My Journey to Joy

The flower that blooms -

The initiator -

The seeker of joy -

The carrier of pain and burden -

The warriors walk of grace -

The woman -

It's the one that means the most to me in this moment of my life. It's exactly what I have been trying to cultivate into my life. A way to start sharing. For it is time to share. My name is Nazlyn. I am 33 years old. And it's been quite the ride these last 33 years.

It's for the woman. I equally honour and support all. But lately I really find myself speaking on the woman. I guess, because I finally found the woman in myself. And it's beautiful. And nothing changed but me and my mindset and perspective. Nothing changed but the way I chose to eat and how I talked to that food. Nothing changed but the way I saw myself in that mirror and the words I said to myself after that image. It all began and ended with me. And the journey in between has been quite interesting. And one that I am finally ready and able to share.

I have built such a vast amount of knowledge and accumulated experience that has truly brought me on a journey of study for many, many years. Health issues, my brother taking his life, addictions, weight struggles, childhood trauma, loss, grief, low self worth, depression, anxiety, etc. have led me down many health and wellness and healing pathways. I have listened, watched, navigated, studied, and have now found myself in quite an amazing place that is having me wanting to turn my book around and start to share my stories, recipes, wellness, programs, faith, fitness, family, with the world.

What brought it all together this past year is the why's. Before doing anything I ask "who is this for". Really slowing down and being completely present and mindful of each movement. Bringing the phrase "stopping to smell the flowers" to full meaning in my life these days. I have found that joy, amongst the chaos, amongst the everyday, amongst the highs and low, I have found the way to find the joy. And it is attainable to all of us. And I would love nothing more than to have an outlet to share that with the world - through my own experiences with depression and anxiety, self healing, loss. Through my fashion, fitness, yoga, meditation and mindfulness, breath work, inner child healing, trauma healing, energy work, sacred spiritual work, and one of the most important besides faith would be food! Gut health. This is so huge and prevalent right now and can really, really aid in so many areas.

Heal the gut - heal the mind. The past 2 years, I have immersed myself in this area of study. Recipes and baking. Gardening and really getting messy with my children. Re-diversifying the gut - the soil - the soul. Really bringing the importance of gut health and building a strong, healthy microbiome, into our everyday living. Cultivating family friendly meal plans that are also gut friendly. Pairing the emotional work in with the physical food, to really repair and heal the root cause of the issue's our body is expressing to us.

Planting and harvesting our own vegetables and herbs; going back to things I learnt in my childhood like canning, baking from scratch - and now incorporating gluten free baking into the mix - the soups from bone broths and home grown herbs and vegetables. These things are medicine to our bodies. And if we bring that honour back into the earth, nature, the flowers and bees, the plants and the animals, ourselves, our families, our communities, we will reap Her milk and honey again in harmony.

I believe in the power of the woman in many roles and one of importance being the wife and mother. Faith, sewing, baking, gardening, energy, emotion, healing, foresting for herbs and medicines, the initiator. The woman is the initiator. The strong woman who walks in grace with God and Mother Earth.

I have chosen a very hands on human experience and have lived through many, many challenges, which I truly have come to appreciate as I can speak with such conviction on many areas. It also propelled me onto a pursuit of study and healing. I have studied many religions and spiritualities. I have become extremely familiar with many arts and path's and healing modalities. I have taken many courses on mental health, addiction, energy work, and have a strong base of knowledge to serve and share with others.

I have been working with some amazing doctors and functional medicine practitioners, and with my own journey and intuition and body talk, have cultivated some amazing recipes, herbs, programs and meal guides, yoga poses, oils, breath work, affirmations, fitness routines, etc. to bring healing to the gut and reverse so many symptoms and discomforts. Things like thyroid issues, candida, eczema, depression, anxiety, fatigue, etc.. My daughter has dealt with autoimmune disorders since early on, so together we have come up with some amazing meal plans, with correlating recipes and grocery lists, to make it as easy as can be to kick these autoimmune disorders to the curb through re-establishing a healthy relationship with our guts!! We can find so much relief and healing from many illness's and mental health issues if we start in the gut and then pair it with the emotional work. And there are many attainable ways to achieve this. I have made it real in my life, so that it can actually be real to others.

And it had to be easy. My husband works away from home and I have two high energy sons and a daughter with a restricted diet and myself with my gut health on the mend, it can become overwhelming! But I truly have made it a mission to find a way to make this an attainable, and not completely restricted and awful, experience. I have come up with some beautiful recipes, meal plans, activities and wellness programs for the entire family. Things that are authentic and real because we have put them to the test. I have had the honour of working with some amazing naturopaths, healers, nutritionist's, and have been able to apply that, with my own knowledge and experience and studies, to an amazing collaboration of information.

It truly goes back to building this life of basic needs and connecting back to source as the resource for those needs and finding your flow with your true, authentic self. And then everything else builds beautifully around that foundation. The foundation of the authentic you.

The healing. Self healing. This would be a huge component. But then it all falls together. The fashion and fitness and food - the why's behind them. I'm not obsessed with purchases because of the instant gratification anymore. I build fun and beautiful pieces around my personality and way of expressing myself. I don't dress for them, him or her. I dress for me. The food - I don't eat healthy to be skinny. I eat well to nourish and strengthen my body. And I do not overindulge because over-compulsion is an offence against wisdom that will in turn lead to digestion issues. I treat my body with love and compassion and we build a trusting relationship.

Relationships This was huge in my healing journey. Building healthy relationships - with my kids, my husband, my self, with food, with fitness with fashion. Building healthy relationships and really being so mindful on the self and projected talk that takes place in each of these relationships.

Yoga and fitness are two areas that would be a great avenue for me to share on a media platform. I have spent my entire life doing at home fitness and my yoga passion and practice only grows on the daily. I have built many beautiful routines and programs that are ready to be shared with others. I have taken my yoga teacher training, and many different fitness courses and training and have loved sharing that within my community.

Food and recipes - growing up in a home where everything on our dinner table was farmed from our hands, was a rich and beautiful experience. Although we did not have much, and addiction and mental illness ran the majority of the home, we were taught the basics. Living with the land, farming, gardening, canning, baking, community, respect, hard work. I never thought I would appreciate knowing how to milk a cow or cultivate a spectacular and diverse garden - until both the pandemic and my gut health hit. I then became extremely aware of who I was, the footprint I was leaving during my walk on this Earth, and how much I was consuming and of just what it was that I was consuming. I became very mindful. I found myself again in the kitchen. Clipping, sniffing, brewing. Finding that joy in growing my own food to feed my body and my family.

Finding that fun in wearing beautiful dresses and big, beautiful hats.

Finding that joy in studying an area that lights me up.

Finding the simple and silly fun in rolling on the grass with my babies and smelling flowers and getting messy and painting with beautiful colours.

Finding my Self in it all. Finding those 15 minutes two times a day to sit with just Nazlyn.

Finding that flow. Feeding the body and mind and soul with nourishing and beautiful thoughts, foods, feelings, images, smells, sounds.

Connecting our soul and our human - understanding the human experience. The body, mind and soul connection. Healing and harmonizing on all three levels.

Healing - letting go - and letting love in - receiving.

Love.

And more food - more beautiful and nourishing soup and tea's and baking and breads that don't hurt our guts, and salads. Beautiful, healing foods and herbs.

This is what I would love to share with the world.

My recipes and meal plans, my faith, my passions, my self healing techniques and experiences, my spiritual services, my gut health adventure and knowledge and one on one coaching, my yoga and breath work, my fashion and fitness, my family life and homeschooling plans, my baking, my stories and experiences - my journey to joy.

How through it all, the challenges, the searching, the highs and the lows, I was able to navigate to a place where joy can be sought, and the simple art of living in peace can be attained, while we carry our crosses home. Beauty, love, compassion, forgiveness, faith, strength, fun, family, food, adventure, growth, nature, spirit.

The woman.

By Nazlyn Rae Hayes