MENTAL & PHYSICAL STRENGTH ARE ONE AND THE SAME, SAYS AMBASSADOR CAROL SOLANAS

@carolsolanaz

About me: I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and now I live in New York. I’m a holistic therapist. I consider myself empathetic and giving; I love the sensation of community and being able to embrace people and help them develop self-love. I work with different modalities of treatments, such as Lymphatic Drainage massage, Ayurveda, NLP, Numerology and Psychoanalysis. .

I perform lymphatic drainage massage to release toxins from the face. This is an amazing way to improve our internal and external health. A build-up of toxins can affect our mental health and mindset.

From Brazilian Bikini Designer to Therapist

I had my own struggles growing up, and found myself trying to understand my life and my feelings. First I knew that I had to “treat” myself and improve my physical and mental health. Then I organically began helping others. I was actually working in the fashion industry, and I had a Brazilian bikini brand. I realized through my own journey that I wanted to help other women, so I began training as a therapist. My approach is to treat the whole person.

When You’re Feeling Negative, Just Float

I believe we always go through ups and downs. Even when you experience negative emotions, practicing self-love in that moment is extremely essential. If you’re not giving love to yourself, how will you give love to others?

Being resilient, in terms of understanding and handling the situation, is about being patient. When you can’t control the situation, it’s like you’re in the middle of the ocean. Instead of swimming frantically to try and reach a far-away island, just float there, experience the moment, and try to understand your emotions, until you figure out what the right direction is.

My Health & Wellness Tips:

1. Don’t let fear stop you from moving forward. Anytime you face a new situation, it’s natural you’ll feel afraid, but don’t let this hold you back.
2. Start doing just one new thing - whether it’s meditation, exercise, eating healthier. Once you start moving in a positive direction, one new health habit will lead you to another. This is the approach I use with my clients. You can’t do everything all at once; you can start little by little. If you have at least one behavior that can help you and guide you toward a different path, that’s the beginning of the path to finding your best self.

"Start doing just one new thing - whether it’s meditation, exercise, eating healthier. Once you start moving in a positive direction, one new health habit will lead you to another."

Yoga, Movement & Mental Health

For me, yoga is not about exercising, it’s about having your mind present in the moment. Every yoga position has an impact on a part of our brain. We can even cry during yoga practice because stretching is a form of release. When you’re flexible with your body, you’re flexible with your mind; when you’re strong with your body, you’re strong with your mind.

In Ayurveda, mental and physical strength go together. If your legs are strong, you’ll walk confidently in life and face challenges head on. If your arms are strong, it means that you can “hug” or embrace difficult situations.

"If your legs are strong, you’ll walk confidently in life and face challenges head on. If your arms are strong, it means that you can “hug” or embrace difficult situations."

We always have a way to fix things, we just need to be smarter than our emotions and use negative emotions to our advantage. For example, when we are feeling “intoxicated” - sweating too much, craving certain foods, experiencing pain or disease - what can we do to improve that? Every time you are craving, there’s an emotion behind it. When you’re craving sweets, maybe you need a hug. Is there a lack of self-love, or are you not giving enough love to others?

Skincare Routine

My skin is oily. When I was about 10 years younger (age 17), it was way more oily than it is now. I believe that what I was consuming and eating was interfering to make my skin more oily.

The basics are so important. For me, it’s important to wash my face often. I used to get little white dots on my cheek, and this improved after using FRÉ for just a month. I also know that using a serum that matches my age and lifestyle, and combining it with some masks, exfoliating, and doing facials has helped me have better skin than ever before in my life.

Doing meditation and yoga has also improved my skin a lot.

"I leave on the cleanser for a couple seconds and use a brush that vibrates, which helps me to clean deeper. Using that brush around my t-zone helped me improve this area, so that when I apply makeup, I don’t have to worry about my t-zone being shiny again in the middle of the day."

I use PURIFY ME to wash my face, especially after I work out. Then I apply the REVIVE ME serum, and after that the PROTECT ME sunscreen. After that, I apply my makeup. At night, I cleanse with PURIFY ME and then apply REVIVE ME.

My Secret Way of using FRÉ

I leave on the cleanser for a couple seconds and use a brush that vibrates, which helps me to clean deeper. Using that brush around my t-zone helped me improve this area, so that when I apply makeup, I don’t have to worry about my t-zone being shiny again in the middle of the day.

Rapid Fire:

• Favorite exercise? Yoga
• What does sweat mean to you? Life
• What comes to mind when you think of FRÉ? It’s the new new - vegan & specific lines for women who work out
• What are you most excited about in life right now? To start a nutrition course
• What’s something you’d still love to learn? To become a doctor
• If you were a hashtag, what would you be? #positiveactions
• What is your mantra? I CAN
• What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received in your life? You may be scared but still go ahead with the fear
• What is an issue that you wish we spoke about more often? Getting to know ourselves
• What does women’s empowerment mean in 2021? Being smarter than what we are going through now
• What are your dreams for the FRÉ community? To grow, to keep doing what you’re doing