grabbing my camera, a few dollars for a coffee and just meandering the streets and parks, snapping photos and pausing to enjoy the world (and my own company) for a few hours. I always feel 10000 x better – and more ‘me’ – afterwards.

SSC: You previously studied Visual Arts and Design at university and in the past you have put this question forth to yourself -“Can I still be creative, even if I am not the best artist in the world?” How would you answer this now and how have you been able to build your confidence in not only this area but all areas of your life?

Claire: Only yesterday I was going through my Uni work and having a giggle at how much I doubted myself in those years. I am not artistically gifted in the classic realms of drawing or painting, yet creativity pumps through my veins. This confused me for such a long time!

It’s been a big lesson for me, to recognize that I just express that energy in different ways; whether through clothing, food, dancing, writing, relationships, experiences, in my business; there are so many ways I can ‘be creative’ without being ‘artistic’. It’s the same for us all! And by giving myself permission to play, I’ve realised that I do love drawing and painting, but more for the process rather than the product. There’s a whole new world of magic available to us when we focus on the creative process and pleasure of creativity, as opposed to the outcome, or final product that we intend to make.

SSC: What has it been like being a coach to so many other women and inspiring, supporting them in their own lives? What is the biggest thing you have learnt from coaching others?

Claire: The last three years of coaching has been such a gift. It really is an honour to do this work and I’ve been lucky enough to work with the most incredibly brave, insightful and inspiring clients; women who have big ideas, dreams and hopes for their lives and for the world, yet are aware there are a few blocks or layers that they are ready to let go of first (don’t we all know that feeling?).

I have learnt so many things from these women: the biggest would be that we are all in this together, all experiencing similar thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams. When we connect openly and honestly, real light is created in the world. Also: just do it, whatever it is that you are dreaming of, because guess what? Your fears, resistance and self-doubt are completely normal and natural and (again) we all experience them. Keep going and do it anyway.

SCC: What is the best advice you have ever been given? From who, and how have these words helped you over the years?

Claire: I’m trying to think of something that isn’t clichéd here, but I suppose the most impactful messages we receive are clichés for a reason. My parents always encouraged my siblings and I to do what we love and to just be who we are. This ‘message’ guided me through my schooling, friendships, what I chose to study, travel, business and so on…

However, it’s not as if one day we just decide to be who we are 100% of the time and do what we love and that’s that. We are always evolving, growing, changing, transitioning along the continuum of our lives and (hopefully) becoming more of who we are. This means that it’s an ongoing process of checking in with ourselves: reflecting, tweaking, experimenting and taking action. And then again, and again, and again…

SSC: What can we expect to see for the future of ‘This is Lifeblood’, and what hopes do you have for yourself in life?

Claire: I have plans this year to take my much-loved Adore Your Cycle workshops online, plus a few more short online courses up my sleeve in the realm of self-care and self-expression. I know it’s time to really devote to writing a hold-in-your-hands book and I can’t wait to move to the UK and explore that part of the world that I hold so dear to my heart.

A life of abundance and freedom (to me) is to live my life aligned with what I find meaningful, and to have the flexibility to live and work where, how and when I choose. Throw great health, lots of love, creativity and connection in there and I’m pretty set. That’s what I hope for my life.

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