Retired Health and Wellness Coach, Occupational Therapist and Personal Trainer I am committed to helping you be your best self and to live life to the fullest.
Laurel Parsons Wellness
About Me
My long career as an Occupational Therapist (OT) reached a turning point when I realized I wanted to start using my passion for health and wellness to help people live a life they love, as well as assist in preventing many of the conditions I treated as a therapist. I offer a unique service by integrating Wellness Coaching with my clinical skills and professional experience as an Occupational Therapist, plus my Health and Fitness Qualifications, to support midlife women who want professional guidance in making positive lifestyle changes. Qualifications and Professional Memberships
Registered Occupational Therapist – AHPRA
Member of OT Australia
BSc (Occupational Therapy) – Curtin University
Post Graduate Diploma Health Science – Edith Cowan University
Certified Wellness Coach – Level 1, 2 and 3 Wellness Coaching – Wellness Coaching Australia
Registered Exercise Professional – Fitness Australia
Certificate in Pain Management – Edith Cowan University
14/01/2026
Happy anniversary to us! 48 years married.
Here’s to the life and family we’ve created, to all the things we’ve shared and to whatever experiences are still to come, including the trips I talk you into taking with me, and the DIY projects I concoct then persuade you to build (see photo 2, an amazing bar table inspired by one we saw when we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Penang a few months ago…awesome job Trev 👏🏼)
24/12/2025
So here we are, another Christmas Eve ❤️🎄❤️Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2026! Here’s a Perth sunset in the background of our Christmas tree, plus some pics of taking our adorable little granddaughter to see the Christmas lights in the city. Grandchildren are certainly motivation to stay as strong and mobile as possible 💪🏼🥰
🎄
13/12/2025
Went to King Gizzard’s orchestra concert last night at Sidney Myer music Bowl (we’re in Melbourne visiting our girl and my family).
The show was just wild and I could watch it all over again. Here’s some snippets. It was all awesome, but my favourite moment was the orchestra’s epic outro to the psych-rock ‘Crumbling Castle’…so powerful (so I’ve put it first and out of order on the reel 😂). Going to their Rock n Roll show tonight.
I know I’ve mentioned this previously, but according to some studies, attending gigs can have a positive impact on feelings of health, happiness and wellbeing, and may even increase longevity.
31/10/2025
We’re in Batu Ferringhi, Penang for the last leg of our journey and I took advantage of the hotel gym today. Equipment not extensive, but enough for a quick, simple workout, squeezed in between pool time and a beautiful massage at the spa.
After a warm up on the bike, I did sets on the Leg Extension Machine, the Lat Pull Down, and an Ab Machine I’d never used before. Then it was sets using dumbbells for shoulder presses, Romanian deadlifts, chest presses, single arm rows, front squats, and biceps curls.
Just trying and keep this body as mobile and functional as I can.
# penangmalaysia
27/10/2025
Here’s some snippets of our weekend in Kuala Lumpur watching the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang. Pics are a mixture from my phone and Trev’s camera, so in no particular order, but none of them really capture the speed these bikes reach or the degree of gravity defying lean on the corners 😳 (they must have a core of steel!, I can’t even imagine the intensity of their physical training).
Racing was disrupted yesterday due to a horrific accident in Moto3, with both riders being choppered to hospital 😢 We hope they recover well 🤞🏼❤️🩹
23/10/2025
Our last day in Sigiriya saw us climb the 1200 step up Sigiriya Rock Fortress (Lion’s Rock) complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to 477-498 AD.
Despite the 5:30 am start and cloud cover, it was hot and sticky. The first stage is made up of uneven, narrow stone steps, made slippery by the rain that morning (a bit awkward for a clutz like me 😂). Trev’s knees troubled him, but he did manage to get half way. I carried on with a few people from our group.
I’m acrophobic, so was a little nervous on the upper level metal staircase that hangs off the side of the rock 🫣 but clutched the handrail and made it to the 349m summit.
When I arrived, the promised views were shrouded in cloud. Never mind, it felt quite ethereal and I was still able to wander around the ruins. It did start to clear up on my descent, so I was able to see the surrounding countryside from above. It was an amazing experience!
The next day we headed to a beach resort in Chilow to chillax for two days. We’re had a fantastic trip, saw and did some amazing things and met some lovely people.
We’re at the airport now, waiting to board our plane to Kuala Lumpur to watch the motoGP.
22/10/2025
Our hotel near Kandy was nestled in a picturesque hillside setting, with lush gardens, a nice pool and an okay gym (where I managed to slip in a couple of workouts). We enjoyed a free morning there before visiting Kandy city and markets in the (rainy) afternoon.
The markets sold the usual array of clothing, souvenirs and food, but was interesting enough. However, the seafood section (unrefrigerated) was particularly pungent 🤮 Anyone who knows me is aware that I don’t like most seafood. In a first ever, I was actually grateful to the man in front for smoking and letting it waft in my face, partially masking the smell, so I stayed close behind him until we got away from the seafood 😂
We caught a tuk tuk up the hill to a cultural dance and fire walking performance in the evening, which was fun to watch (and I got taken up for the audience participation bit 🤦🏼♀️😂).
21/10/2025
We made the train journey from Nanu-Oya Station (near Nuwara Eliya) to Kandy, with beautiful views of highlands, tea plantations, villages and towns along the way. At an average speed of 20 km/h it took 4.0 hours to travel about 80-90km. It was quite relaxing, apart from my much needed visit to the bathroom towards the end, which was very smelly 😖 so I wore a mask with dabs of perfume on it, which helped 😷😂. We’d been on an overnight train in India before, so expected similar bathroom conditions. Still a unique and enjoyable trip though.
18/10/2025
We made two visits to Yala National Park (one late afternoon, another next morning) and saw a variety of different animals including birds, monkeys, elephants, buffalo, deer, crocodiles, and mongoose. Our guide had given us and our three fellow jeep occupants a book of birds at the start of our safari and we noted the birds were divided by colour, not necessarily species, so had a lot of laughs saying “look there’s one of those green birds, oh and that’s one of the brown ones”, plus a few quotes from Monty Python’s “Bookshop” skit 😂
Despite Yala having the highest leopard concentration in the world, we only saw one from a distance and by the time I lifted my phone to take a photo, it slipped away into the trees.
Trevor got some good pics on our SLR camera, but lost the cable to download to them to my phone 🤦🏼♀️, so I can’t access them 😢
18/10/2025
We made two visits to Yala National Park (one late afternoon, another next morning) and saw a variety of different animals including birds, monkeys, elephants, buffalo, deer, crocodiles, and mongoose. Our guide had given us and our three fellow jeep occupants a book of birds at the start of our safari and we noted the birds were divided by colour, not necessarily species, so had a lot of laughs saying “look there’s one of those green birds, oh and that’s one of the brown ones”, plus a few quotes from Monty Python’s “Bookshop” skit 😂
Despite Yala having the highest leopard concentration in the world, we only saw one from a distance and by the time I lifted my phone to take a photo, it slipped away into the trees.
Trevor got some good pics on our SLR camera, but lost the cable to download to them to my phone 🤦🏼♀️, so I can’t access them 😢
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My 20 year career as an Occupational Therapist (OT) reached a turning point when I realised I wanted to start using my passion for health and wellness to prevent the conditions I treated as a therapist. I am committed to helping you be your best self and to live life to the fullest.
I offer a unique service by integrating Wellness Coaching with my clinical skills and professional experience as an Occupational Therapist, plus my Fitness qualifications, to support clients who want professional guidance in making positive lifestyle changes.
Qualifications and Professional Memberships
Registered Occupational Therapist - AHPRA and member of OT Australia
BSc (Occupational Therapy) - Curtin University
Post Graduate Diploma Health Science – Edith Cowan University
Level 1, 2 & 3 in Wellness Coaching – Wellness Coaching Australia
Certificate 3 & 4 in Fitness – Fit College
AusREP - Registered Exercise Professional – Fitness Australia
Certificate in Pain Management – Edith Cowan University