Our Wonderfully Made

When my friend Aelea reached out, way back in February, with an idea to host a group of women for yoga in the park followed by a delicious, nutritious breakfast shared together, asking if I would partner with her in this, my immediate response was “YES!!!!”. Yoga? Nourishing food? Community? Connection? Bringing women together? This pretty much summed up all my passions in one beautiful package.

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So, the plant was seeded, our wheels started turning, and soon, Nourish: A Holy Yoga + Vegan Zero Waste Brunch was in the works. Meeting with Aelea, it was clear our vision and purpose for Nourish was aligned. Our desire was to create space for women to be nourished, – mind, body, and spirit – connecting and sharing with one another. A morning to hit pause, slowing down from the busyness of the week and daily distractions that demand our attention. A time in self care that wasn’t only about masks and bubble baths (those are welcome too however! 😄), but truly nourishing the spirit through conversation, food, and movement, rooting down in our faith.

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Aelea wrote a lovely blog post diving deeper into the back story on how Nourish came to be, which you can read here.

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As the event date approached, we put on our weather women hats, constantly checking the weather apps, as not only rain, but a severe thunderstorm was on the horizon for the morning of Nourish. Surrendering our plans to God, it became clear we had to shift a wee bit, moving the event indoors. Thankfully, our backup plan was this beautiful, open, studio in the heart of Winnipeg’s exchange district.

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*Thank you to Jamie Mae Photography for the beautiful images shared in this post! 

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As our guest began arriving, I felt a surge of excited energy. The room was quickly filled with a buzz of conversation, laughter, and lightness, as morning sun streamed in through old windows. These are the moments that I absolutely love soaking in. The moment between before and after. After all the dreaming, planning, emails, meetings and to-do lists, yet before the beginning of what it was we spent so much time preparing for. This is when I start to get giddy. These are the moments that pour energy into my soul. There are some people who need space, and down time to re-energize and there are those (such as myself) who find energy in a room full of people, weaving in and out of conversations. In this between space, it dawned on me that each and every one of these women in the room, gave up something to be here. Whether it was sleep, a morning their family, work, a long to-do list… they chose to be here. In a world of incredible choice, pressure, and opportunity, this realization made me so incredibly grateful that they desired to be here.

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Mats began filling the room, and bodies naturally carried conversations to their piece of floor, Aelea calmed the room to quiet, and set an intention for our time together. She read from scripture, sharing about spiritual nourishment and what that looks like when we seek God in prayer and meditation. We moved, breathing and flowing together, while worship music and lyrics penetrated our hearts, praising God.

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As we flowed, I felt a tear build in the corner of my eye. Taken aback, as I often am, as how God is so good. He know our hearts, sees our insecurities, and designed our strengths and desires. When I take the time to draw near, to just STOP, I FEEL His presence. As Aelea shared in our class – we are all walking on holy ground every step we take, as He has given us His Holy Spirit. Every step we take, He meets us where we are at. It’s in these slow and quiet moments, in movement, that I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the journey He has set before me. A journey of breaking, of seeking Him, of ultimately surrendering. Gratitude for knitting those around me in love through our struggles, feeling encouraged through it all. He continually shows me this, just as Paul teaches in the letters to the Colossians.

 

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Colossians 2:1-3

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Aelea concluded our slow flow anointing each guest with essential oil as we felt the weight of the floor beneath us in savasana.

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As mats were rolled up and placed to the side, chatter once again began to fill the air, as each woman sipped on a lovely iced tea courtesy of Thirst Tea & Coffee,  in a vintage tea cup of their choosing. It was so encouraging to witness new friends meet and mingle; a new community. Once finding a place at the table with their matching saucer, where a word and scripture reference was found written underneath, unique for each woman, brunch commenced.

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When contemplating the menu for Nourish, I knew quite quickly what I would love to feature. As someone who toes the line on the savoury vs. sweet debate, I knew we had to have a favourite of each. 😉

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We served Raspberry Chia Parfaits, layered with homemade almond butter, chia pudding, my go-to dairy-free coconut yogurt, and berry compote, lightly sweetened with maple syrup. I absolutely adore how these layers present in the individual glass jars set at each guests setting.

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In contrast, Aelea, Ashley, and Chelsea came around offering guests a selection of mashed avocado cucumber bites, topped with microgreen radish and basil harvested by Fresh Forage, on vegan gluten-free sourdough, compliments of Cocoabeans Bakeshop. While bursting with flavour, the touch of tahini settled the tastebuds – the perfect balance.

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Set on the table were vegan charcuterie boards overflowing with all the goods. Fresh veggies straight from Jardins St-Leon Gardens market just up the street from our home brightened the board, while vegan Dill Havarti and Cashew Brie cheese bordered. Spiked paprika and cumin hummus (another staple in my repertoire) was surrounded by dates, nuts, crisp red grapes, and super seed crackers.

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And, of course, what would a brunch be, without fresh fruit! Again, St-Leon Gardens offered the most luscious fruit, which we playfully skewered and set along the table for a pop of colour.

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As we shared a meal together, I spoke our story of personal struggle, how God led me to people who knit together in love, and the encouragement I found through these struggles. Sharing our journey of infertility, miscarriage, and life as a new mom to our rainbow baby, Orlo was more than a story of fertility.

It is my personal story of nourishment.

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What began as nourishing my body, saying goodbye to a life of empty calories, cereal and toast that all too often were referred to as “dinner”, soon led into being aware of why I was making these choices. A demanding career, a love for being “busy”, and a burn out around the corner. Once I made the commitment to nourishing my body, I began to see things differently. Spending time making meals, meant less hustle time. It meant making space and time to breathe a little. It was intriguing.

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Slowly, I began making different choices. Saying no to extra projects, saying yes to yoga, running, time with family and friends – even a pottery class! My mind was being nourished and it felt like I was looking at the world with a new set of eyes.

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Ultimately, after years of working on my self, finding myself, and losing myself through miscarriage, for the first time, I sought Jesus in a whole new way. I threw myself at Him, angry with Him, comforted by Him, realizing His divine love for me. He nourished my spirit, and breathed a renewed life of hope, joy, and wonder into me. He gave me my story.

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Our stories are so woven together, really there is no singular story. For one weaves into another, connecting, working together, producing another story, and another, and another. I am so grateful for the stories He has chosen to weave into mine. For the people  He has shown me, to walk alongside one another in this crazy, beautiful, and upside down life.

 

“For where two or three are gathered in my name,
there am I among them.”
Matthew 18:20

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Jesus tells us, that where two or more are gathered, He is there. And we witnessed this truth on Saturday. He met us individually on our mats,  stirring something in each of our hearts, held tight and near. We moved our bodies, opening our hearts, sinking into where we hold our fear, hurt, and joy. We felt the breath of a new friend as we moved in partnership, praising God, thanking Him for the support of another body to lean into.

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He met us again while drinking tea, learning another’s story for the first time. He breathed life and energy into the room as we broke bread together.

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He fostered new stories. A new community of encouragement, inspiration, and friendship being knit together.

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As we parted ways, leaving refreshed, energized, and truly nourished, each guest took a piece of the morning home with them, in a gift bag curated with intention. Within a recycled fabric produce bag, they would find a package-free moisturizing or body glimmer bar, and a glass jar of hemp seeds to use at home. Once they arrived home, more goodies arrived in their inboxes, just some mentioned above. Aelea and I were very conscious as we made selections for what to gift our guests, and chose quality over quantity. It was important to us to leave our guests with a little something to 1) use in the kitchen 2) practically make waste-free living a little more attainable, and 3) offer a form of self care without harmful chemicals or unnecessary packaging.  

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When Aelea and I initially met, we dreamed of a space and time where a group of women would come together, move together, brunch together, and share together. A place where we could gather together to root down deeper in our faith. Our hope was that these women would leave feeling lighter, brighter, and oh so loved. What we didn’t expect, or plan for, was how we too, would leave overflowing with feelings of feeling loved, leaving with newfound forever friendships.

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Aelea, thank you for casting an invite out on a cold February day, allowing me to join you on this adventure. Planning Nourish alongside you has been an absolute joy, and has lit this mama up! Your genuine spirit, love for people and Jesus, and desire to put good into the world, is something I admire, and aspire to grow in. Throughout conversations that have risen throughout this journey, you have taught me to open my mind an heart to new ideas, and never underestimate the might and wonder of our God. I truly believe you are operating in your “sweet spot”, and am honoured to have had the opportunity to create and dream together.

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To our wonderful guests, who felt a nudge to choose a morning of Nourishment one June morning: thank you. Thank you for giving of your time and selves, to break away in order to come together. Your hearts, your vulnerability, and your energy is truly what made Nourish the dreamy morning it was.

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It was a dream to partner with some local friends who have some pretty amazing offerings in the city. We were very intentional with who we asked to come along this journey with us, and were so blown away by the generousity, support, and shared excitement we received. Winnipeg is such a special little spot on the map, and I am so grateful for these lovely people who so lovingly supported our dream, making this morning that much more magical for our guests. 

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Academy Florist for the stunning table arrangement, gifted to one lucky Nourish guest

Acorn Cafe & Generation Green for treating our guests in a special way next time they visit the cafe + shop

Brows by G for the uber generous offering on each guests new brow bar service

Cocoabeans for the vegan, gluten-free sourdough freshly baked with love

Creekside Creative for the recycled fabric produce bags for our next market shops

Fresh Forage for the microgreens that tantalized our taste buds in the avocado cucumber bites of yum

Giovanna Minenna for putting together her top tips and tricks on reducing daily waste

Jamie Mae Photography for giving of her gift of photography, and documenting this day for us

Portia-Ella for gifting each guest with a package-free moisturizing or body glimmer bar

River Valley Specialty Farms for the local hemp which graced our table and our guest gift bags

St-Leon Gardens for sponsoring the fresh produce and offering a gorgeous hanging basket and gift card to one Nourish guest

Sunny Day Products for the chia seeds for the chia seed pudding

Sweet Pea Threads for the gifting each guest through their online boutique of pre-loved baby clothing (which we love for Orlo so much!)

Thirst Tea and Coffee for the unique and refreshing iced teas our guests absolutely loved, and also for working with us to offer these in a waste-free way

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As this event sold out so quickly (so cool!), and we have already had many inquires about “when is the next event?”, we may just plan another one around the corner… 🙂 Stay tuned! 

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P.S. To read more about Nourish from Aelea’s perspective, digging deeper into what Holy Yoga is all about, check out her blog Wander to Wonder Coaching, here!