Meet Harriot Bernadette
In a world where “wellness” often feels loud, performative, and exhausting, Harriot offers something quieter — and far more sustainable.
Through AuroraVita Wellness, she shares a grounded approach to wellbeing rooted in gentle movement, breath, nourishment, and real life. Her work speaks especially to women and mothers who want to care for their health without chasing perfection — and without adding another layer of pressure to already full lives.
Harriot’s message is refreshingly human: wellness isn’t something to conquer, optimise, or keep up with. It’s something to return to — again and again — in ways that fit the season of life you’re actually in.
In this conversation, we talk about motherhood and self-care, letting go of rigid wellness rules, the power of small daily practices, and what sustainable wellbeing really looks like when life is busy, imperfect, and real.
Welcome Harriot, let's get started. What inspired you to start AuroraVita Wellness and share your health journey publicly?
AuroraVita was born from a very uncertain place — a spur-of-the-moment decision. It was always within me, but I made it official a couple of weeks into lockdown back in March 2020, when I had a two-year-old, a three-week-old, and had just closed my physical business.
My clients were reaching out to me for support, and I wanted to find a way to give them what they needed while also feeling I still had a purpose amongst the life-changing events happening all around us — both within our home and across the global pandemic.
Quick backstory: I became unwell as a teenager with ongoing digestive issues that left me anxious around food and unsure of my own body. I often left medical appointments feeling unsupported and confused when there was no clear answer. That experience stayed with me.
I became obsessed with learning, researching, and experimenting — essentially becoming my own guinea pig — trying to understand how to feel my best.
Years later, after working with women for over a decade and then becoming a mother myself, my perspective shifted again. I went back into formal education to make all my personal learning official, combining it with evidence-based knowledge and holistic care practices to create a 360-degree view of wellness.
I saw how easily women lose themselves in caring for everyone else. Quick-fix diet plans and a yearly trip to the spa simply aren’t enough.
AuroraVita — meaning “dawn of life” — represents that moment when a woman reconnects with herself. It’s about guiding women back to their bodies gently, without extremes or punishment.
Sharing my journey publicly felt vulnerable at first, but I realised that honesty creates permission for others to feel safe and share. We are all going through challenges, and when one woman speaks openly, others feel less alone. That is where change can start.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about “wellness” today?
That it has to look a certain way — Instagram aesthetics, perfect routines, or following someone else’s extreme method and assuming it will work for you. Wellness is a very personal experience depending on your goals, your life, and your circumstances.
Wellness has been heavily commercialised into powders, green juices, 5am starts, ice plunges, and perfectly curated routines.
Real wellbeing is often simpler, repetitive, and even unglamorous.
It’s going to bed earlier.
It’s eating the rainbow.
It’s continuing to show up to do things you might not feel motivated to do when there’s no audience or cheerleaders.
You have to be doing this for yourself to stay committed.
Slow and steady wins the real-life wellness and longevity race.
How do yoga, movement, and breathwork intersect in your approach to wellbeing?
For me they are inseparable — it’s all one system.
They support not only me, but also each other.
Each practice serves its own purpose, but one without the others will never be as powerful.
It’s a lifestyle rather than a performance or a task to complete.
It’s not about achieving picture-perfect poses. Those can be fun and encouraging, but the real value is learning that these skills transfer into motherhood, business, relationships, and everyday life.
How has becoming a mother shaped your approach to self-care and health?
Becoming a mum has been both the biggest and most natural evolution at the same time.
When I was younger, I never imagined becoming a parent. Yet the moment I found out I was pregnant with my first child, everything changed.
Looking after my body suddenly had a deeper meaning. It wasn’t just about me anymore.
At first you are caring for their very first home — creating the optimal environment for them to grow. Later you nourish both yourself to heal and your baby to grow.
And then it continues forever.
I want to be here for my children. I want to enjoy life with them to the fullest. That means being strong and healthy now and in the future.
It’s not just about aesthetics. Yes, I like to stay in shape, but I also want the energy to keep up with them and the strength to pick them up without hesitation.
That is what fuels my approach now.
Not every day is the perfect gym workout, but every day includes whole plant-based foods, family movement, and moments of calm for the nervous system.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to other mums trying to prioritise wellbeing?
Change your expectations.
That doesn’t necessarily mean lowering the bar — but recognising that things won’t look exactly the same as before.
Time commitments and energy levels change. Sleepless nights and early mornings interrupt routines.
But that doesn’t mean you give up.
Five minutes of movement counts.
One balanced meal counts.
Stepping outside for fresh air counts.
Stay zoomed out and don’t spiral over one imperfect day. Consistency always beats perfection.
How do you manage guilt or pressure around self-care as a parent?
Very cliche saying but I remind myself that self-care isn’t selfish. In fact it’s modelling. Children are wired to copy their environment, they are shaped by what they see daily as it becomes their normal.
When my children see me on my mat in the living room when they wake up. It normal. I move my body daily and they even love to join in, I always keep spare mats to the side of me, When we eat, we nourish ourselves, they don’t see me eat fast foods or processed snacks as we don’t have them, they just see that as normal. I’m not taking away from them; I’m teaching them how to care for themselves, like I try my best to care for me.
How do you integrate wellness into family life without it feeling like another “to-do”?
I weave it in everywhere I possible can every day! I don’t add it on like a task,
We go on walks and bike rides together. We cook and bake together, they’re involved in their nutrition. I stretch on there floor while they play, or they join me and we do fun family yoga.
We get outside as much as possible, natural sunlight, fresh air and unstructured movement are the pillars of wellness. All that also helps with quality sleep and we all love our sleep.
When wellness becomes part of the daily rhythms of life, its not just another task.
How do you stay consistent with wellbeing when motivation dips?
I don’t rely on motivation. I think thats one of the biggest issues I see with clients and even those around me. Believing they are ‘broken’ because they don’t wake up motivated 7 days a week! Well guess what… no one does ! I rely on consistency, a deeper understanding of your reasons why you make these daily choices. It more about your internal identity that you have made for yourself.
I class myself as someone who cares for her wellbeing. So even when I don’t feel like it, I return to one small habit. Nothing grand, but just committing to 10 minutes of a class or adding something colourful to an otherwise lazier beige food plate. The momentum grows quickly once you do one good thing for yourself, your mood tends to follow.
How do you see your wellness work evolving over the next 2–3 years?
I am full of ideas, sometimes to my own downfall, I see a world of opportunity ahead for Auroravita. All the ways I am able to support women on their health and wellness journeys. I have already offered smaller versions of many of these, from online health coaching in both private and group sessions, leading yoga and breath work sessions aimed at improving women’s health, nutrition & self care workshops, high end immersive wellness experiences based both online and also here on the beautiful sunny costa blanca.
The future feels expansive and exciting, but all rooted in the same core mission: helping women reconnect to themselves. I’m currently busy navigating life as a new mum of four (having just welcomed our youngest daughter in January)
I am taking this time to work intentionally while continuing further studies in women’s health delving further into pre and post natal health. I am loving this stage and very much looking forward to expanding over the coming years, inviting women to join me on the pursuit of optimal health for long term happiness.
Harriot’s approach to wellness feels like a quiet antidote to the noise of modern health culture. In a world that often demands extremes — harder workouts, stricter diets, earlier alarms — her message is something refreshingly different:
come back to the basics, come back to your body, and most importantly, come back to yourself.
Through AuroraVita Wellness, she reminds us that wellbeing isn’t about chasing perfection or copying someone else’s routine. It’s about building small, sustainable habits that fit into the reality of our lives — especially during seasons as full and demanding as motherhood.
Perhaps the most powerful idea she shares is that wellness doesn’t have to be another task on an already long list. It can simply be woven into the rhythm of everyday life — a walk with your children, a quiet cup of tea, a few steady breaths when the world feels overwhelming.
And maybe that’s the real lesson here: that looking after ourselves doesn’t require a dramatic transformation. Sometimes it just requires a moment of pause, a little consistency, and the willingness to begin again.
For Harriot, that moment is what AuroraVita represents — the dawn of reconnecting with ourselves.
Want to see more of Harriot
Instagram.com/auroravita.wellness
website AuroravitaWellness