IN RITUALS WITH JULIE COIGNET, NATUROPATH

NUBIO WORKSHOP - 07/06/2026

For those who don't know you, tell us all about yourself…

I'm Julie Coignet, a naturopath specializing in digestive health. I support women who do everything right: careful eating, exercise, supplements, all sorts of consultations, yet whose bodies still don't respond. Unpredictable stomach, chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, reactive skin. Symptoms that seem to have no connection to each other. Except they do.

My job is to show them that everything often starts in the gut.

I am also the author of Mangez Digeste (Michel Lafon, 2026), creator of the Happy Belly program, and host of the KINOA podcast, with over 220 episodes and 450,000 listens. And I myself went through ulcerative colitis, which I put into remission using my own method. So I speak from lived experience, not from a textbook.

What led you to naturopathy?

Naturopathy, at first, was a passion—not a professional calling. I've always been drawn to health, lifestyle, sports, food... This thirst to learn, to understand how the body works. I completed my 3-year training while working my job, without necessarily planning to open a practice.

And then a few months after I graduated, I was diagnosed with UC (ulcerative colitis). I thought I had the tools. But that wasn't enough. I had to experiment, unlearn some things, relearn others, and fumble my way to finally putting my condition into remission. It was this journey that truly made me the practitioner I am today.

What has transformed your relationship with well-being the most?

For a long time, I thought that not being sick meant being well. But that's not necessarily the case. There are always little signals that we don't listen to, that we think are normal, with which we learn to live without ever really questioning them.

Today, my relationship with well-being is much more preventive—and also calmer. I have found peace. I no longer try to control everything or be perfect. I learn to truly listen to myself.

What does "taking care of yourself from within" mean to you?

It means learning to trust your body rather than fighting it.

We've been conditioned to see symptoms as enemies to be eliminated. A bloated stomach: eliminate. Persistent fatigue: push through. Pain: compensate. But taking care of yourself from within means understanding what your body is trying to say and responding intelligently, not silencing it.

Specifically: it means eating in tune with your physiology, regulating your nervous system as much as your plate, and rebuilding a trusting relationship with your own body.

How has this philosophy evolved over the years and your practice?

At first, I was very focused on food. What we eat, how we prepare it, in what order we digest it. This is essential and often the first lever.

But over the years, I realized that the nervous system is also a digestive cause in its own right. A woman can eat perfectly digestible food and still digest poorly, because she is in chronic survival mode. Stress literally deactivates digestion.

As a result, my method has structured itself around two inseparable pillars: food choices and nervous system regulation. Both together. Never one without the other.

What subtle signs of imbalance have you learned to recognize?

The stomach that systematically bloats after meals, even "good" ones. Fatigue that returns at 3 PM, like clockwork. Sleep that improves without being truly restorative. Skin that reacts for no clear reason. Emotions that are more on edge than usual.

These signals, taken in isolation, seem harmless. Together, they tell a story. Often: an ailing gut, an imbalanced microbiome, or a nervous system in a permanent state of alert.

The problem is that we attribute them to age, stress, "life." And we go on, without ever looking for what truly causes them.

What do these signals most often reveal about our current lifestyle?

That we live at a pace that is not physiologically compatible with our needs.

We do everything quickly, we eat quickly, standing up, in front of a screen, answering emails. We are in chronic stress mode. And the body needs security to digest. This is not a metaphor: the parasympathetic nervous system (the one for "rest and digest") must be activated for digestive enzymes to work, for intestinal motility to be normal, for the intestine to absorb properly.

And a poorly functioning gut is the breeding ground for most chronic diseases, digestive disorders, inflammation, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, overweight...

What are the most powerful rituals according to you?

Only two, but they really make a difference.

The first: eat mindfully, in calm. And to achieve this, there's a simple step before starting: breathe. Three deep, conscious breaths, before bringing the fork to your mouth. This activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the one that allows for proper digestion. It takes 30 seconds. And it changes everything that follows.

The second: chew. Really chew. You won't have teeth left afterwards. Digestion starts in the mouth, so if you swallow quickly, the stomach receives chunks it wasn't ready to process. Result: bloating, heaviness, fermentation. Chewing more is free, accessible to everyone, and for many women I work with, it makes a visible difference in a few days. It also allows you to eat less ;).

What do your own morning rituals look like?

I start by stretching as soon as I get out of bed, for a few minutes or a bit longer, rolling out my yoga mat depending on the day.

Then I drink hot water or broth to gently kickstart digestion and rehydrate after the night. I've never drunk coffee, but I always advise against coffee on an empty stomach; it stimulates gastric acidity before the stomach is ready.

My breakfast is savory, protein-rich, and fatty. For satiety, for stable energy in the morning, and to support my hormones and neurotransmitters, which are made from protein and healthy fats. No fast sugar in the morning if you want to avoid the 10 AM slump.

And before I start working, once the children are dropped off at school, I take a few minutes, sometimes more, to breathe consciously. It's not an Instagram routine. It's just time to get into my body before getting into my day.

And your evening rituals to support recovery?

In the evening, I turn off my computer and phone as early as possible and without exception, one hour before going to sleep. This is non-negotiable for me. I put my system in safety and calming mode: soft light, no screens, no mental stimulation.

I don't eat too late, not too heavy. And in between, I enjoy my children: we laugh, we read a book, I massage them, we chat. These moments are as much a part of my recovery as sleep itself.

And then, I read for 30 minutes to an hour before falling asleep. Mostly novels, to let my mind settle without further stimulation.

What are your Atelier Nubio favorites that accompany you all year round?

The Bone Broth, without hesitation. It's my absolute favorite, as I mentioned in our live together. But that's not all. Every spring/summer, I also do a course of Jolies Gambettes to help my circulation and prevent heavy legs. And at the beginning of summer, the Summer Complexion Routine to prepare my skin for the sun. These are seasonal rituals that I truly look forward to from one year to the next.”

What helps you return to this balance during periods of stress or fatigue?

“Going for a walk, getting some fresh air, at least once a day. I tend to sit a lot in front of the computer, so I invested in a treadmill. But when the weather is nice, I try to go outside, it's still more oxygenating.

And getting back to basics, without feeling guilty about not doing everything perfectly. During difficult times, I stick to two things: going to bed early and eating well, even if it's simple or quick, but always digestible. No optimization. Just not making what my body is going through worse, and even helping it.

What do you wish people would stop believing about well-being?

Many things. But if I had to pick one, it would be believing that eating healthy and eating digestibly are the same thing. This is my deep conviction, the common thread of all my work, and the subject of my book Mangez Digeste! published in April by Michel Lafon. You can eat vegetables, legumes, green smoothies… and still have an upset stomach. Because what matters is not just what you put on your plate. It's what your body is capable of assimilating. An objectively "healthy" food can be an aggression for a weakened gut. And no one says that clearly.

And I would add something that is really close to my heart: I wish people would stop thinking that well-being is an accessory. That it's for those who have time or money. But why? We all have the right to well-being, to health, to the energy to live our best lives. It's not a luxury. It's a priority.

If you could only share one ritual that is truly accessible to everyone… 

Breathe. Consciously, of course. The number of people who suffocate, who don't breathe, literally and figuratively, who are in permanent survival mode... Breathe! It's the first and last thing we do in our lives. But in between? Life is too short to spend it holding your breath.

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Find Julie on Instagram @juliecoignet and on her website www.juliecoignet.com