Spandex & Wine
Spandex & Wine is a podcast for finding balance between being healthy & living a happy life. Hosted by Robin Hackney, a 23-year veteran in the fitness industry & wine consultant, this is a place to be our authentic selves as we have real conversations exploring wellness and all things wine! Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode.
Spandex & Wine
Healing Food, Body, and Self w/ Umashnee Naidoo
Healing doesn’t start with a stricter plan—it starts with feeling safe in your own skin. We sit down with Uma, a former mechanical engineer from South Africa turned yoga teacher, health coach, and energy medicine practitioner, to unpack how stored stress and survival patterns shape eating, weight, and the way we talk to our bodies. Her story moves beyond before-and-after to the quiet work of nervous system regulation, self-compassion, and presence, showing why “doing everything right” can still feel wrong when the body doesn’t feel safe.
We explore the pivot from all-or-nothing to sustainable practices: chakra-informed yoga that helps release tension where it lives; breathwork that steadies cravings and mood; and mindful eating that trades punishment for nourishment. Uma shares the moments that changed her path—depression, perfectionism, emotional eating—and the tools that helped her heal from the inside out: meditation training, embodiment, and energy work. You’ll learn why tight hips can hint at creative blocks, how small boundary rituals protect your energy, and what it looks like to treat movement as medicine instead of penance.
If comparison has you stuck or social feeds are stealing your joy, this conversation offers a reset rooted in science and soul. We talk about modeling self-respect for our kids, romanticizing daily wellness (yes, sparkling water in a wine glass counts), and aligning goals with values so change actually lasts. Uma also previews her upcoming book and shares how she blends coaching with energy healing to support clients through real-life stress, not around it.
Ready to swap shame for self-trust and build habits that love you back? Hit follow, share this episode with a friend who needs gentleness today, and leave a quick review so more listeners can find the show. Your support helps our community grow.
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Hello and welcome to the Spandex Online podcast. I'm your host, Robin Hackney, and I'm so happy that you're here. This podcast is a place for conversations about living a healthy lifestyle and being happy. More specifically, happy hours. Together we'll explore all things wellness and wine. I hope you learn a little, laugh a lot, and along the way, know you're not alone on this balance, wellness journey. Ready to jump in? Or something in your class that makes you happy because it's time for Spandex and Wine. Hey everyone, welcome back to the Spandex and Wine podcast. For those of you that are new, I am your host, Robin Hackney. And for those of you that have been with me for a while and gone through all three seasons with me, you probably noticed that the intro is back. Super exciting. Dave got my laptop fixed. I think so. I have to plug it in. I don't know what the deal is with the battery. But anyway, at least it worked. So I'm super excited. I can go back to editing, back to having guests. And today I have a special guest for you. I was super excited when she reached out to me, not because of what she, you know, everything that she does, which that's amazing. But she lives in South Africa. And I thought, that's cool for my first guest back on season three, I get someone from South Africa. You guys, she was absolutely delightful. And, you know, one of the things that caught me is that in her email, she said that she would like to have a heartfelt conversation about healing relationships with food, body, and self. And that really grabbed me. She said that after 12 years in a toxic environment as a mechanical engineer, she found herself overeating and becoming unhealthier day by day. She even said that she hit rock bottom. And she said on her personal journey of overcoming eating disorders and losing 60 pounds and transforming her health and wellness from the inside out. She said that all of that is going to be released in her upcoming book, which that is excited, it's exciting for her. And she said it's more than a weight loss story. It's about true healing. And I think you'll definitely get that from our conversation. She's been studying with the Integrative Institute of Nutrition for almost five years and helping others move beyond cycles of shame and struggle and create a healthy, sustainable relationship with their body, food, and well-being. So please help me wait, welcome Uma to the show. Hello, Uma. Oh my gosh, welcome to the Spandex and Wine Podcast.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited. I don't have a glass of wine, but I do drink water in a wine glass.
SPEAKER_00:I do that sometimes too. Like when I try and trick myself, I have sparkling water. I do the same thing.
SPEAKER_01:Just to feel fancy and be extra, I think it's absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. I have to tell you, when I received your email about being on the podcast, and I think it was in your first line that you said healing our relationship with food, body, and self. I thought, this is going to be fantastic. And can I tell you too, you're adorable. I love this.
SPEAKER_01:You're so cute. And so are you. I've been listening to your podcast. It's, I love, I love what you talk about, all the really important things that this world needs to hear, you know? And I just want to express so much of gratitude to you for doing this beautiful work.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much. And I'm also so excited that you are in South Africa. And that's incredible. I'm in Kansas.
SPEAKER_01:Oh wow. This is like, don't you find this time in life to be so magical?
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:That we can just connect across space and time. Um, it's now 5:30 in the afternoon for me.
SPEAKER_00:And it's 10 30 in the morning here.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's just so beautiful.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Well, let's dive in. Like, tell us a little bit more about you and what you do and how all of this came about for you.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. So initially, I started off as a mechanical engineer. Okay. I worked at a power station for 11 years. And it was, I guess, you know, as we change and evolve, so do our interests and values and loves. And so there was a place in my life when I did enjoy it. But I think it's the environment for me did not suit the way of health. And so it left me with very less time to take care of my health. And there came a point when I just felt like I was done with it. But initially I left because I wanted to be with my kids more. Um, I just felt that I had missed out on so much of time with my son. And with this, and the second time around, I really wanted to be there for the special little moments because it is the hours are quite heavy, and you know, there's overtime. You work on weekends, you work at night. So, you know, like I said, priorities shift.
SPEAKER_00:Sure.
SPEAKER_01:But then what happened is I found myself at this weird time in my life where I had no idea who I was because I was not this career-driven working mom anymore. And I had I I just felt completely lost. And I don't know if it is that or the combination of just me feeling like I wasn't living authentically. I was diagnosed with a severe depression, and that was the turning point for me because it my health was not in a good place, and typically when your physical health is not in a good place, it's coming from your mental health, and I just was in such denial initially because I was that happy, um, motivated person, but there is so much to be said for that smiling depressive, which is what I was on the outside. I kept it together for everybody, I was productive, efficient, you know, I had it all taken care of, but there came a point where I just felt like where was I in that picture? You know, and I strived for perfection. I wanted to be healthy, and I did find myself obese at that initially. Um, I but I had struggled with my weight all my life, and I cared so much about my health, but I just had no idea where to start. Yeah. And when I found yoga, I heard that it's good for your mental health. And so I just started joining yoga classes, and I loved it so much that I decided to do my teacher training. Never would even, you know, thinking that I would ever found a company and actually teach it. I just loved the philosophies around it and it's so multidimensional. Yes, and I could feel something energetically shift, which was happening, right? On the physical, we're moving our bodies in the yoga flow, but we're actually opening up our energy centers and releasing blocked energy, which is trauma, and all of the other things that we hold on to and carry. Um, so from there, I did start teaching, and I and I and I loved that the people I taught were the women who were not comfortable walking into a gym, the older woman, the overweight woman, typically me. And I just loved that space and I loved watching the healing. And then I started to delve into nutrition, and I studied with IAN and became a health coach. Loved that process, but what I loved most is it was me living what I had to teach and guide people through. So the work had to be done on me. And like I said, I never went into any of this with the intention of let me start a business, let me look for a career path. Because I did intend to go back to engineering at some point. I never, you know, but I guess that my soul was calling me to do something else, and then from there I found meditation and I studied with Chopra, um, with Deepak Chopra, and I also guide meditation classes on primordial sound meditation, also a huge part of my healing journey. And then I found embodiment, which is also what I do. Um, and then just recently I qualified as an energy medicine practitioner, and I feel like it's spoken to the different levels of healing where we all begin. This is typically how we begin, whether it's with a diagnosis or maybe you want to just be more fit and healthy and strong, it's usually the physical because it's tangible. It's in you can see it, you can feel it. Right, and then you lead to the other levels and you start looking at your mental health. For example, I had eating disorders all my life, and I suffered with emotional eating, which I kind of low-key knew, but I never wanted a face. Yeah. Yep. So I would um what, like indulge, and then I would exercise myself into exhaustion. You know, it was just, and it all comes back to that self-worth and that self-love. And it's been an up and down, it's been a roller coaster. I mean, healing and your health and your fitness is never a straight up and down. Right, right. And it's it's about that balance, which I never had. I was very extreme. I was all or nothing. You know, I am going to be stuffing my face with everything under the sun, or I am going to be counting my macros. That's extreme, right? Yes, yes. And I found that as you get older, your hormones get disrupted, and you cannot operate your your you can't operate on that paradigm. You're you need to find the balance because you mess up your metabolism. And I have to pay the price of that. I had adrenal fatigue. I mean, there's so much I've gone through. But in each, in each challenge that I faced, I was able to find the holistic uh ways of like healing through it and then guiding people through that. So I don't have any regrets, but I do want to speak about something today that a lot of us like, you know, we don't speak about when we or I think it's becoming more mainstream now, and this is the energetics of it, which is kind of where I ended up. Okay. And that is the stored trauma that we hold in our energy field and in our energy centers, or you could even call them the chakras. And no matter how much you exercise it, no matter how well you eat, if you are holding on to trauma, your body doesn't feel safe. When your body doesn't feel safe, it wants to hold on to fat. And it it you can only approach that from the space of self-love.
SPEAKER_00:I love that.
SPEAKER_01:You know, it's gotta because this time around, the last time around, when I put on a little bit of weight, I couldn't understand because I was doing all the right things. I hear that often, yeah. Yeah, you're doing all the right things, and then I realized, oh my gosh, maybe you're doing too much. And I had to go and look at why did I feel like I was never doing enough, which I think a lot of women suffer. Yes, you're not thin enough, you're not smart enough, you're not chilly enough, you're not, you're not healthy enough. And for me, there was just that place of I never I couldn't even rest without feeling guilty. But when I allowed myself to ask, why do you feel upset? Why do you feel like you're never doing enough? I actually could see that these patterns existed in generations before me, and that's how they get passed down. And we all know now that we were once in our grandmother's bodies, you know, and whatever she was going through, we were going through. We were exposed to those chess hormones, and we can't even place our fingers on some of the trauma that we carry, but we can start to release it, and there's so many different modalities that you can use, but like yoga would be one of them. That's like a very physical um form of release, and then it's the breathing into those spaces where you feel anxious and you want to reach for that bag of chips or the caniva because you are emotionally dysregulated, something is being triggered in you, and you're looking for that dopamine hit, and you're gonna you you previously have found it in food. And this is you know that kind of like love-hate relationship that we go through. And so this time around, I never realized that I was putting on weight because I never well previously I would look in the mirror and pick on everything. Yeah, you know, I think we all do that, and I was like, I couldn't understand it because I was like, but when I looked in the mirror, I didn't hate myself. So that is speaking to the healing, yes, but at the same time, I realized that I what caused me to feel ungrounded in my life, what caused me to maybe seek more comfort in food, and it's because of the my life situation at the time, it was very chaotic. And so naturally, my coping mechanism all my life was food. So I went there, and because I stopped weighing myself, um, I didn't even realize I was putting on the weight. And so the last time around, I approached it from a place of I love my body and I understand that you laid down this extra layer of protection. Coming from that place is a whole different perspective, it's it's a shift, you know, because anything you do after that, you are looking at yourself with self-compassion, you are looking with love and understanding, just like you would look at your child and comfort her. And that's what we want to do is we want to like look at our little girl, the little girl in you, the teenager in you, and tell her it's okay. Because what we must realize is that our bodies are always working for us, and that dynamic, which I think is the old way of looking at things as like we've got to fix it, something's wrong, or why am I fat? You know, it's it's it's like we're at war with our bodies when your body was just trying to save you and keep you safe, right? And so when we look at it from there, now we go into physically and mentally and spiritually and energetically, what am I holding on to? What got passed down to me? Where do I feel unsafe? And then, you know, working from within. And then automatically the outside starts to change because everything is energy, and we've got it the wrong way around. Even though your body will first send you the signs, if you change your energy and you start to protect your energy and see where you're leaking it out in the world, then it sort of seeps in and your body starts to change, your mind starts to open up, and the healing is now coming from the inside. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_00:And I'm sure it takes time to get through all of that process. It's not like you're going to go to one yoga class or have one session and everything is just going to find its place. Um, everyone's journey is just a little bit different. But hearing you speak, would you recommend to someone that is listening right now that maybe they do start with a yoga class?
SPEAKER_01:I would recommend that because on that, it's it's more physical, so it's easy to it's easy to tap into that energy clearing without you having to maybe go for an energy medicine session. And that's so I created a type of yoga class that does clear your um energy and bring back flow to your energy centers. So, but but you know, a person could even look online and look for like a chakra flow, and that is what you would be doing. And a lot of the yoga is moving us through um block, unblocking your energy centers, and you feel it like if you close your eyes, and what I would just want to mention is that let's not do yoga like it's an exercise, let's do it with presence, let's tap into our bodies because the body knows everything, the body has the intelligence, and we're very much in here. Let's not ask ourselves, let's not go into why am I struggling with this yoga pose or why can't I do this properly? And rather ask, why are my tight hips so tight? What am I holding on to here? You know, what does this energy center represent? Like, for example, if we have tight hips, that's your sacral, and that is the place of creativity and expansion. And then this is the place where this is the womb where we hold and create life. So when there's a blockage there, we have blocks then externally where we feel blocked in our creativity or to problem solve. So immediately when I'm teaching a yoga class and somebody's tight in a certain area, including myself, I know that this is the place where I'm a little bit blocked in my life. Sure. Mm-hmm. So to do that with so much of awareness and bring in the breath and like consciously allow yourself to kindly and compassionately expand and open up and release that starred tension.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Oh my gosh, just talking to you, I'm like, oh, this is so refreshing. I love it. Uh okay, so you mentioned um, you know, your classes. Do you have an online option? Yes, I do.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, I do. On my website, and uh, I'll send you all the information. You can put it up.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, I will.
SPEAKER_01:It's such a beautiful way to connect. And I've been told that it's like having an energy healing session. So, you know, it's it's it's really fun. And you can actually, and I bring in visualization, and it's not one of those, it's not one of those, oh my gosh, I can't get into a headstand kind of um yoga classes. It's like super relaxing and it brings in all the levels of like mind, body, and spirit.
SPEAKER_00:Well great.
SPEAKER_01:We can also bring into everything we do, like we can make eating a meal a spiritual experience. You know, and that's just what I want to encourage is like let's bring presence into everything. Even if you're sipping on your glass of wine, like really taste it, really like swirl it around your mouth, because I think that romanticizing our lives is something that we've lost touch with. Yeah, you know, like especially in the wellness area and the health area. Of course, we want to be healthy, of course, we want to be energetic, we want to age beautifully. That's my motto. I want people to age in reverse, and I've seen it. And we know now with epigenetics that we're not fated to what we carry genetically, right? Like that's we can change that genetically. Um, I am predispositioned to so many things, including diabetes and hypertension, but your lifestyle is so important. And the way we approach it now has got to be with that connection to your higher self, that connection to your spirit, because that's what's guiding you at the end of the day. And with that connection, everything just becomes magical. Every breath you take becomes a whole experience.
SPEAKER_00:I agree. And I think we let our egos get in the way. I think we allow our egos to, if we get too caught up in schedules and in controlling everything, I think that our egos will just be like, okay, get out of the way. I'm gonna do this, instead of doing exactly what you were saying, sitting back, allowing the process, listening to your body, allowing those energies to just be there and just take it all in.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and like that awareness that's gonna allow us to see where are we being hard on ourselves? Where are we saying to our bodies that I am in survival, I am in a fight, you know, leave the fight and start like pouring love into yourself. And you know, even when we approach, what are we gonna eat? Of course, we wanna we wanna keep it healthy, but not approaching it from, oh, I was bad this weekend and I ate bad food, but rather I am feeding myself to nourish myself. I am feeding myself to make my skin glow, to make my gut happy, to make my hair shiny, you know, that kind of stuff to grow my muscles. And rather, like I feel like there's so much of negative focus around like this is what I want to do, and this is ugly, and that is pretty. You know what I mean? Like, let's move away from that and let's just start by firstly accepting where you are now. You know, I used to always approach stuff with I will only be happy when I am that weight, I will only be happy when my arm looks nice in a vest, you know. Yes, like where is this point in time where everything just falls into place? I just want to encourage everybody to do it now. Yeah who gives a shit? Like, I'm I don't know if I can use it. It's okay.
SPEAKER_00:No, you're good.
SPEAKER_01:If you feel pretty in something, if you feel fabulous in something, do it. Do it, wear it, wear it if it makes you happy, and you will enjoy then every step to that journey, that goal that you want to reach, and also keeping in mind that the goal is gonna always change. Yes, yes, it never stays the same because once and and it's that's a beautiful thing, but enjoying the journey there, yeah, that is where we must find the joy, as in like every day, every day is a baby step to get you closer to that point, and you need to enjoy the baby steps because once you reach that top of the mountain, there's only gonna be another mountain to climb. Yeah, right, that's the nature of life, and we have to start enjoying every moment and stop, you know, focusing on the faults or comparing ourselves. Oh wow, that's a huge one, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes, that's a whole nother episode.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, that's exactly, but this is why I love what you're doing is that you know, there's social media can be used in so many different ways. And if you look at now, I mean, there's a lot of fake out there. What you see, what you see is not always real, and we are comparing ourselves to that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So, you know, I would even advise a digital detox from like stop looking at things unless it's going to inspire you. But if something is making you feel bad, take a break. Take a break and ask yourself what do I see for myself? Because your body shape, your genetics is never gonna look like somebody else's. Right, right. And so you just end up feeling unfulfilled consistently. And this is important for us to model to our daughters and our sons, you know. Yes, to all the moms out there. It's so important what you embody because that is what you're passing on, right?
SPEAKER_00:Yes, it's true, it's true. Um, I want to just quickly before um I forget, I want to talk about your book because you said that you were writing a book.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, I am. It doesn't even have a name yet, but basically, it's this whole journey. And I'm sharing my story because I know it's you know, there's nothing fabulous or amazing about it, but it's the normal struggles that we human beings have. Yes. And if I can just reach people so that they can see that there's always light on the other side of the tunnel and that it's all a part of your soul's growth. You know, every little, no matter how painful it is. So that's what the book is about. But I do share all of the tips, all of the tools that I've used and um the entire journey so that you can kind of go on that journey with me and become a part of that family and realize that you're not alone.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Because we can feel very alone despite being around people all the time. Um, even when you do embark on a wellness journey, that can also feel lonely. Sure. Yeah. Right? Because um, you don't always align with what everybody else is doing. Right. And so going within is so important and honoring your values and your goals is so important. Like I used to feel a I used to feel so guilty for eating at you know, at certain maybe parties or events. So I would like not even go because I was like, there would be nothing healthy for me there. You know, so often you just feel left out. But like sharing the journey and showing people that you're not alone because we all go through it. Right. And it's good, and I think it's more and more important now because social media is just exploding, AI is exploding, and we don't even know what's real anymore when looking at pictures, right?
SPEAKER_00:It's true, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It can appear so real. So the most real thing that you can ever find is the connection to yourself. That's good. That's good. I love that.
SPEAKER_00:That's why all health is gonna start. That is wonderful. Thank you so much for being here. Now, how can the listeners find you?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so you can find me on all the socials at Find Your Light Wellness and on my website at www.findyourlightwellness.com. Okay, wonderful. I'm gonna put that in the show notes. Definitely, I would love that. I do coaching, I do group coaching, I have the classes, and I do energy healing. So I've combined health coaching and energy healing so that I bring in the nutrition and the very physical stuff, but at the same time, I can do the energy healing where I remove the heavy, dense energies that are keeping you stuck. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing. Ah, okay. I'm going to check it all out and I will make sure I put that in the show notes. But then also when you get the name of your book and that's published, I'll go back and I'll update all this. So please let me know.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you so much. And I just want to share a little tool before I leave that the listeners can use. And even though they might not be able to see us, this is so simple. But everything in life is a leakage of your energy. Somebody upsets you, somebody makes a comment to you, and then your entire energy shifts. And that might cause you to reach for that bag of chips. Um maybe you go through some heavy stress. That is a leakage of energy. And it is up to us to protect our energetic fields so that we have the energy to achieve health and wellness and to get to those higher levels of our well-being. So what you can do is, as soon as you feel your energy being drained, and most of us are experiencing this all the time. If you live in the world and you're a human being, you are going to lose energy. Is in that moment clasping your hands. So you can try this right now. Okay. You just bring your palms together, clasp your hands, and you can do this like sitting in a meeting, you can do it anywhere. But immediately you can feel that there is like an energetic boundary between you and the energy leakage. It's like you close off your circuit and you contain your energy, and that you could just use anywhere, anytime. And you know, start with your deep breathing. If you combine that with deep breathing, you will regulate your nervous system and you will prevent whatever that habit is that you've been going through that maybe brings the negative situations in and also causes you to sabotage your health goals.
SPEAKER_00:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Yes. So it's just something you can easily reach for.
SPEAKER_00:I love that. Thank you for sharing that. And I do have one more question for you because living in South Africa, you have some wonderful wines. You have to tell me, like, what is your favorite? And I know our palettes go through seasons, so it might be something different than it was six months ago. But what are you enjoying in your glass at this, not at this moment, but typically?
SPEAKER_01:Okay. So, okay, so my journey, along my journey, I've I've decided I've stopped drinking alcohol. Okay, good for you. So it was a huge part like of my life, but I just felt like, you know, it's something just for personal reasons. Um, but when I did enjoy a glass of wine, we have the Cape Wine route full of the most beautiful vineyards. And I know that they export all over the world. I love uh Malow. Okay. Okay, I can't remember the specific name right now, but that's my choice of wine. So if anybody ever wants to come to South Africa, you have to do that. There's even a train that goes through the wine route where you'll go wine tasting at the different estates. So it's beautiful. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I'll have to check that out. Well, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. And thanks for taking time out of your day.
SPEAKER_01:You're so welcome. Thanks for having me.
unknown:Thanks.
SPEAKER_00:All right, a big thank you to Uma for being here. That was so fun. And you guys, I am going to make sure that I put hers up on YouTube. I am committed to getting that going. I know I've said it ever since I started the podcast. Um, and I have a few episodes that are up, but that is something now that I'm just down to one episode a week, I think I can handle that. But a huge thank you to her for being on. I just loved her energy. She, her smile was so beautiful, and you can just tell she has great energy and wants to help all of us do the same. Um, so go ahead, hop on, find her website, findyourlightwellness.com, and she is going to get that all updated. She's going to keep us posted on her upcoming book. So make sure that you follow along with me here so you don't miss out on anything. All right, until next time. Thank you for listening. If you're enjoying this podcast, be sure to follow Spandex and Wines so you don't miss an episode. To do this, just go to the podcast and click subscribe or follow wherever you're listening. Look for the plus sign or follow button. This is one of the best things that you can do for the podcast. If you'd also be willing to give a five-star review, that would be amazing and much appreciated. Lastly, please share an episode with a friend or five to keep the love going. And join the Spandex and Wine community in our private Facebook group by searching Spandex and Wine. Feel free to reach out to me at any time by emailing info at spandexandwine.com or text me at 913 392 2877. I appreciate you. Thank you.
