Sally Mathrick On Regenerative Wellbeing And Supporting Changemaker And Planetary Health Holistically

Sally Mathrick Naturopath And Changemaker Wellbeing.jpg

For over 20 years, Sally Mathrick has been a passionate advocate for holistic health.

She blends her academic education, clinical naturopathic experience, and innovative wholistic wisdom to empower and inspire individuals and communities to cultivate vitality and connection. Her systems-based approach integrates individual well-being with planetary health, ensuring her work not only transforms her clients lives but also contributes to a regenerative future.

Sally’s work is informed by the principles of Deep Ecology, naturopathic philosophy and inspired by the healing harmony of nature, the intricacies of interconnectedness and the inspiration of human potential. Her innovative Sparkle Well programs help individuals align with their innate vitality, build confidence, to shine their authentic light.

Sally discusses empowering purpose-driven change makers with experiential and individualised approaches to health education and how enhancing personal wellbeing contributes to regenerative social and environmental transformation.

Highlights from the interview (listen to the podcast for full details)

[Indio Myles] - To start off, can you please share a bit about your background and what led you to working in this space of wellbeing and regenerative futures?

[Sally Mathrick] - Like most people, I’ve had a windy, synchronistic, interest-led kind of pathway. Lots of interesting coincidences have paved the way to where I am now. I was lucky to manage the first internet café in Europe, which was very exciting. It was obviously the start of the information revolution, and it became an access point into exploring what was important to me.

Back then, I was passionate about real, true connection and concerned about the corporatisation and capitalisation of this communication tool, which had the potential to create an egalitarian society by making knowledge accessible to everyone. I also had a strong interest in earth systems, and even in 1994–95, I was concerned about infrastructure development. They were laying out cables before fibre optics due to the cost, which struck me as completely backwards logic. That experience taught me a lot about my core values, simply through being part of that exciting space.

When I moved back to Australia, I worked in the environmental industry for a few years. One of my roles was with Planet Ark, which focused on encouraging positive environmental action using the ‘carrot’ approach so to speak. I also worked with Greenpeace, which was more about stopping the ‘bad guys’ from harming the planet.

During this time, I totally exhausted myself. I became angry and frustrated with the lack of change. I would rave about how men and money were destroying the planet, but it wasn’t just men. It was humanity being out of balance with itself and disconnected from our true nature. That was the core issue.

Then an opportunity arose to study naturopathy at Southern Cross University, which was the first public university to offer such a degree. I jumped at the opportunity. I’d always been interested in natural, holistic healing and homeopathy, so I enrolled.

While studying, I also worked with an organic food co-op, which gave me access to holistic, organic, and sustainably produced foods. It was during this time that I met John Seed, one of the pioneers of the deep ecology movement in Australia.

He worked with Joanna Macy, Auntie Ness, and a whole host of others who pioneered this way of thinking to help environmental activists avoid burnout. I resonated with that approach, so I trained with him for a while and did some work with him at various festivals and deep ecology workshops.

The core purpose of those workshops was in dissolving the delusion of separation, the false notion that allows us to use a plastic water bottle and believe it won’t have any impact on our own health. This delusion assumes we’re somehow separate from the planet, but in truth, we’re sharing this Earth with all other beings.

That realisation became a pivotal point for me. It brought everything I had previously done into a more exciting, regenerative, and evolving space of knowledge and understanding; the pathway we’re all walking together.

Now, I work at a university, teach online courses, and consult as a naturopath, mostly supporting middle-aged menopausal women, which is also my own cohort.

As a health educator and facilitator at Sparkle Well School, can you share more about the organisation and your approach to enhancing the wellbeing of people and the planet?

This (again) is an evolution of all the things I’ve been involved with and seeing areas that need critical support. The concepts underpinning all the programs at Sparkle Well School are about incremental, step-by-step, experiential change that nourishes the self and helps individuals reconnect with the natural world we live in.

Our aim is to support authentic individual wellness, which looks different for every person. All of the programs are designed around this principle, and nourishing health changes helps each person move toward their own version of being authentically well. We do have parameters we can use to assess wellness, but fundamentally, it’s about someone being themselves freely and fully in a comfortable way. I think this is the keystone of what we need for a healthy planet overall.

This idea of individualisation is something I don’t think is highlighted enough. We can especially see it in the menopause space, or more broadly in women’s health. Every woman’s experience of menopause is different. I suppose you could say that it’s the same for adolescents, because no two people move through adolescence in the same way. But with menopause, the range of symptoms is even broader. Adolescents might get acne or period pain, but menopause involves a much wider spectrum of symptoms. Still, the journey is individual.

The question then becomes how can we help people move into and through those troublesome parts in order to reach their full wellness? From the holistic perspective I come from, that means bringing the body, mind, soul, and spirit into alignment. And that alignment is always in flux, but that’s part of the journey.

Essentially, the Sparkle Well School provides experiential actions that accumulate over time. People can try these practices, and if something works for them, they can incorporate it into their lifestyle. If it doesn’t, they simply move on. They’re changes and hacks, but not the kind of ‘hacks’ we see today that can be dangerous. These practices draw from natural methods that are in alignment with a healthy planet.

The overall approach at Sparkle Well is to foster students’ authentic energy so they become more capable of contributing their unique gifts to their community.

How has your perspective evolved on holistic health and naturopathy since founding Sparkle Well School? What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned that shaped how you teach others?

I had to quickly learn how to structure and tier the delivery of content. Initially, it was like, “Okay, you need to change absolutely everything and become a yoga teacher,” but of course, that’s not realistic. Many people are deeply embedded in the structures of their lives, and making sweeping changes can be really challenging.

A lot of Sparkle Well’s early work focused on cleansing and detoxes. That meant helping people suddenly become aware of the everyday toxins in their homes. But this process has to be gradual, otherwise it becomes overwhelming. One of the first big lessons I learned was that I needed to tier and structure the programs in a way that prevented that overwhelm and made the experience more nourishing.

Another key learning was the importance of responsiveness and allowing program participants to be autonomous and to decide what’s right for them. I encourage people to try something out. If it resonates and fits into their life after a while, great, keep it. If not, let it go. That freedom to explore is vital.

There’s also the question of how to engage meaningfully. At the moment, especially with busy middle-aged women, it’s hard to organise live meetups. I’m constantly finding the best platform for creating that ongoing, person-to-person connection, as opposed to just delivering recorded content. It’s about how we can create spaces for exchanging wisdom.

Every human being holds a vast amount of insight and intelligence. So the challenge becomes: how do I support people to feel more energised in their own lives, and how do we collectively share those experiences?

Right now, the question I’m sitting with is how to improve engagement in real time. It’s an ongoing journey.

What role do you see health education playing in empowering change makers, and what should we be doing to better support founders?

We spoke earlier offline about Newkind Festival, and I guess the work I’ve always done there revolves around the question: how do we nourish changemakers?

I was once an environmental activist myself. We put solar panels on John Howard’s residence at Kirribilli House when he was Prime Minister, but unfortunately, that didn’t spark the solar revolution we were hoping for in the late ’90s. I burned out from the frustration of it all, and that experience ultimately led me into the naturopathic field.

One thing I’ve come to understand through that experience and my work with deep ecology is you’re not alone. Changemakers are often passionate, driven people who forget about their bodies. When you’re young, you can get away with that. At 25, your cellular replication equals your cellular destruction, so you’ve got plenty of energy. But as you get older, your body doesn’t recover in the same way, and it takes a toll.

I think many of us get so focused on where we’re going that we forget we’re part of a larger system. The sense of connection and that we’re travelling this path together is a huge part of the energetic safety net for change makers.

At the last Newkind Festival, I presented on oxytocin and cortisol. Oxytocin is the hormone released when women go into labour, but it’s also the hormone that facilitates bonding and deep connection. Interestingly, it’s now being used in cardiovascular treatments, which makes sense because connection is so closely linked to heart-based feelings like love and belonging.

When oxytocin is present in our system, cortisol (the stress hormone) isn’t. When we feel love and connection, our stress levels drop significantly.

To empower change makers, I believe the key is to help them regularly reconnect with themselves, their community, and their purpose. Nourishing those connections creates a buffer against burnout. It helps shift the sense that it’s all on their shoulders to fix everything, and instead situates them within a larger wave of collective change.

With that, there’s a greater sense of relaxation. It’s not about one person needing to fix everything, but instead about being part of a collective wave of change. You’re included in that wave, and that understanding helps dissolve feelings of isolation. It’s not just you out there, the only one who understands, pushing forward while thinking “everyone else is stupid” or that “men and money are destroying the planet.” It’s actually not like that at all.

We’re part of a system that is, thankfully, undergoing radical change. We’re all participants in that system. Anyone listening to this podcast is part of it too. The question is: how do we move forward in a fresh, new way, and how do we do it together?

When it comes to supporting change makers, there are some really practical things that help. Mineral-rich foods make a difference. Herbal medicines, like having a licorice tea instead of coffee once or twice a day, or a cup of tulsi (holy basil) tea, can also be really beneficial.

That being said, we need to be mindful with adaptogens, because many of them are root-based, and when we harvest the roots we lose the whole plant. Instead, we can focus on adaptogenic plants like gotu kola, which grows abundantly and helps nourish the system.

Incorporating these into daily life can be supportive. Beyond that, stress management tools like meditation, yoga, walking, running, or even just chatting with a friend are essential. These practices are important for all of us, and especially for change makers. We need to intentionally plan for these things and integrate them into our working lives.

What is the connection between building a more regenerative, environmentally sustainable future and enhancing individual wellbeing?

I would say they’re almost the same thing, especially when viewed through the lens of deep ecology. One of the classic deep ecology jokes goes: if you don’t believe we’re all interconnected, just try holding your breath for 20 minutes while you think it over. The air connects us, the water connects us, the very earth we stand on connects us.

When we talk about regenerative thinking–take regenerative agriculture for example–it’s all about nourishing the soil, fostering species diversity, supporting microbes, and reducing chemical inputs. It’s about cultivating healthy soil ecosystems. With human beings, it’s very similar. We know that nourishing our microbiota and maintaining a diverse and healthy gut biome is a crucial part of overall wellbeing.

To do that, we need to eat healthy foods. Emerging research shows eating local foods provides an enriched microbiota. These foods carry microbial information from the seed and the soil that inform our own gut microbiome. That level of interconnectedness is rich, and we’re just beginning to understand its full complexity.

There are many ways to support this interconnected, regenerative way of being, things like the slow movement, the local food movement, organic and whole food practices. Regenerative living is about recognising, valuing, and allowing the vital healing power of nature to unfold. Whether we apply it to ourselves by creating structures that enable us to flourish, to agriculture by nurturing soil health, or even to society by supporting individual diversity and community wellbeing, the regenerative model works at every level.

The relationship between building a regenerative, environmentally sustainable future and enhancing individual wellbeing are completely interchangeable in my view. The more people we have who are well, empowered, and authentically themselves, the better off the planet will be.

We need all those interesting ideas and unique perspectives. The challenge lies in finding methodologies and ways of thinking that help us communicate better together so those ideas can be heard, valued, and integrated into the collective momentum for positive change.

For any purpose-driven individuals tuning into the podcast trying to balance their own health and wellbeing while leading change in the world, what would your advice be?

I touched on this earlier, but the key is regularly connecting to your sense of belonging and your driving sense of purpose. Within the framework of deep ecology, once you truly grasp that we’re all part of this living, breathing network, you can relax a bit more. You realise you’re not outside of it and you can’t fall out of the web of life.

Deep ecology also includes a concept of deep space and deep time, a vast evolutionary process we’re all part of. It’s a mystery. Sometimes, the best advice is to simply look up at the stars and let yourself be awed by the magnitude of it all. That sense of wonder can help you release some of the pressure to “do it all.” You are part of the doing. You’re already in it.

If we can manage our stress better, often by stepping out of the ego, we become more grounded. That’s not to say the ego isn’t important; it is. But it doesn’t need to be the main driver. If we can instead act from that deeper space of “I have to do this because it’s what’s within me,” then we can relax into the work a little more.

When I was 25, I didn’t feel that way. I was all about raging against the machine. Even at 35, I had that drive: “I’m going to go out there and change the world.” But now, at 55, I see that I’m doing it alongside everyone else. It’s not about one person being the leader anymore. I think we’re all stepping into our own internal leadership by being ourselves and offering what’s uniquely within us.

We all have something to contribute. The key is to connect to that sense of belonging. You are part of this and deeply engaged in the process, even if you don’t fully realise it yet. That, I think, is the essence of it.

Are there any inspiring projects or initiatives you’ve come across recently that are creating change?

There are so many. Obviously, Newkind Social Change Conference is fabulous. There’s also a little local project here in Mullumbimby called The Paddock Project. They’ve created a beautiful regenerative community garden where they sell a variety of produce. What’s really special is their work with young people who have learning disabilities and pairing them with carers, and the space has become a real hive of activity. It’s going from strength to strength.

Another one is The Old Church on the Hill in Bendigo. It’s an incredible community initiative. They’ve set up a community garden and a range of facilities, and they work closely with refugees who are settling into the area. One of the most beautiful things they do is collect residents from local aged care facilities and bring them together with 15-year-olds who are working on oral history projects. That intergenerational engagement creates a deep level of connection and understanding.

I’m also currently working on a fundraising project called The Darling Muffs of May. It’s a bit eyebrow-raising and kind of like Movember, but not. It’s aimed at raising money for women who are doing it tough, while also challenging and shifting the narrative around the feminine pubic region. This is to make it something that’s respected, celebrated, and even laughed about a little. It’s bold, but all in good spirit!

There are so many inspiring initiatives out there. Those are just a few that are lighting me up right now.

To finish off, are there any books or resources you’d recommend for our audience to check out?

One that’s particularly inspiring me at the moment is by Andrew Stableford. The Handbook of Constitutional and Energetic Herbal Medicine: The Lotus Within offers such a deep, rich discussion of holistic medicine. Even after being in this field for over 20 years, the depth and insight of that book stood out to me when I read it a few weeks ago.

Another fantastic resource is The Regrarians Workplace. It’s a professional development platform for people working with soil, and it’s packed with resources. The Regrarians are doing incredible work, and the platform is a really exciting space for those wanting to make big changes in the agricultural world.