Aida Rejzovic is the proud founder of Sassy Organics and long-time user of organic products.
She discovered that there was an abounding count of chemicals absorbed by our bodies found in our daily everyday products like toothpaste, hair, and body products. Unfortunately, these chemicals do have an impact on our health, particularly causing imbalances in female hormones and disrupting our gut. The transition to adopting a fully organic lifestyle has radically affected her wellbeing and Aida’s idea for Sassy Organics came from her belief that prevention is better than cure.
About 20 years ago, being a passionate lover of animals, Aida made the decision to become a vegetarian, and about 2 years ago she became a vegan for ethical reasons. Her online ethical store is full of natural and organic beauty products which are all vegan and cruelty-free and she prides herself on making a commitment to never stock products that have been tested on animals or which include animal-based products. Sassy Organics makes it possible for anyone to embrace this lifestyle.
Aida Rejzovic is the proud founder of Sassy Organics and long-time user of organic products.
She discovered that there was an abounding count of chemicals absorbed by our bodies found in our daily everyday products like toothpaste, hair, and body products. Unfortunately, these chemicals do have an impact on our health, particularly causing imbalances in female hormones and disrupting our gut. The transition to adopting a fully organic lifestyle has radically affected her wellbeing and Aida’s idea for Sassy Organics came from her belief that prevention is better than cure.
About 20 years ago, being a passionate lover of animals, Aida made the decision to become a vegetarian, and about 2 years ago she became a vegan for ethical reasons. Her online ethical store is full of natural and organic beauty products which are all vegan and cruelty-free and she prides herself on making a commitment to never stock products that have been tested on animals or which include animal-based products. Sassy Organics makes it possible for anyone to embrace this lifestyle.
Find inspiration as we talk to Aida Rejzovic in our #StrongHealthyWomen interview.
Hi Aida! Thank you for being part of the Health and Fitness Travel, Strong, Healthy Women Interview Series, where we are shining a light on the importance of self-care, not as an indulgence but a necessity to reduce stress and general health issues.
Is there such a thing as a typical day for you and what does that look like?
No two days are the same at Sassy Organics. Although packing & sending parcels and responding to emails is something that I do daily, the volume and type of emails will differ from day to day. On a more quiet day, I will deal with customer enquiries and general supplier emails, whilst on a busier day it will be media enquiries, new partnership and collaboration emails, advertising opportunities and similar.
However, my morning routine is always the same. I absolutely love my morning coffee and catching up on all the news and notifications. This is followed by a shower, breakfast and a morning meditation session. Since my day is so hectic, I feel that I need to ‘reset’ before another busy day. Meditation makes me feel grounded and calm.
Can you share a time when you felt your well-being was challenged in the past and what did you do to overcome it?
I’ve personally suffered from hormone imbalance since I was 18. Dealing with endometriosis, cysts and having 5 laparoscopies later, I was over it. I’ve tried various medications and alternative medicine and whilst every treatment worked for a while, the symptoms eventually returned. About 6 years ago now, I decided to ditch all the chemicals, as I’ve read so much about the effect of chemicals on hormone imbalance. I started eating only organic food, then switching to organic makeup and skincare. I’ve never looked back. I have been symptom-free for about 4 years now and I’ve not had to do any more acupuncture or take any herbs or undergo any surgery. It was the best decision that I have made in my life. I feel free…at last. During this process, I have also learnt to deal with stress (meditation and yoga certainly help) as this also had an impact on my hormones.
As a result of this, Sassy Organics was born. My idea for Sassy Organics came from my belief that prevention is better than cure.
What does ‘being healthy’ mean to you and how do you keep this at the forefront when life gets unavoidably busy?
For me, health includes physical as well as mental wellbeing. In fact, I would say that being mentally well is even more important as this often manifests itself into a physical illness. In females, stress can cause a hormone imbalance and in men, this can lead to more serious illness including stroke and heart attack.
This part of our wellbeing is often not talked about and not so visible. When someone is tired or physically ill, it is easier to notice and help someone. However, we don’t always talk about the emotional impact and we are pretty good at disguising this, which can further exacerbate our stress and anxiety.
These days I am better at recognising when stress is getting to me. When I start feeling unsettled and less patient, I know it’s time to pull back. This includes reducing my workload (as I always take on a lot more than I can handle) and focusing more on ‘me’. Doing extra yoga sessions and/or meditations does wonders for my wellbeing. Yoga and meditation keep me grounded and focused on what really matters – health and wellbeing.
Have you ever taken a holiday specifically for your well-being? Can you share what the experience was like?
I have taken a few small weekend trips, which were just enough to reset and recharge my batteries. Our last weekend away was to Ballarat, which was beautiful and so relaxing and just what I needed. Going for long walks, enjoying beautiful scenery and food was like medicine for my soul. Plus, I love Ballarat history and old architecture, I felt deeply connected to that city.
While long holidays are great and necessary, having a short break can be just as effective. Running an online store is a 24-hour job, literally. So, at this point, I am unable to just pack my bags and leave for weeks at a time (like I have in the past), but I can still plan mini-breaks and short adventures and they are just as much fun.
Every woman’s idea of self-care is different, please tell us what does self-care mean to you?
To me, self-care means respecting your body and mind. It means treating yourself to a massage, lunch with your girlfriends or having a pamper session. I sell beautiful organic skincare and facial treatments and I am so privileged to be in a position to treat myself whenever I want, but I find that going for a massage and a facial in a salon does so much more for my mental wellbeing. The fact that I am able to completely switch off (and not do any chores with my face mask on) is a bonus.
It is also important to find time for exercise, even if it means just going for a short walk. When I first launched Sassy Organics, I worked 20 hours a day and I would say to myself ‘I will do yoga…when I get this or that out of the way’ and so I never did anything because as soon as I finished one task, there was another one waiting. So, now I just schedule yoga and work around it. I figured unless I commit to a timetable, I will never stop. It’s a vicious cycle.
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