It’s been my winter and I’m Stepping into Spring! I hope you’ll step with me!
When I last wrote earlier this year in May, I wrote about having “been in my winter” – my time of darkness, of heaviness and of retreating from the world. When you’re in winter it feels hard and like there is no end in sight. Sometimes we feel stuck in winter “forever”. That’s how I felt. But I’m learning to understand that this is a feeling. It’s a very real feeling but feelings are just that – feelings. They are not the truth. We see the world through our feelings and our emotions. When we are in love, we feel so happy and we see the world through these happy and light lenses. When we are down, we see the world through heavy eyes – eyes that seem to focus on the negative and everything we see around us seems to reinforce that feeling. When we feel scared, we see many, many things to fear, especially in these last 2 Covid years. We have been “force-fed” fear by our mainstream media and now the world feels like a very cold, dangerous, and hostile place. It’s hard to even know how we made it to this point in history and in our lives with all there is to fear and all that can “go wrong”.
But now in the Southern Hemisphere, our winter is turning to spring. The mornings are getting lighter. The bird song starts earlier. The scent of jasmine and buddleia hangs heavily in the air on early morning walks. In Johannesburg, the dusty browns are now punctuated by brilliant, fresh greens and the blossoms are starting to unfurl. Nature is “stepping out” and we feel in ourselves perhaps a feeling of hope, mixed with trepidation, as we too feel the desire to step out and unfurl.
But it’s hope mixed with trepidation because there is this other voice in our head that says “stay hidden. You’re not looking your best. You’ve put on weight. Your skin looks pasty. Your clothes feel uncomfortably tight. You’re not fun. You’re just not your best. Stay hidden and sort this out. Then you can step out.”
But I say No! We cannot stay hidden and “do this on our own”. It is too hard. This requires collective healing. Because we all feel like this. It’s a collective feeling and a collective energy. And our true healing happens in community. When we are together. When we are vulnerable, and when we share this journey. This is the energy of the feminine.
This is not the masculine energy of driving, striving, “I’ve got to make this happen”. That certainly has its place but not here. Not now. That restrictive and punitive energy is not what we need. No. We need the feminine energy (whether we are men or women) of gathering, connecting, communicating. We need the “letting go” to really, deeply shift. We need the receiving, allowing, manifesting and creating energy. This is where we transform.
And so, I invite you to join me to Step into Spring. To shed your S%#@ as I shed mine – however that looks for us both. I’m hosting a wonderful workshop on Monday night – yes this Monday night – on ZOOM, for free, with three brilliant women. I’ve worked and taught with all three of these women over many years and they have supported and nourished me professionally and personally and they helped me to step out of my winter. The workshop is 7pm – 8.30pm, so make yourself a cup of tea, get a notebook and a pen and your favourite essential oil roller, and click on the link below, at the bottom of this email, to join us. You don’t have to install ZOOM or do anything fancy. Just click the link, follow the prompts and you’ll find us there – waiting to connect, communicate and to inspire each other to step into spring feeling lighter and lovelier. If you can’t make the class live, it will be recorded and will be posted to my website under “Essential Oils” but it’s always best to watch live and there are time pressures because this is just the first step …
This is where it starts to get fun and “connecting” and juicier, and where the feminine energy of receiving, allowing, creating and manifesting comes in! And where the shift really starts. The 4 of us (Sally Knott, Didi Mogashoa, Nicci Hutton and myself) will be hosting a Spring Shed. This is a 3-week programme where we will walk with you and guide you in all the areas we work and teach in. We’ve done the “hard work” homework. You just need to join us and be guided. Our Spring Shed starts with the full moon on Sunday the 11th of September. Yes, it’s a big day with very high energy – both due to the full moon and to its massively intense history. And it runs until the new moon on Saturday the 1st of October when spring is really showing her true colours.
What it involves from you is a desire to “shed your s#%@” and your commitment to join a WhatsApp group where we will post daily at 6am (a reminder to take your detox oil capsule), but you can check this whenever suits you. The practices, videos and recipes we suggest will take 15 minutes of your day and can be done however and whenever it fits into your life. If you have a big birthday coming up, a hectic week, you’re feeling like it just isn’t your day … do whatever or don’t do whatever feels good for you. Part of the shed is learning to listen to your body and providing it with what it needs. This will look different for us all. I’m going to be moving house – out of our beautiful Inanda home and garden which has been such a wonderful sanctuary for us – down to the Natal midlands, Garlington, where we will be starting a “new life” in January. But the house move happens at the end of September in the middle of the Spring Shed. This Spring Shed designed to fit into any life. Oh, and Nics Hutton will be on holiday in Kenya. And Sal and Didi have busy lives and practices. Life carries on. We just do it more consciously #justsaying.
The Spring Shed involves making an essential oil capsule for those with dōTERRA essential oils (we do not recommend ingesting ANY OTHER essential oil brands unless you have access to transparent test results and they are completely pure and unadulterated. We cannot be assured of the purity of the oils if we don’t have the clear test results – even if it sayd “pure on the bottle. There’s no one checking). For those who don’t have the dōTERRA essential oils you can still join us on the Spring Shed and get huge benefit, but definitely not as much benefit as you would if you did do the oil capsule. The oil capsules we are suggesting are focused on detox and on decreasing inflammation in our system – helping to shift feelings of bloatedness, puffiness, brain fog, winter weight, low mood and more. Even if we’re not overweight, these oils are phenomenal at just “bringing the body back to balance”.
There are 2 oil capsule options – one is for those who just have the top 10 oils or a basic kit and those who have not ingested oils before. The other protocol is what we call our “Skinny Jeans” protocol – it’s a deeper dive and most appropriate for more seasoned oil users, and especially those suffering with inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and more. But we do not recommend deep diving into this protocol if this is your first rodeo with oils. If you have one of these conditions or something similar, please speak to us. You could look at introducing turmeric oil to the basic capsule, but we will guide you personally on this.
And it’s not too late to get oils – you can still get them in time and get set up for the Spring Shed starting next Sunday. That’s why it’s important to join us live in our ‘Step into Spring’ workshop on Monday night. We will give far more details of the Spring Shed there, the oils involved, how much they cost and how to get them. So come and join us and it’s also always nice to invite a friend to have someone on this journey with you!
And finally, what will you get out of the Spring Shed?
- An interactive & supportive community with resources you can keep forever, where you can ask questions and empower each other.
- Weekly mindfulness and movement practices from Nicola & Didi
- Recipes, videos & cheat sheets to detox home, body, skin & sleep from Sally & Nicci
- A deeper understanding of breathwork, bladder, bowel & bleed by Nicola
- A daily oil routine, oil hacks and oil recipes – for those new to oils it will give you lots of wonderful support and tips and tools for using your oils; for the seasoned oil campaigners it will refresh your love of the oils and give you new insights and ideas for using them.
So that’s about it. Our Spring Shed is a community of women and men bringing more consciousness to choices of how we live, work, eat, sleep and play for 21 days … and then on into real life! We hope you’ll join our community! Oh … I nearly forgot … all this costs just R400 to join us. The link to join the Spring Shed (you can do this now or after you’ve attended the call tomorrow and you know it’s for you) is https://lu.ma/42kxbto6
And included in this is a great treat – in the spirit of the feminine energy of collaboration, with are partnering with some of our favourite people, providers and products to bring members of the Spring Shed amazing discount codes. We’ve done all the homework for you over MANY years of trial and error, and doing this ourselves. Discount codes to things like Breath café, LulaFox makeup, Clenergy, period panties, menstrual cups, yoga studios, Jane’s Delicious Garden Online Shop, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, retailers, “clean” face and skin care products, some wonderful and aligned health and wellness practitioners and classes, and more. The discount codes can be used during the Spring Shed or later as you continue this journey to feel lighter and lovelier! And if you’re a provider or have a product that’s aligned to this, please contact me – we’ve love to connect and collaborate! It serves us all and takes us all higher together!
Oh, and if you’re hesitating and wondering if this is for you, below are a few testimonials from the Skinny Jeans Challenge some of us did in May/June this year. Personally, I felt I finally came out of my “Covid-fog”. I felt I came back to myself and feeling like I knew I could feel but hadn’t felt for a very long time.
“2 weeks into the challenge I tested positive with COVID and took a pause from the skinny jeans challenge and focused on FLOOT capsules etc. After my isolation period I went straight back into skinny jeans and was amazed how my energy returned. Am away on leave for a month and have continued when I have remembered but will definitely get back into 1 a day for a month when I get back home. Thanks for all the support and advice”
“Talking about the Skinny Jeans challenge: I’ve just finished week 4 and I’ll carry on for another 2 weeks (2 drops of everything twice a day). My body loves it!! I feel good, I’m going to the loo much better and I don’t feel at all bloated – even when I’ve had carbs. I actually feel ‘trim’ even though I haven’t lost any weight. So when I have a ‘bad day’ of eating too many carbs, I still feel good the next day. I don’t feel so ‘puffy’ and blownup and bloated at all. My sugar craving has been reduced dramatically and when I wake up in the morning I don’t feel all brain foggy. I just seem to feel more upbeat and ready for my day. In the morning I’m also alternating Lime and lemon juice and if I’ve had a bad eating day then I have a lemon drop or lime drop at night too. It’s definitely worth giving it a shot if you haven’t tried the Skinny Jean yet. My daughter (21) has also started it (she’s on week 4 now) and she’s feeling much the same, especially with her sugar cravings – they’ve diminished a lot!”
“I loved the Skinny Jeans challenge and my daughter joined me but have stopped for now. I loved the group and learning about the oils and also as an added advantage my blood pressure has raised from the normally low Blood Pressure.I would love to join the challenge, later in the year.”
“I loved the skinny jeans challenge! Love the group energy and knowing that like-minded women are on this journey too💜 I felt clear minded, my system working like clockwork. I didn’t find it challenging, I looked forward to it. Only took one a day. Biggest takeaway, miraculous how complex yet simple oils can kickstart our body systems to do what they should be doing. Like lock and key 🔐”
“Morning all. I’m in my 7th week skinny jeans, and I almost don’t think I can live without it. I went from 1 capsule a day to 2 for 2 weeks but didn’t feel much different, so went back to 1 capsule. Normally I don’t go a day without some sort of IBS cramps or bloatedness (all stress and hormone), but since week 1 of Skinny jeans I have had NO IBS. It’s amazing.”
Bear in mind that these testimonials are JUST taking the “Skinny Jeans” capsule and having the energy and support of a group. Our Spring Shed goes far beyond this with empowering tools and hacks, insights and inspiration into all areas of life. If you’re part of our YumDrops team you can read more Skinny Jeans testimonials and information on our team closed website and HUB the YumDrops Hub (if you have difficulty accessing it click here for our TECH support team).
And so, I hope we will see you at Step into Spring tomorrow night and then in the Spring Shed. There’s lots to look forward to, and we’ll put on our glasses of hope, light and love and enjoy the ride together! Because no matter how “on the rails” or “off the rails” your diet and your life may seem, it’s always better to travel together, for as the African proverb goes “if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together”. It’s the essence of Ubuntu.
Nicola Aylward is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Step into Spring workshop
Time: Sep 5, 2022 19:00 Johannesburg
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3853652907?pwd=aUcqae8y6NabebQP0WTDq8CS0Abev0.1
Meeting ID: 385 365 2907
Passcode: Mindful
PS I’m still leading a Mindful Moment every Tuesday morning at 7am online, on ZOOM, for free. It’s 30 minutes to connect, bring some mindfulness, love and light to our day and our lives. It’s open to anyone and we’d love you to join. Same link as the one above. And I save the recordings to my website for those who aren’t able to join us live. You can find them here at https://nicolaaylward.com/mindful-moment/
