Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydne Blahnik. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Sydne, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
It’s easy to miss your calling when you avoid taking risks.
Growing up, I always tended towards risk taking – from climbing trees, to cliff jumping, to spending 16 years as a gymnast – I was always looking for ways to push my limits. Something I realized quickly is that many people think that being “brave” or taking risks means that you aren’t scared – this couldn’t be further from the truth! Bravery is FEELING that fear, facing it, and overcoming it.
Even from a young age, I knew my life was going to be filled with risk taking in a variety of ways. I knew that I wanted to help others to improve their health, and I considered orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, physical therapy, chiropractics, naturopathy, etc. Looking into the field of medicine, I quickly caught on to the many problems with our healthcare system.
I say “healthcare system” very lightly; in reality, what we have is a “sick care system”. Medications are heavily overused to mask symptoms – instead of addressing root causes, and changing the lifestyle habits that lead to illness in the first place. This led me to not wanting to work in a typical hospital or clinic as my ultimate career goal. I knew what I stand for is against the grain, and that I eventually wanted to start my own business and provide tools, resources, and care to actually help people HEAL.
I still went through traditional schooling for nutrition, which only strengthened my values and opened my eyes to how bad the majority of our healthcare system truly is. I knew I couldn’t wait for “someday” when it came to starting a business, so I decided to take the biggest risk I have taken thus far and fully commit to starting my own business.
Having no real business experience or coursework under my belt, I used friends and family as resources, spent lots of time researching, & practiced (and continued to practice) trial and error.
By taking this risk, I have learned so much about how to run a business- being self sufficient, how to communicate my passion for wanting to help others, and taking full responsibility for whatever situation I am in. I continue to learn how to impact people’s lives, and how important community and relationships are!
I am so grateful to be learning these things, and going through these growing pains early on in my life – and I can’t imagine if I had waited for “someday”. I am blessed to be sharing TRUE health with people, and I will continue to set my fears and insecurities aside, and risk everything to help others with their health.
Sydne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
In my teens, I dealt with many health issues – food intolerances causing discomfort daily, asthma, allergies, acne, eczema, you name it. I was on a rollercoaster of my symptoms getting worse, the doctors increasing my prescriptions, and getting just a little bit of short lived relief – only for that cycle to repeat. I had a similar experience when it came to injuries as well. Being a gymnast, I did some damage to my joints. I went through multiple rounds of physical therapy, but my pain was still lingering and if I made one miss-step, I would fall right back into debilitating pain. I thought there must be something wrong with me, or maybe I was seeing the wrong doctors… I quickly realized that this was identical to most other people’s experience with modern healthcare – it wasn’t just me, it wasn’t just the well-meaning doctors I had been going to – it is what the mainstream medical system is built on and how it operates. I came to the realization that nobody is going to care about my health more than I do. Good practitioners can help to guide us, but if I really wanted to see any change or healing, I had to take full responsibility and ownership of my health! Some view this as controversial and offensive; but I see it as TOTALLY freeing and empowering – that we can take back control of our health.
With the help of a naturopathic doctor, I was able to narrow down the foods that I was reacting to which was causing my stomach aches, pains, and bloating. Something amazing happened in the process – my asthma slowly died down, my skin healed, my mental health improved, and I had more energy than ever before. After about 2 years of consistently nourishing my body with the right foods and removing many toxins from my lifestyle (cleaning + beauty products), I got off of all pharmaceuticals. I went from taking ibuprofen, asthma and allergy pills, nasal spray steroids, and inhalers daily, to not even having these things in my home – not even ibuprofen. I realized that feeling sick every time I ate was NOT normal; regular headaches are NOT normal; drowning in symptoms and feeling helpless is NOT normal – even though it is common and normalized. This helped me to understand that the body is a complex system, and simply treating symptoms isn’t actually getting to the root of the problem.
Going to school for pre-med, I always thought of nutrition as being an afterthought – something that would go along with one of the other “main” medical professions. Throughout my own personal experience with the power of nutrition, I realized that it was the other way around! Nourishing your body lays the groundwork for your health. No other medical interventions can make up for poor nutrition. The more I learned about how humans were designed to eat versus how we actually are eating, I became more and more passionate about finding ways to TRULY improve my health – and help others to do the same!
I live by the truth that the human body is designed to innately heal itself – if given the proper tools and environment to thrive. Our body is incredibly smart – and many times, the symptoms that people face are a direct result of our body trying to correct an imbalance. For example, our body spikes a fever in order to fight and kill an illness or infection; or induces inflammation to stimulate blood flow to an injured area. The human body has mechanisms to heal whenever there is an issue. Modern medicine will tell you to take a pill to reduce a fever – that your body intelligently induced to kill off an illness or infection; or to take a pill to reduce the inflammation and swelling – that your body purposefully induced to promote blood flow and therefore healing. Instead, we should be using these symptoms as signs that something isn’t right- and then address the root of the problem.
At Brighter Being, I don’t “diagnose”, “treat”, or “cure” any conditions; I help people to restore their health on a fundamental level through nutrition and lifestyle practices so that their body can do what it was designed to innately do: heal itself. I use an integrative approach that focuses on nourishing the body with real, nutrient dense whole foods, moving the body properly- in a way that’s healing and restorative, and adjusting lifestyle habits like sleep, toxic exposures, and mindfulness. None of the “methods” I promote are new or groundbreaking… It is all about getting back to how humans were designed to live and thrive.
By properly taking care of the body, people see their symptoms disappear – metabolic health improves, therefore symptoms like weight retention, energy spikes and crashes, & poor skin/nails/hair all fade away. Hormone imbalances are corrected, therefore acne, weight retention, mood swings, headaches, PMS, and cramps all fade away. Gut health is improved, therefore symptoms like bloating, constipation, brain fog, and food sensitivities all fade away. There’s no magic here – and I definitely don’t take the credit! This is the beauty of living according to God’s design at work.
When I work with clients, I run functional lab tests to gather more pieces to the puzzle, and to get a better idea of their current health status. I always start with a simple minerals and metals test – this tests for mineral status, which gives us insight into how nourishing their diet is, whether their body is actually absorbing nutrients properly, metabolic health, thyroid health, adrenal function, blood sugar management, and more. It also tests for any toxic exposures, and retention of any toxic heavy metals. I love to use this test as a baseline for clients because it is a simple hair sample that can be taken right from their home, it’s affordable, and it gives a really comprehensive view of their current health status! From this, we get a better idea of where to start, and if any further investigating via other labs is needed.
When you work with me, you will learn how to eat a nutrient dense diet to actually nourish your body on a cellular level, how to approach fitness for overall health (not just temporary weight loss), how to promote a healthy hormone balance through eating and circadian rhythm, how to optimize your sleep for maximum rest and restoration, and so much more! Of course there are certain things that hold true for all humans, but the truth is, everyone has their own bio-individual needs. This is where functional lab work really helps us to assess your unique needs, and where trial and error are necessary to get to the bottom of whatever problems you are facing. This is why working 1:1 with a practitioner is so valuable – it doesn’t matter what your mom, your BFF, or your coworker did to “fix” all of their health problems… Everyone is unique, and nothing is a cure-all!
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
I strongly believe in practicing what I preach – MORE than I preach it. I don’t want to just be known as someone who knows a lot about health, or as someone who is a great teacher. I want to be a beacon of light for everything that I stand for. I value the power of knowledge and teaching others – but if I have learned anything, it’s that humans are more likely to take action by following in someone’s footsteps rather than just taking their word for it. In a mainstream society that has strayed so far away from health – fast food on every corner, automations, desk jobs – it isn’t easy to go against the grain and lead a healthy lifestyle! Which is why I believe that the MOST important part of my job is living the type of lifestyle that I promote.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
There is a quote that says “I didn’t want to work a 9-5, so instead I decided to start a business and work 24/7” – and this is absolutely the truth! I am so blessed to be able to do something I am passionate about, and I CHOOSE to be thinking about my business every waking hour of the day. But that definitely doesn’t mean that it’s easy! Resilience is key when it comes to starting a business. I spent the first 6 months of business working non-stop, and my total revenue was less than $1000. It is so hard to keep going when you don’t have your boss patting you on the back for the work you’ve done, nobody to tell you if you’re doing things right, and you aren’t making the money to show for all of your work. “Is it time to change what I am doing because it isn’t working? Or is it time to keep pushing through and stay consistent?” This is the predicament of being a new business owner. I didn’t give up on myself or my business – even when all the signs were telling me to stop – that I wasn’t good enough, that it just wasn’t working. I continue to learn so much on this journey, and I have learned a lot of parallels that can be applied to both health AND business. One specific thing that comes to mind is that with health, there is no such thing as a destination. Many people begin their health journey with the impression that once they “make it” to health, then they can just maintain their results. Anyone who has been through this over and over again knows that this just isn’t the case! Health is a JOURNEY – not a destination. You can’t achieve results from doing A and B, and expect to keep those results if you stop doing A and B! I have found the same thing to be true for business. Success is a JOURNEY, not a destination. There will always be something else – areas to improve upon, new ideas to implement… LIFE is a JOURNEY; not a destination.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brighterbeingwellness.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brighterbeingwellness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=10073336767788
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCevccmOQPDIhf87SWrLXwew
Image Credits
Nathan Menke