How have the 1st 5 days of 2022 been for you? Things have been a whirlwind. Some good. Some bad.
Although in the back of my mind, I knew. I was still hopeful moving into 2022 that life in Ontario would look different than it did last year. And it does, yet it doesn’t.
How’s that for “black and white”?
As most know, I own 3 small businesses. That in itself is challenging because although it’s clear in my head, it’s not clear in everyone’s head.
Divine Crystal Healing Shop is a little storefront that was supposed to become someone else’s initially, but it’s now 100% just me. It offers products that can be used to help you on your wellness journey.
It was open 5 days a week until late last year when it was reduced to once a week, with Holiday hours introduced in November and December. The plan for 2022 was to open it up again on Saturdays only, until Monday when Ford (our Provincial politician, in case you are not from Ontario) reduced non-essential retail to 25%. This means we are BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.
Now that doesn’t sound like 25%, so why wouldn’t I open for walk-ins as planned? Because the Shop is located within another business that I own.
Bridging the Gap Wellness Center is the building in which it houses the Shop and other businesses. The building itself can have 50% capacity and is reduced to services that must be done in person, providing that face coverings are possible. Fortunately, the services that are going on here currently meet those requirements. Each practitioner that uses the building has their own booking system.
We have a Nutritionist, Wendy Humphris, who comes in weekly to offer Nutritional Consults as well as Live Blood Analysis. She is able to continue to offer her services. She currently has a detox package that she has introduced for 2022.
Her partner in crime, Dana Irvine, offers Thermography and focuses alot on hormonal health. She comes into the Wellness Center for a full day Clinic once a month to every 6 weeks. She is a wealth of information on breast health, in fact, she has an incredible program called “Touch Your Tattas,” that she offers.
Diane Howe has come out of retirement, slightly, to share her magical hands. She offers a 90-minute full body massage and reflexology session once a week to 3 clients on Mondays. She will also see people for a 45-minute reflexology session, if requested. She is a registered reflexologist. This is the only service booked through the Wellness Center.
Tamara MacDonald-Thomas is also new to our team of practitioners. Having moved back to the North, she has brought her business, Guiding Hands. She offers professional compassionate education and services through her business which includes: WSIB Approved First Aid / CPR Training, Education Workshops, Certified End of Life Doula, Grief and Bereavement Support.
She offers First Aid & CPR monthly. And plans to start a grief and bereavement support group when restrictions permits. She has a great deal of resources that she offers to her clients.
Of course, my in-person services are at the Wellness Center. All groups, except the children’s stress and anxiety programs, have resumed on Zoom. I am still seeing clients in-person for 1:1 where clients prefer. But the majority of my services are through Zoom. I’ll share more below.
Within the Wellness Center, we have self-serve services. We have 3 rooms that can be used for various reasons. Our group room has been used for small private groups, like to host a birthday party.
Our self-serve services include: Medical Infrared Sauna, Vibration Massage Mat, Earthing Mat, Ionic Foot Detox, Himalayan Foot Detox, and SAD Light Therapy. We have various packages, including memberships, that offer discounts.
The Wellness Center is open BY APPOINTMENT ONLY, there are never any walk-ins. However the building is open between 7am-11pm 7 days a week.
Last but not least, Rollie Allaire, Holistic Life & Wellness Coach. This is my primary business. If I had to choose only one business, this is it. The other two businesses are meant to complement this business. I love working in collaboration which is why I wanted to open up the Wellness Center to other businesses to offer their services. There are many approaches to achieving wellness.
Having now 22 years experience in mental health, I primarily work with women on anxiety. The focus is to move them from stuck to functional using various techniques, including the conventional psychotherapy skills with traditional holistic approaches such as spiritual work (Medicine Wheel, Reiki, crystals, essential oils, Akashic Records, ThetaHealing). These vary depending on the client and the client’s needs.
Most of my services are offered in group settings because I strongly believe in the collective energy that clients benefit from being in a group.
My main program is a membership called Soulful Lifehacks that is only open every 3 months. There are many benefits in this program that clients achieve. Initially it’s intimidating, but once we start working through, it becomes less intimidating and more powerful.
I have two courses that are only open twice a year, Sister Soul Medicine (opens in the Fall) and As Above, So Below (opens in the Winter). There are other courses and workshops that are available for self-study at any given point, including free ones. Anxiety, Stop! is one of these, however twice a year (once in French and once in English) we gather on Zoom to focus on areas we may be struggling within our anxiety.
I have both professional and personal experiences to draw on which allows me to support my clients through Life and Wellness Coaching in a different fashion. I have seen the results my clients have had.
As we near this time of year, I become focussed on our Annual Women Inspiring Women that is in its 5th year. Last year, thanks to the pandemic, we went global which was incredible. This year, the plan is to be global once again.
I offer 3 different memberships. The first, as I shared, is Soulful Lifehacks.
Insider Moon Energy is, as you guessed, all about Grandmother Moon and how the other planets affect us in our lives. Having been working with the Moon for a number of years, in the last 6-7 years, I’ve been studying these energies at a deeper level and became a Certified Moonologist. One of the things that I added to this initial membership is bi-weekly calls where we talk about, you guessed it, the Moon and all her glorious friends.
School of Wellness is a new addition to our memberships. This membership gives the members access to one program, workshop or course once a month. You maintain that access to what was opened for the length of your membership.
Over the course of last year, we’ve been working on the tech and branding aspects. I’m happy to report that we have finally found our match and this year, we will be building on that. There are still a few things that we need to iron out, but it will be “golden” by the end of 2022.
My focus for 2022 is to reset balance in my life. Both 2020 and 2021 have upset the equilibrium that I had developed in my life. And this year my focus is to get my personal Medicine Wheel back in balance.
One of the adjustments that will be difficult for many clients is me setting boundaries around each business in order for me to maintain my own personal limits. My time is allocated to each business and what I can accomplish during those hours is all that I accomplish during those times.
It’s important for me to practice what I preach. I tell my clients that the first person they MUST look after is themselves, then everyone and everything else follows.
What does your 2022 look like for you?