the balanced soul

People fall asleep during massage more often than you might think.

And sometimes they snore.

Sometimes the snore wakes them up.

Sometimes they wake up afterward with no memory of snoring at all and immediately ask, a little embarrassed,

“Did I snore?”

“I hope I didn’t snore.”

You probably did.

And it’s completely fine.

Honestly, I take it as a pretty good sign that you were relaxed enough to drift off for a while.

So if you fall asleep during your massage — snoring included — there is absolutely no need to be embarrassed.

I promise, you won’t be the first.

Fall Two registration is now open.

Our final six-week yoga session of the year runs November 4 & 5 through December 9 & 10.

Wednesday or Thursday evenings:

5:30 pm — Slow Strength, Stretch & Mobility
Slow body-weight movement, balance, mobility, holds, core stability and controlled transitions.

7:00 pm — Restorative Yoga
A quieter 75 minutes of supported rest, gentle settling and guided meditation.

Six-week session: $75

Classes at The Balanced Soul are intentionally small, with space to move, ask questions, wobble a little, learn as you go, and simply arrive as you are.

Registration is now open for Fall Two.

A little peek at what I’m working on today…

I’ve started playing around with some of the fall decor for this month’s Seasonal Pause, so the yoga room floor is currently covered in bits and pieces while I figure it all out.

Still very much a work in progress, but it’s starting to come together.

And while I’m here — there are only a few spaces left for Autumn Seasonal Pause: The Space Between on October 24.

Okay. Back to making.

Don’t the leaves turning color just make you want to go for a drive?

The roads seem made for slow drives at this time of year.

The stretches of gold and rust and orange. The way the trees seem to change from one bend in the road to the next. The urge to slow down a little because you know it won’t look quite like this for long.

Especially once the prairie winds begin to pick up.

I feel like they arrive every autumn, the season’s own little nemesis, shaking the leaves from the trees before I’m quite ready to see them go.

Once the wind starts pulling all that color down, these few weeks seem to pass even faster.

So right now, I’m finding myself looking for any excuse to jump in the car and take in as much of the fall color as I can.

Autumn, while it’s still holding on.

Registration is now open for our Autumn Seasonal Pause.

This gathering is called The Space Between.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the spaces that exist between one thing and the next — between the tasks, the conversations, the places we need to be, the things that ask for our attention.

Those spaces can be easy to overlook.

But they are not empty.

Sometimes they are where we catch our breath. Where something settles. Where we notice what we have been carrying. Where we make just a little room before moving into what comes next.

On Saturday, October 24, we’ll spend two quiet hours exploring that idea together through restorative yoga, guided meditation, reflection, tea, and a few simple seasonal touches.

Autumn Seasonal Pause — The Space Between
Saturday, October 24
10:00 am–12:00 pm
The Balanced Soul
8 spaces available
Cost is $60

Registration is now open.

12 cozy things I’m doing this fall…

I have loved autumn for a very long time.

There is something about this season that always feels a little like coming home — the cooler air, the changing light, the return of sweaters and soup and candles, and all those small familiar things that somehow feel special again simply because autumn has returned.

So this season, I’m leaning right into it.

1. Eating or drinking something pumpkin spiced.

2. Having a fall movie night with blankets, snacks and an old favorite.

3. Thrifting a cozy fall sweater.

4. Visiting the pumpkin patch and bringing a few pumpkins home.

5. Reading an autumn-inspired book on one of those darker, quieter evenings.

6. Trying my hand at making hand-dipped beeswax candles.

7. Taking a fall hike while the trees are at their most beautiful.

8. Sitting beside a bonfire on a chilly evening until everything smells faintly of woodsmoke.

9. Baking apple c***r donuts.

10. Getting a little lost in our annual Halloween corn maze.

11. Making a big pot of homemade soup on a cool day.

12. Decorating the house until autumn has found its way into all the little corners.

And somewhere in between all of that, I’m hoping to catch one of those evenings when the light turns golden, the air has that unmistakable autumn chill, and the whole world feels just a tiny bit enchanted.

I’m sure the list will grow.

Autumn usually has a few ideas of its own.

Do you have an autumn bucket list?

A little note as we begin a new round of classes this week…

You are allowed to be a beginner.

You are allowed to wobble, lose your balance, forget which foot we’re using, and look around the room occasionally to figure out what on earth I’m talking about.

And if it helps, I have been known to point to a wrist and call it an ankle.

Sometimes I forget the name altogether and resort to, “this thing right here.”

We laugh.

We try again.

Some things will feel easy. Some will be challenging. Some might take a few weeks before they begin to make sense.

You don’t have to do everything perfectly.

You don’t even have to do everything.

Come curious. Have some fun. Pay attention to your body. Let yourself learn.

That’s enough.

A slightly nonsensical question for a Monday…

Imagine you have a long table, a collection of mismatched cups, plenty of tea, and ten empty chairs.

You can invite anyone you like — someone living now, someone from another time, a fictional character, an artist, a writer, someone from your own life.

I already know a few of my chairs would be taken.

Anne Shirley would absolutely be there.
Lorelai Gilmore, because I feel like the conversation would never get dull.
Kathleen Kelly, because I think we could happily talk about books, little bookshops, and the kind of places that become part of a community.
And Alice, of course. It is a slightly Mad Hatter tea party, after all.

I still have a few chairs to fill.

Who would be sitting around your table?

A new piece has found its way into the Journal:

A Love Letter to Fall

A reflection on the season that seems to arrive with its own kind of romance — the first shift in the air, the colour returning to the trees, the pull toward warmth, rhythm, beauty, and home.

You can read it here:

https://thebalancedsoul.ca/journal/f/a-love-letter-to-autumn

The first Seasonal Letter has been shared, and the printed autumn pieces are now gathered here at the shop.

The Autumn Seasonal Letter
the autumn ritual card
and the seasonal reflection cards

A little something for the season.
A bit of reflection.
A small ritual.

A few words to carry with you as autumn begins to make its way back into ordinary life.

There is something special about seeing these pieces move from screen to paper — becoming something more tactile, more keepsake-like, and ready to be held in someone’s hands.

Please take what you would like.