Meet Rosie Harte | Somatic Therapist & Bodybuilder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rosie Harte and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rosie, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
Habits have been such an important part throughout my career as a professional bodybuilder and now as a Somatic Therapist. I believe the most important habits are the most basic. We are living organisms that need to be fed with good quality fuel to give us the energy necessary for our short, medium and long term goals. Eating quality food every day to keep the body nourished, light and alive has been and always will be a habit that just is. I don’t have to think about it, It’s become part of my identity and the standards I hold myself to. Exercise and movement is key for high performance states in all areas of my life. When I don’t move enough I can feel my metabolism and body stagnant, it feels like the fire isn’t burning. I move in some way or another every day, it could be pilates, yoga, weightlifting or hiking. Now I’m not a professional bodybuilder I have more freedom and variety, but stagnation is not an option. I started dancing at the age of three and see how this habit of movement has allowed me to stay resilient and energetic. Exercise completely changes your body physiology and directly impacts your mental and emotional well being. Another habit I have is the practice of meditation. I have been doing this for around seven years now. Daily meditation with breathwork can help to strengthen the parts of the brain that help with our focus and attention. I have historically been a little more wired, dreamy and scattered in my states and thought processes but meditation has really helped to calm my nervous system and strengthen my ability to focus on one thing at a time without rush or distraction. I see these habits the same way I see brushing my teeth each day. I am going to be doing this for the rest of my life. It doesn’t come in phases, it is an identity.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Bodybuilding is really where it all started. I just loved weight lifting and I wanted to be the best female bodybuilder in the UK. This passion taught me how determined, patient and resilient I could be. It also showed me I love knowledge and I love to get down to the most in depth details to gain real wisdom. I learned all about female fat loss, hormones and gut health during the 15 years that I was competing. I’m most proud of the lived experience that you can’t buy from a book or a course. I experienced struggles such as a binge eating disorder and I overcame it. The challenges I faced lead me on the path of self love, self healing and brought me to the point where I can confidently help others as I have been there and come through the other side stronger and wiser. I gained my professional bodybuilding status in 2015, this is how I built my social media following. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing with Instagram, I just shared my passion and people liked it and I guess it was inspiring for many to witness. I was the only female from the UK to ever grace the Olympia stage in Women’s Physique and I think that might still be the case 7 years on. It most certainly wasn’t easy, it took serious discipline, sacrifice, commitment and patience. I overcame the challenges because my goal was so important to me. When you set clear, powerful and compelling goals you tend to only find solutions. I’ve also learned that when you no longer feel that passion and fulfilment for something you once did, know when the time is right to change. The best thing I did was stop competing at the time I did and move into the next phase of my life, which has been far more balanced, gentle and graced with more divine feminine energy. I would like the world to know that I am passionate about inspiring, awakening and empowering other people with the wisdom I have gained. There is nothing that brings me more joy than when I am working with my clients, seeing the penny drop, moments of clarity for them in real time about their own self worth, or realisations that the past habits and identity they felt trapped by can be changed. I want to share with as many people as possible the things that have allowed me to connect to my conscious wants and desires and have the self love and belief to get out there and go for it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ok, so I am living in Spain at the moment with my wonderful Spanish partner. I would take my friend to a place called Moratalla. We’d go camping in the forest and each day hike up through the river that flows over the rocks, stopping in the little cool water pools to swim and relax. This is one of my favourite places, it is like a paradise. I’d set up the slack line between the trees and we could practice walking across, probably not very well but it would be fun. Food, this would be cooked on the little gas cooker. I make a mean sausage stew. I’ve recently stopped drinking alcohol, it’s been 52 days so far so I would have to see if it was an non alcoholic beer or a freshly squeezed orange juice, it’s like drinking sunshine.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Wow, there are so many people I could shout out. When I was bodybuilding I had the support of my partners and friends which I am eternally grateful. When I stopped bodybuilding I learned a lot from a business mentor called Mark Coles, encouraging and inspiring. I also spent a lot of time with my friend Claire Mcgrath, working together and co creating with the therapy work taught me a lot, challenged me and catapulted me into the work that I’m doing now. So thankyou Claire for helping me raise up. I’d also like to give a shout out to Bruce Lipton for the “Biology of Belief”, a work of art and it helped me to articulate what I was going through as I experienced my spiritual awakening in 2019. Also the work of Deb Dana and Stephen Porges with the polyvagal theory. So much of the work I do now in somatic therapy is guided by this incredible self regulating therapy. I’d also like to say thankyou to all the girls at “Moving Soma”, I had the most incredible experience working with these ladies studying Somatic Movement Therapy. The little time I spent with these ladies allowed so many things to click into place, I started to understand the work I was doing at a deeper level, gain more confidence and respect for the practice of Somatic Therapy.

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