Gut-loving Shakshuka

The Power of the Vagus Nerve

We've seen a lot of chatter online about the vagus nerve recently, so we thought we'd simplify the key points for you... So, what is the Vagus Nerve? The vagal nerves are a key component of the body's nervous system. They carry signals from the brain to the rest of the body, controlling many vital motor and sensory functions, including digestion, heart rate, immune system responses, and mood.  They are part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which controls the "rest and digest" functions, as opposed to the sympathetic nervous system, which controls the "fight or flight" functions. The two systems regulate the body's involuntary movements. The Vagus Nerve and gut health Neurons are cells found in your brain and central nervous system that control your body functions. The gut contains over 500 million neurons that are connected to the brain via nerves in the nervous system, the largest of which being the vagus nerve, which carries signals in both directions. Alteration of the gut microbiota can lead to inflammatory responses in the gut, which results in these signals being sent through the vagus nerve to the brain. This can induce a stress response in the brain and disrupt the normal of the involuntary functions regulated by the parasympathetic nervous system (e.g. digestion, mood, heart rate). Why should you care? A disrupted vagus nerve can show in different ways, but the most common symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, acid reflux, dizziness, loss of appetite, and changes in heart rate. The vagus nerve also links the brain's emotional centres with the skin, affecting its microbiota composition and barrier functions. If the vagus nerve is overstimulated and unable to send the correct "rest and digest" signals, you may experience inflamed, dry, uneven skin and be more at risk of breakouts. How to calm the Vagus Nerve There are a few ways you can easily calm the vagus nerve at home: Practice 4-7-8 breathing (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324417) Sing more often (https://www.musichealth.ai/blog/music-and-the-vagus-nerve#:~:text=The%20larynx%2C%20or%20voice%20box,and%20you%20feel%20more%20relaxed.) Laugh - this stimulates the vagus nerve while lowering blood pressure and boosting mood Cold water immersion (https://icebarrel.com/white-paper/#:~:text=The%20bottom%20line%20is%20that,and%20feelings%20of%20well%2Dbeing.)

Friends of YLW - Meet Emma, Lucy & Kim

At You're Looking Well, we believe that wellness goes beyond routine—it’s about feeling strong, supported, and empowered in every aspect of life. That’s why we sat down with three incredible members of The Sisterhood, a powerhouse community of over 150 extraordinary women, from elite athletes to pioneering founders, who are redefining what it means to push limits. Together, they’ve raised over £1,000,000 for charity through daring challenges—ultra-relays, triathlons, paddleboarding, and dragon boating—all while lifting each other up and inspiring others along the way. Their mission is simple yet powerful: women helping women. In our conversation, we talked about their approach to wellness, the daily rituals that keep them feeling their best, and how You're Looking Well fits into their demanding lifestyles. From supporting recovery and resilience with the Day & Night Pills to strengthening skin health with the Day & Night Creams, they shared how small but consistent self-care moments help fuel their biggest ambitions. This process brings our body out of homeostasis (the body’s natural balanced state), which can impact every aspect of your health and wellbeing. Meet Lucy, Emma and Kim... Emma Sayle is a leading UK entrepreneur and founder of Killing Kittens, a global female empowerment brand with over 200,000 members. Beyond business, she leads The Sisterhood, an all-female team that has raised over £1 million for women's charities, all while balancing motherhood and extreme challenges like swimming the Channel and climbing Kilimanjaro. Lucy Cohen co-founded Mazuma at 23, pioneering the UK’s first subscription-based accountancy model to make finance more accessible. A recognised industry expert and advocate for social mobility and gender equality, she’s led policy-changing campaigns and earned multiple awards for her contributions to accounting and mental health. Kim Antoniou is the Founder & CEO of Auris Tech, Fonetti, and the National Read-Aloud Challenge, pioneering award-winning speech recognition technology to transform literacy. Inspired by her family's experiences, she is dedicated to making reading accessible worldwide while also mentoring the next generation of innovators. Emma Sayle Emma is one of the UK’s leading female entrepreneurs, best known for founding Killing Kittens in 2005, a global female empowerment brand that has grown into the KK Group with over 200,000 members and events across the US, Australia, and Europe. In 2024, the brand expanded with KK Cruises and KK Homme, and in 2023, it launched WeareX, the world’s first sex-positive social dating app. Recognised for her impact, Emma has been named among Business Leaders' top 30 inspirational UK entrepreneurs and has received numerous accolades, including Growth Business of the Year 2021 and finalist spots in the Lloyds Business Awards and GBEA London. Emma is frequently featured in national and international media and is also the driving force behind The Sisterhood, an all-female group that has raised over £1 million for women's charities. Emma has completed extreme challenges such as the Marathon des Sables, swimming the Channel, and climbing Kilimanjaro. Amidst her business success, she balances raising three young children, leading KK’s global expansion, and, thanks to wine, becoming the chair of her school’s PTA during lockdown. ⁠What's your go to wellness routine and how does YLW help to support you in your day to day life? "I first heard about YLW through Nikki Brougham and the Sisterhood. I’ve noticed a real difference in my skin and complexion and also my sleep from week one is so much better. I have high functioning ADHD so my brain at night is like a full UN conference of noise and opinions, it’s definitely helped chill the voices! I keep things natural and only wear makeup when going out, it’s all about the eyes rather than foundation. My daily routine includes the YLW Day Cream and Day Pill, along with another pre and pro-biotic. After struggling with adrenal fatigue and losing my voice for six months in 2024, I started taking Ross J Barr’s Adrenal Calm and got it back in a week. I now take Lion’s Mane, a strong B-complex, plus D, C, and zinc for immunity. In the evening, I take magnesium, the YLW Night Pill, and Night Cream. I’ve always avoided pharmaceuticals but finally embraced a low-dose HRT, which, combined with supplements, has made a huge difference over the past two years. Fitness has always been part of my life, and as I’ve aged, I’ve adapted—now focusing on reformer Pilates, swimming, and weight training, which is essential for midlife women’s hormones, metabolism, and bone strength. And nothing beats a phone-free dog walk along the river to feed the soul." What does success look like for you? "I think we’ve got so used to success being a very patriarchal definition of success, it’s all about how much money you make, how big your house is etc. but to me it’s being able to earn enough to take the kids on adventures abroad, to be able to do school pick ups, be able to watch a school show at 1pm on a Wednesday and really be present in my 3 kids lives whilst they’re still little but whilst running a business at the same time. Its only possible with villages in all aspects of my life, an amazing work village and amazing home village. Success is having those teams in place and having that freedom." ⁠How do you prioritise carving out time for self care each day, considering the unique challenges that women often face in balancing various responsibilities? "I have firm boundaries around my time—I prioritise school drop-offs and my gym session from 8:45 to 10:00, so I don’t take meetings before 10 or after 3 PM unless absolutely essential. It took a lot of CBT and hypnotherapy to get here, but now I have a hard no. I’ve also learned to accept the constant guilt—whether it’s for my kids, my husband, or work. The guilt pendulum swings daily, but I’ve learned to acknowledge it and let it go before it causes the anxiety it once did." What are three things that make you feel empowered? "My Sisterhood tribe, the amazing community within killing kittens that’s been created over 20 years and now helping create the girls side at Staines & Laleham Football Club and watching my 2 girls age 6 and 8 play whilst dreaming of being future Lionesses, something that I could never have dreamt of as a small girl." Lastly, can you share a fun fact about yourself or something people wouldn't expect with us? "I hate wearing knickers, it’s part of the ADHD thing of things feeling constricted on me, touching me ...get it off me now feeling. It's the same with rings too!" Lucy Cohen Lucy co-founded Mazuma at 23, creating the UK’s first subscription-based accountancy model, inspired by her own family’s struggles with taxes in the creative industries. Lucy has always been passionate about making financial information accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. With 22 years in the industry, she's been recognised as an expert and was elected Vice President of AAT in 2024. Her book, Forget the First Million, won Best Short Business Book in 2022, the same year she received the AAT Past Presidents Award for her work on mental health in accounting. Additionally, Lucy was also honoured with the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Accounting Excellence Awards. Beyond accounting, she's deeply committed to social mobility and gender equality. In 2020, she spearheaded a public campaign to improve pain relief for female medical procedures, which led to policy change and national media coverage. ⁠What's your go to wellness routine and how does YLW help to support you in your day to day life? "As an ex competitive powerlifter I know the value of trying to keep some sort of routine – although running a business can make that really demanding! I try to exercise in some form 3 times a week, and I go to weekly therapy for my busy brain! My diet is fairly good, although I do have an addiction to Minstrels and Squares crisps! I take my skincare pretty seriously and always make sure I spend time on that. Usually I use an acid, eye cream and oil every night after a cleanse, and then a vitamin C moisturiser and SPF in the day. I heard about YLW through The Sisterhood but have also seen the brand over social media. The YLW skincare is delicious! Especially the nighttime moisturiser which is absolutely gorgeous – I can definitely see the difference in my skin. The evening tablets are massively supportive of my sleep. I am not a great sleeper and prone to bouts of insomnia, and I’ve noticed a huge difference in my sleep quality while taking nighttime supplements." What does success look like for you? "Success for me is really about feeling like I have a purpose and have made a positive impact somehow. As my business have scaled, I’ve mostly enjoyed the impact I've been able to make – on the local economy, to people who work for me, to the small businesses we serve; that’s when I feel most successful. Being elected to the position of Vice President of AAT (a UK accounting body) is a huge deal for me. AAT was there right at the start of my career when I did my apprenticeship, and to be able to give back to them and their membership feels like a lovely full circle moment." How do you prioritise carving out time for self care each day, considering the unique challenges that women often face in balancing various responsibilities? "I’m actually not very good at this! I just try not to be too hard on myself and keep what I want to do achievable. 45 minutes on Friday lunch time is booked in my diary for exercise. I go to a dance class on a Monday night that is also blocked in my diary. Unless things are in my diary, they tend not to happen – so that’s crucial for me sticking to any sort of routine! It’s easy to think that you should be journaling every day, leaping into a freezing cold ice bath at 5am and meditating – but that’s probably unrealistic for most people. Little things, built up over time is the trick!" What are three things that make you feel empowered? "Lifting weights! It’s very empowering being able to shift objects around on your own! Performing well in my role. I work across two very male dominated spaces, finance and technology. Doing a great job against that demographic is hugely empowering for me. Elevating the work of other women – this is a team sport and I love to see other women absolutely smash it!" Lastly, can you share a fun fact about yourself or something people wouldn't expect with us? "I was a backing dancer for Boyzone!" Kim Antoniou Founder & CEO of Auris Tech, Fonetti, and the National Read-Aloud Challenge, Kim Antoniou is a visionary entrepreneur transforming literacy through award-winning, multi-patented automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Fonetti, the world’s first ASR platform designed specifically for reading, empowers children and adults to build confidence, fluency, and a lifelong love of reading.  Inspired by her children's struggles with reading and her grandson's early engagement with technology, Kim’s mission is to make reading accessible worldwide, enhancing literacy and language skills for all. With a background in tech innovation, she’s also known for founding Kafoodle, an award-winning FoodTech company.  A start-up mentor, columnist for Elite Business Magazine, and Chair of the Female Founder Series within Entrepreneurs Collective, Kim is dedicated to creating impactful solutions and mentoring the next generation of innovators. Her initiatives, including the National Read-Aloud Challenge, have supported thousands of children and schools globally, driving positive change in education. ⁠What's your go to wellness routine and how does YLW help to support you in your day to day life? "There’s definitely room for improvement in this area. I enjoy swimming and walking, but I don’t have a structured exercise routine. That said, I’m not sedentary. I drink in moderation—about six glasses per week on average. I work from home most of the time, and life is particularly stressful right now, especially after a challenging year and launching a funding round. Sleep is a struggle for me; I often find it difficult to fall asleep, typically three out of seven nights. I first heard about YLW from a friend, I’ve been using the products for about a month now, and despite struggling with sleep, I’ve noticed a real freshness in my skin. The supplements seem to help me feel less tired during the day, which has been a welcome boost. The face creams are lovely, and though it may seem like a small detail, I really love the packaging—it’s beautifully designed and brings a little moment of joy whenever I see it." What does success look like for you? "Success, for me, is deeply tied to impact. I find immense joy in the difference we’re making with our voice technology for children, especially through the National Read-Aloud Challenge. Knowing that we’ve helped so many children on their journey to becoming confident readers feels like true success.  From a business perspective, success also means achieving financial security and scaling our technology internationally to reach even more children.  On a personal level, I feel incredibly fortunate—I have a happy marriage with the love of my life and best friend, a healthy and relatively happy  family, and a small but deeply meaningful circle of friends. I live in a nice home, drive a nice car, and, most importantly, appreciate the life I’ve built and the relationships that enrich it." How do you prioritise carving out time for self care each day, considering the unique challenges that women often face in balancing various responsibilities? "The truth is, I don’t. I work long hours and always intend to exercise daily, but the days often get away from me." What are three things that make you feel empowered? "My husband, autonomy and my team." Lastly, can you share a fun fact about yourself or something people wouldn't expect with us? "I love using my ADHD in a playful way to make others feel like it’s completely normal, which often leads to some fun and unexpected moments."

Friend of YLW - meet Ksenija Selivanova