Aelea – Wander to Wonder

Behold Spring

Spring is in the air. I'm not sure if we, as a collective, feel more anticipation for any other season than Spring. After our Winter of snow, cold and darkness, the sunshine that feels warm against our skin, the layers of clothing we shed when we venture outdoors for a walk and the patches of snow melting into large puddles stir in our hearts. Spring is here. The darkness is over. The time has come to open the windows, to let the fresh air in, to linger outside longer and longer and enjoy the steadily increasing moments of sunlight. In books I've been reading lately, authors have been putting to words the sentiment I've felt in my heart and experienced as a child. Nature itself is one of God's books for us to look at and learn more. The other book, the Scriptures, are what we commonly think of [...]

Aelea2021-03-28T20:54:55+00:00

Journaling Tips

How often do you take time to find a quiet space of stillness and reflect on Life that is happening at every moment? Journaling is a powerful way to reflect that can help you focus on the task at hand without allowing your mind to slip away to an upcoming task, a recent event or something else that is desiring your attention. When you fully allow yourself to become enveloped in reflecting and writing, you’ll be able to experience how beneficial this practice can be. Journaling is scientifically proven to reduce stress, improve immune function, keep your memory sharp, boost your mood and strengthen emotional functions. In more simple terms, journaling is good for you inside and out and is a practice that is easy to begin. All you need is a piece of paper or a notebook and a pen or pencil or another writing utensil. You’re all set [...]

Aelea2021-03-07T23:02:31+00:00

Does your schedule rule your life?

Does your schedule rule your life or does your life rule your schedule? Chances are we've never thought about the nuances of the question above. We often think our schedule and life work together to ensure we stay on task, motivated, aware of what has to be done and what's to come so that we can enjoy all the things life has to offer. We can fail to realize when our schedule becomes so packed it ends sucking the joy out of the very life it is helping us live on such a tight schedule. I love my schedule. I love writing in my planner the schedule for the day. From my morning routine to work, to getting in a workout and going for a walk, to scheduling in time to read and even writing down 'bedtime', it can be a fun process to lay out your life on the [...]

Aelea2021-03-03T19:37:20+00:00

Love + Light

When I first started dreaming up a Christmas class for 2020, I had imagined gathering in person, perhaps around the warmth of a fireplace, soft white lights glowing while the smell of mulled apple cider danced through the room. It was ideas of praying for each other while doing an ornament exchange and moving and breathing in unison while being physically distanced as protocols called for. As restrictions changed I changed what I thought would be possible until the reality set in-- to host a Christmas experience would be to do so virtually. Hosting online classes virtually through Zoom has been such a gift. Before covid, I had been teaching privately only and didn't have any public offering for people to attend. I shifted my private classes online and one went public and now I consider it such a gift to be able to hold space for you wherever you [...]

Aelea2020-11-30T21:27:31+00:00

Harvest Reflections

As I begin typing these words, I am aware that at this exact time last week, we were beginning to gather around the dinner table, mugs full of warm mulled apple cider, ready to enjoy a meal prepared by loving hands as Kayla was ready to lead us through a devotion and share pieces of her story. It’s 7:33pm and to say I am done reflecting on Harvest would be so far from the truth… *All photos by the amazing Jamie Mae Photography Similar to our Nourish event held in June this year, my first dose of reflection exposed my own deep unravelling. While I guide people through work I am also doing (you can’t teach what you don’t know), it is after the event passes I begin to do my own reflecting work-- what did I learn, how did this event impact me, what did it uncover? [...]

Aelea2019-10-14T13:30:46+00:00

HARVEST

There's something about Autumn that just draws me in, unlike any other season. To say Fall and Winter are my two favourite seasons is something I probably wouldn't have even realized until my realization a couple of years ago that I'd rather pile on the layers and watch the snow sparkle gently from the sky than sit in the heat in as little clothing as possible with a heat rash. Autumn, you see, feels so magical. The warm breeze, the changing colours of the leaves-- there's this sense of renewed excitement for the remainder of the year as the Academic calendar kicks off and even those of us who haven't stepped foot in a classroom for years can feel the energy of the season that brings a crisp air to sweep out the lethargic heat of summer. Autumn and winter are two of the more introspective seasons. They [...]

Aelea2019-09-16T21:58:57+00:00

Seek Truth

Taking on the Masters Program by Holy Yoga this year has been an adventure. Once I completed my 225-hour training in November of 2018, I knew I had just scratched the surface and I was immediately drawn to taking the Masters program. The Masters program is a 300-hour training the full duration of the year. Each class takes us a little bit deeper into understanding God, scripture, yoga, spiritual disciplines, and so so so much more. It feels like that popular quote, 'the more you learn, the less you know' as you are opened up to so many concepts and ideas and theories that make you want to freeze time so you can continue to learn. While many of the weekly classes, additional video and audio recordings and books to review have left me saying, 'this was my favourite class yet!', this past Monday's class was nothing short of [...]

Aelea2019-08-10T03:40:01+00:00

NOURISHED

When I sat down to write this blog post about NOURISH: A Holy Yoga Class + Zero Waste Brunch I was immediately overwhelmed with my own personal work that happened on my yoga mat in preparation for the yoga portion of the class. I spent a solid hour (and took over the google doc titled Nourish Blog) and used it as a personal time to journal; to write about my own unravelling and seeking Nourishment on my mat the week leading up the event, the unwinding of my own story that led me to place of surrender and tears on my yoga mat while the playlist for the class moved me to worship. The writing was therapeutic, as always, and helped me process the moments on the mat that went to form the experience I brought to those who attended Nourish. I’ve already told you all about the beginnings [...]

Aelea2019-06-12T00:10:34+00:00

NOURISH

There are people in your life who are encouragers. They are the ones who want to see you flourish, who support you with ideas and help when you need it and who are there to come alongside you the days you don’t know what to do next and tell you it’s okay, that you’ve got this and that you can keep going. There are a few people in my life that are encouragers and I honestly can’t imagine life without them. The first is my friend Ashley. A co-worker-turned-biggest-cheerleader, if Ashley has an idea for a yoga event, she shares it with me and allows me to springboard ideas off of her. She has continually encouraged me even before I took my yoga teacher training, nudging me to apply to teach workshops and calling out the good and beautiful things in the work I am doing when I seem [...]

Aelea2019-05-19T20:33:50+00:00

My Theme for 2019

Instead of goals for the year I’ve chosen a theme. I’ve been doing this since at least 2014 and it has been such a beautiful way to set an intention for my year. I write the word out in gold calligraphy and frame it on my desk so I see it often— a constant reminder of the kind of person I aspire to be and where I want to focus during the year. I find the theme, appearing as a common word, has a way of finding you. It’s one thing to sit and think of a word— to reflect on the year past and see what theme would be of benefit to you in the coming year. It’s another to let it come to you— to hit you while you’re talking with a new friend about yoga, God, energy and connection at Starbucks on a frigid Thursday night.2 When it [...]

Aelea2019-01-03T00:02:39+00:00

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