We caught up with celebrity cleanse expert and holistic nutritionist Elissa Goodman to talk about all things aging well. Elissa, who has worked with everyone from Molly Sims to Kate Hudson, is an authority in the wellness space, educating and encouraging healthy, mindful living and helping others to embrace the concept that we are all a product of how we treat ourselves.

Here, Elissa shares her favorite anti-aging hacks, her skincare philosophy, and she chats with us about the importance of self-love and healing our emotional health.

How do you start your day?

I start every day by taking my morning supplements. Some include Eidon Liquid Silica and Zinc, Genuine Health Probiotic, liposomal vitamin C, and bioidentical hormones. After that, I love to journal about my anxieties. Getting them out on paper helps me release them, and I always notice a difference in how I feel afterward and throughout the day. After I complete my journaling practice, I make a green juice with organic green vegetables.

What does your workout routine look like?

Yoga is my preferred workout these days. I feel it most effectively exercises both my body and my mind. I love that it is low impact, builds muscle, relaxes the mind, and stretches my fascia all at once. I recommend yoga to everybody I meet. I try to practice yoga around four times a week as it has a noticeable impact on my mood and energy levels.

Do you have any rituals that you can't go a day without?

Yes! I have grown addicted to gratitude journaling. It is a practice I complete every night before bed, and it has done wonders to improve my sleep. Jotting down three things I am grateful for allows me to clear my head of negative thoughts and relax before trying to sleep. I notice I fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly, and wake up with less anxiety after I practice gratitude journaling.

What are your favorite anti-aging hacks?

I have several anti-aging hacks that I swear by, one of which is drinking enough water during the day. Aim for around 16 cups of water if you are a man and 12 cups of water if you are a woman. I also recommend upping your fiber intake by adding more leafy greens and legumes to your diet. Fiber can have significant beneficial impacts on almost every bodily system—even on your skin!

Finally, it is so important to love yourself. You can implement every other strategy on this list, but if you don't love yourself—they won't work! When you genuinely love yourself, you release your ego, and your passion and purpose become clear. You can recognize your trauma and heal from it, forgive yourself from past mistakes, find inner peace, and be your own best friend.

What is your skincare philosophy?

My skincare philosophy is that it is imperative to focus on your skin from both the outside and the inside. I educate and empower all of my clients to be mindful about what goes into their bodies, but sometimes they are surprised to hear that it is just as critical to use that same level of care when considering what they put onto their bodies. Sure, food is important—extremely important! But it is only one piece of the puzzle that is your health. I am extraordinarily particular about what ingredients go on my skin – especially my face. That is one of the reasons why I am so obsessed with Agent Nateur's clean products.

What supplements do you recommend for overall health and antiaging?

Supplements can be excellent tools for optimizing our health. It is also important to remember that finding high-quality brands that source sustainably without using fillers or additives is vital to your supplement success! Some of the supplements that I love to help with graceful aging include a high-quality probiotic (I like Genuine Health), magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3s.

When it comes to aging well, what are some top preventative measures we can all be taking to live our best lives?

I recommend finding a high-quality, clean facial sunscreen, getting a solid eight hours of sleep each night, drinking an organic green juice every morning, eating more plant-based meals, removing as much negativity in your life as possible, spending time with people who raise you up, dedicating energy and time to your passions, and, above all, loving yourself! 

You have talked about how healing your traumas were big after your cancer diagnosis. Can you go further into this? How do emotions show up in our physical health?

It took decades of active personal growth for me to truly understand the importance of investigating and releasing emotional past traumas. When I finally faced my past traumas through methods such as yoga, therapy, and consuming countless self-help books, a weight began to lift. I moved on to deeper practices like energy healing, plant medicine journeys, and more. My mood felt lighter and my skin became more radiant. I really felt like I had turned back the clock ten years. Physical health and emotional health are much more intertwined than we realize. 

You have mentioned before that your life transformed with the use of ayahuasca and psilocybin. What effect did these plant medicines  have on you and how you are living today?

Plant medicine has had a monumental impact on my life. I was very nervous to try it, but I am so glad I did. I walked away from my first plant medicine journey with some profound breakthroughs. I had some moments of difficult honesty with myself and other moments of delicious unconditional self-love. I also came away with total clarity about other aspects of my life. I had a better understanding of how I could be giving more to certain personal relationships. My journeys since my first have been even more profound. I always learn more about myself and experience major self-growth. I encourage everyone to learn more about the topic to see if it is right for them.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?

I wish I could travel back in time and tell myself to stop putting so much thought into what other people thought of me. People's perceptions of me used to carry so much weight in my mind, and I spent way too much energy stressing about it. I would try to please everyone and, as a result, neglected myself. If I could go back in time, I would encourage myself to start practicing self-love much earlier in life. So that is what I recommend to all of my clients – and anyone reading this, too.