Here's a selection of the best questions that I'm asked.
What are your personal details?
Well, without being too personal...
Multidimensional name: Doxtor Shazzie Ecstasist Vageniyummy. Vageniyummy:
female heart-led genius. Doxtor: someone who advocates you take responsibility for your
health yourself by detoxing instead of going to a doctor. EG: Doxtor
Shazzie, the UK's most prolific and well-loved doxtor.)
DOB: 23/01/69. (23rd January 1969)
Mayan birth sign: Yellow magnetic sun (unity)
Star sign: Aquarius. And a very typical one, too.
Height: 5' 5" now -- it used to be 5' 4", I grew
an inch when I took up yoga aged 30.
Weight: Varies a bit, but is around 9 stone.
Hair colour: Varies, but when I live in the sun (or when I
dye it with Aveda dye) it's a medium blonde and that's the way aha aha I
like it!
Eye colour: Blue. No I don't wear contact lenses, coloured or otherwise.
Why do you call yourself The Doxtor?
I'm The Doxtor because I dazzle some people so much that they can't see.
When they're in that dark space, they release all their negativity (sometimes
directed right towards me but I never
take it personally). This causes all their emotions to get detoxed,
then they see the light and start to dazzle themselves. Soon, I'm going
to do a Doxtor Certification Course because qualifications are really important.
How do you define yourself?
You can't put The Doxtor in a boxtor! Actually, you can't put anyone
in a boxtor, though people try. The truth is, because we are all one,
we are all the worst and the best of everything all together. It's great
to safely explore parts of this in your life, and I've explored a whole
lot in my life. Yes, I'm a full time single mum, yes, I'm raw, yes, I'm
a writer, yes I run two businesses, yes, I'm a revolutionary, yes, I'm a yogini,
yes, I'm a visionary, yes, I'm an artist, yes, I'm a chef, yes, I'm a
believer, yes, I'm a lover, yes, my to do list is from another planet,
yes, so am I, probably. Yes, so are you, probably. honestly, I'd rather
refine myself than define myself. It's much more useful and fun.
Are you married?
My ecstatic husband is in vibrational escrow. Coming to me soon, absolutely. Evie's picked her bridesmaid dress out already. She doesn't care about the timing, it's the dressing up that counts.
Luckily, I don't have a sell-by date -- raw foods,
superfoods and yoga see to that.
What are your best party tricks?
Great question. Apparently no human can lick its own elbow.
I can. I can also almost touch the floor with my elbows and straight legs.
As many people can't even touch the floor with their fingers, I find this
highly hilarious. I can also get my legs behind my head, write with my
feet and do a variety of impressions, but not very often! OK, this is nothing to do with yoga, I'm hyperflexible and was born that way. My mum has yet to forgive me.
Are you always as happy as you appear?
These days, yes. I made a commitment to live every day in ecstatic bliss,
and after a short while it actually worked. But as life is there to push you to greater highs, I've had times when I've wondered about it all. When my lover Adam died in September 2008 I couldn't get out of bed for months. Yet, I worked out that you don't get over these things, you weave them into the great big tapestry that is your own unique life. I did an iboga ceremony in December 2008 and that radically altered me. It's like a complete defrag of your mind, body and spirit. Iboga is known as the world's strongest medicine and so it leaves no stone unturned. It's still working in me now and I'm eternally grateful for what it's unearthed.
If I go out to a raw party or event, then it's easy -- I have the same
as everyone else. If I go to a restaurant I get a salad made up of raw
ingredients which I've spotted on the menu. If I'm not sure what will
be on the menu, I take a couple of avocados with me. If all else fails,
I ask for fruit or just drink water and then eat another time. When you've
been raw for a while you don't get the same type of hunger as before.
I think it's lack of cravings for addictive starchy food like cooked bread,
pasta and potatoes.
If I'm going to a house party then I take a dish or two. Guacamole and
crudités always go down well, as do flax crackers and pâté.
But usually just taking myself and a happy vibe is enough to keep the
night swinging away into the tiny hours.
Do you ever cheat with your diet?
Ha! Cheat myself? No. In my online journal (which is now only available in Shazzie's VIP Room, called: Last Night A Cucumber Saved My Life),
I wrote about the times when I ate cooked food, and the bad effects it
had on me. But for about 4 years I ate 100% raw food. When I was pregnant
I started eating cooked food, and put on weight. I stayed at about 80-95% raw until I stopped breastfeeding, but kept it vegan. Since I did the iboga ceremony, I've made a clear intention to eat 100% raw again, but sometimes it's just too hard when I'm out. I'm happy with the way I eat, and that's much more important to me than a set of numbers. I always have lots of really nutrient dense superfoods, salads and juices in my day. I'm a vegan for compassionate
reasons (about 25 years now!) and I'm into raw food for health reasons,
so there's a big priority difference in my head with those two things.
How many people visit your site?
Every week I see that several people have attempted to view my stats!
I can't imagine why it's of interest to anyone, but it obviously is. So
here's the info, geezers: I get about 100,000 visitors a week. I don't
quite know where they all come from, but I'm rated well in search engines
and linked to from many other web sites.
What are your top tips and reasons for eating raw food?
I get asked this a lot so I prepared web
page with it all on.
Can you recommend a good book to start eating raw?
Oh, strangely enough, yes! Detox
Your World is majorly holistic in its view, it has a lovely Detox
for life plan in it (amongst others), that you can follow to go raw
the easy way. It also has 100 unique recipes in it, and info on
other stuff such as amalgam (mercury) fillings. It's had fab reviews,
too! In addition to Detox Your World, check out Shazzie's
detox delights which has over 100 different inspiring and yummy
raw vegan recipes. These two books are great sisters!
And if you want more raw food recipes or specific information on raising children raw, then check out Evie's Kitchen, it's the only book in the world of its kind.
Is there anything raw food hasn't cured for you?
I get asked all the time "What has raw food cured in you?"
but when I was asked the above question I was stumped! My first reaction
was "Not eating cooked food has cured me of all my ills", but
on reflection, I've still got a terrible terrible singing voice (though
I love to sing). I guess the thing that took the longest to sort out was
my patchy skin. It took a good 3 years to become even all over. Oooh,
and I've still got my mother's thighs. She'll be asking for them back
sometime soon, though, I hope! I can't compare my emotions to how they
used to be, yet sometimes I still get a bit off the wall at people. I
certainly don't feel depressed any more, and that's a mega-achievement
for me. I still can't run, but I actually am not bothered by this, either.
My breathing's much better than it used to be, and I think I've finally got on top of the panic attacks I used to have. That was probably due to being vegan long-term, a B12 deficiency, cured with sublingual spray. I'd always taken B12 but not sublingually, as I didn't realise the importance. I know better now.
Do you give to charity?
I give a lot of time to others. Sometimes it takes the form of charities,
sometimes it takes the form of individual people. Over the years, I've
given hundreds of hours to charities such as the Vegan
Society, and McSpotlight,
by creating illustrations or web site bits for them. Regarding individuals,
I offer a lot of free and unconditional support. However, I realise that
the best way I can help more people is by channelling my energy into my
books and digital information, as they reach more people than individual emails can.
Who
do you most admire?
Anyone who thinks, feels and grows, rather than those who for some reason
complain all the time and say "can't do owt about that".
Of course, there are many who inspire me, as well as the obvious
ones like Gandhi, Louise Hay, Caroline Myss, John Lennon, Peace Pilgrim, etc, I really admire my friends.
I spent a long time fine-tuning my friends. Over the years, some have
come and gone -- leaving me bewildered at their poisness, judgement issues, flakiness or
bitchiness (not all at once, there!!), but some friends have really made
me grow in major ways, and have been there for me, regardless of what
I've had to go through to be the now me. Particularly, Jessie (Karen Arnott these days), Stretch
(Mrs Lisa Renny these days), Lisa Currants and Joe El Mejor. And of course Adam, Revel In Paradise. He made me expand way bigger than I thought I ever could.
In the raw food world, my biggest inspiration by far is my Naked Chocolate co-author and wonderful friend David
Wolfe. I love everything about him. He's a perfect example of
someone who is in constant flow. When I was pregnant with Evie, we visited
Uri Geller at his home. I was blown away by this man, too. He's another
great inspiration. If you get chance to meet him, then do. I love hanging
out with people who are divinely inspired. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
And finally, cheesy though it may sound, I really admire my family --
not for the way they've grown, because that's not their bag -- but because
their souls shine very bright, regardless of their personal trials and
triumphs.
Who would you most like to meet?
I met Maggie Thatcher in the house of Lords loos once. That was a shock, and she wasn't at all on my list, but you know, she really had a glow about her. Very strong and powerful woman who was clearly connected.
I'd love to meet the people who were my childhood heroes. '80s pop stars, you know the ones!
I also just love meeting people who are doing real things to really love
our gorgeous planet, and people who are creative, in love with life and
who are happy and tactile, beautiful on the inside. Those kind of people
are all inspirations to me.
Oh, I'd also love to meet my Mr Perfect for me. When you're ready --
do you know what I mean? Glad I'm a patient person, eh.
What music do you listen to?
Oh, lots really. I guess the only music I can't get my head round is
that funny R&B thing. I love groovy British
Indie stuff the most. And Bjork. I grew up in the New Romantic era, so spent
my early years smeared with gold eyeshadow and a lop-sided pinky-blonde
hairdo. Visage was probably my fave group of that time. Just slightly
before then, kind of just about Post Punk I loved The Boomtown Rats,
like before Sir Bob was godified. Then after that I got into Prince, I
loved the dancy-gayness of Erasure, and I swooned for Billy Idol. Ooh,
even now, you just would, wouldn't you? Then all the groovy Indie stuff
came out, which was mostly all fab, and dance music really got me, too.
Remember Johnny Rotten singing in Leftfield's Open Up? I've always
totally gone for Depeche Mode, too... they really stood the test of time.
Fernando (my Spanish ex-boyfriend) got me into a load of lounge music a few years back, which still
resonates with me. And now, I enjoy stuff like Goldfrapp (coz I also love
T Rex), John Lennon, Madonna, and all the music of my past. Am gonna get
a record player soon and get all my records out of the loft and make Evie
learn them all. Oooh, my Billy Idol picture discs!! I get this odd thing
happen to me in record shops, though. I go in, wanting to buy something
groovy, and I come out with Elvis' greatest hits or something. I just
go weird and panic. Maybe it's a recluse thing? Thank goddess for iTunes.
What's your beauty routine?
Hmmm. First off, I think that beauty comes from three distinct places,
and is very much prioritised.
The heart -- Without feeling love and beauty in the heart,
you'll never radiate. Regardless of any amount of plastic surgery or
cosmetics, heartless beauty is fake beauty and people can easily see
through that.
Food -- A diet rich in green food (healing to the heart amongst
other things) and algaes helps me feel beautiful from the inside. I
get so much green in my diet, that it keeps my skin elastic (only one wrinkle at 41), and so many antioxidants that it deages me on a daily
basis. I shudder to think what I'd look like if I'd had the last decade on a normal cooked diet. I don't for one minute do what I do for
looks, but of course it's a bonus! Who wants to age prematurely? Who
wants to look lined and haggard? And who wants to undergo dangerous,
expensive and scar-forming plastic surgery to erase the years? It's
much easier to eat raw food and superfoods.
Skincare -- I barely do anything. Sometimes I go for oxygen
facials, but like twice a year since Evie. I just don't have the time.
Other than that, I wash my whole body with MSM soap and moisturise my
body with MSM lotion. I use Stella McCartney face care stuff sometimes, but mostly I forget. It is lovely, though! I often splash ormus on my face after a bath. I use coconut oil on my face and sometimes I exfoliate
my face in the bath with a chewed up brazil, walnut, or pecan. They
work wonders! And that's all. I don't fanny about with anything else
unless it's a one-off type thing. This is my daily/weekly routine, and
it's quick, easy, cheap, natural and raw. By the way, I didn't get one stretch mark when I was pregnant because I covered myself with coconut oil. Got them on my boobs when my milk came in, though!
Do you get loads of emails?
Yes thanks! I get stacks. I just can't answer
them, or I'd get nothing else done. I do love receiving them and try to
acknowledge them, but when people ask questions, I can't reply. I incorporate what people want to know in my books and other information, so it reaches a wider audience.
Why don't you do consultations any more?
When I had Evie in 2004, I had to decide which parts of my work were a priority
to me. I knew I'd stop working those 100 hour weeks. Being a full time
mum, that was a given. So I decided one of the things that wasn't too
important was consultations.
Come on! Don't you think the raw food diet is a bit bonkers? Even for
you, Shazzie?
Come on, yourself! I'm with all those other animals on the planet who
don't cook their food. My diet is normal, guys. If you choose to take
a perfect peice of food and alter it beyond total recognition, or if you
choose to take a piece of inedible "food" (such as a potato
or a kidney bean) and alter it just so you can eat it, then you be
the one that's a bit bonkers. For sure. Logic dictates that
cooking food just ain't right, so it can't be healthy. Yeah, it tastes
good when that's all you're used to, but so do my delights, I can promise
you, and they make you feel great... isn't that the whole point? Who wants
to feel ill and be a couch potato?
Can I send you a gift?
Yes, of course. So long as it's a nice one! Send it to my Rawcreation
address, and it will get to me. Thanks, you're so kind.
Hope that's answered some of your questions. Big love to you!
