Claudia van Schalkwyk is a 47-year-old mom, wife, coach, and founder of The Holistic Lifestyle. With her rippling abs and glowing complexion, you’d be forgiven for mistaking her for a 20-something content creator. “They say age slows you down but I’m just getting started,” muses Claudia. “I want to be stronger at 50, even sexier at 55 and a full-on badass at 60. That’s the vision.” And she’s spreading that vision everywhere: helping women “heal their hearts, renew their minds and reset their guts, mind, body and soul”. But Claudia’s wellness philosophy is grounded in her life experiences.
How Claudia Van Schalkwyk Found Wellness
In 2015, Claudia’s sister, Leonie, was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma cancer. “That season shifted everything,” Claudia reflects. Through holding her sister’s hand in a hospital room as she battled the disease, Claudia experienced a seismic shift in her view of life and health. “It made me realise that health isn’t just about what we eat or how we move, it’s about healing from the inside out. Because nothing lives in isolation – everything is connected.”
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Through the tragedy of losing her sister, Claudia began a movement to help women find their dedication to health. “What started in heartbreak has grown into a mission to help other women feel whole again,” she says. Her overarching belief is that emotional health is as important as the physical. “Emotional wounds show up in the body,” Claudia explains. “Healing starts when we address what’s happening inside, spiritually and emotionally.” In addition to that, Claudia has a focus on gut health, adding that it plays a role in regulating hormones, mood and boosting energy.
What Health Means To Claudia
“Fitness used to be about looking good in jeans. Now, it’s about feeling good in my own skin,” says Claudia. For her, that means coaching all day long, taking a run with her 22-year-old son and still grooving in her kitchen at night with her husband. “Health is unspeakable joy, freedom, and peace,” she says.
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Top Wellness Tips From Claudia van Schalkwyk
1. Prioritise silence
Her post-workout ritual involves… nothing. That’s “lying flat on the floor in silence. No music, no phone, just letting my body and spirit recalibrate before I go back into mom/wife/coach mode.”
2. Re-evaluate the phrase “cheat meal”
“I love going out for dinner with my husband, tasting from his plate, and just taking a mental break from structure. It’s not about the food…it’s the freedom.”
3. Workouts are non-negotiable
“Exercise keeps me sane, grounded, and a whole lot nicer to be around… I don’t take calls in the gym unless it’s life or death… and even then, I might finish my set first!”
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Get To Know Claudia
Remember… It’s never too late to start living well. Find the September/October (The Mind & Balance Issue) 2025 issue of Women’s Health on shelves now, or buy yourself a digital copy. Happy reading!
