Natural Remedies: An Introduction
Meet Tara Curran, Wellness Director at Montauk’s Surf Lodge, and here to share with you her Natural Remedies…
The quest for health is often one of constant transition, and mine has been no different, exploring both coasts in an effort to find peace of body and mind, and clean ingredients with which to nurture and heal.
A Holistic Nutritionist full-time, I serve seasonally as Director of Wellness at The Surf Lodge in Montauk, NY, and am also co-creator of Skin Food. Skin Food, created with friend and Holistic Aesthetician Hayley Roy, came about rather organically after making the switch to green beauty skin care and makeup, and wanting to impart our findings and tips to others.
After studying advertising at NY’s Fashion Institute of Technology, I found it extremely difficult to find health and passion in everyday life — frequently falling ill, yoyo-dieting, struggling with acne and landing myself in unhealthy relationships. At that time, I was also dealing with a series of illnesses within my immediate family — dad’s multiple sclerosis, mom’s Parkinson’s disease, and my brother’s drug addiction. Frustrated and with no other choice in sight, I decided to dig deep…I completely changed my diet, discovered yoga and enrolled in school for nutrition.
During my studies, I worked on myself a lot, and it’s work that I continue to do. Every. Single. Day. Because health is not entirely about what you put in your body, but also about how you are curating your thoughts and, in turn, your actions.
I’ll share with you a few pivotal pieces of advice and lessons that have helped me on my personal journey to finding and improving my own health:
1. Listening to my intuition. This hasn’t come easy. But, making time to sit quietly with my thoughts and asking myself the really hard questions have helped me stay headstrong through some difficult times and decisions.
2. Self care and loving myself. Taking care of myself first, and really taking it to heart. When I get stressed out or find myself overwhelmed, I am usually overextending myself and not taking the time to perform my own acts of self-love. I have found self-love in exercise, journaling and taking time to be by myself.
3. Mindfulness. No matter if it’s paying attention to ingredients or listening to my body and slowing down, remembering to be mindful is one of my most cherished actions.
4. Life is happening for me and not to me. Owning all my feelings! No matter which form they may take.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes, which has been a tremendous help in getting me through the ups and downs: “May the space between where I am and where I want to be inspire me.” It reminds me to acknowledge, even embrace the ups and downs, and recognize the many tools available to guide you to the next step.
Photos by Chloe Gifkins