Acorn Holistic

Whatcha doing Saturday night? Wanna book a hot date with yourself? (well, and kinda me) Join me live, or access the recording for 24 hours after class airs for Self-Love Yoga: A gentle and restorative yoga class focused on giving yourself and your body some love. Let's build a cozy nest of blankets and cushions, light some candles, explore movement, breath, self-massage and meditation in honour of ourselves. Optional: bring some lotion/oil and a hand towel, to use in self ma...ssage/abhyanga. If funds are tight for date night you can use the code HEATHER at checkout for 30% off - thanks Pink Studio for helping to make this offering more accessible! The Pink Studio Toronto <3 It's 8-9p.m and you can register through Pink Studio.

Very much felt like these icicle forms were living creatures this morning. Created by the elements, to live like a star for a brief time, and then back to the elements. [id: tree laden with icicles, with lake and sunrise in the background]

I was introduced to the Trans Yoga Project through the @accessibleyogapodcast and I’m so excited about their work! https://transyogaproject.com/

Join me any Tuesday eve <3

I love the quiet of snow, and how it tucks all the tree, plant, and stone beings into its blanket [id: snow covered trees, plants, shore and a bright colourful sky]

This is one of my fave pictures of our sweet qt feet a few years back at our weekly community class. Queer & Trans yoga has being going strong for the last 15ish years - every single week! (Except for the wee annual summer/winter breaks). I have SO much love for all of you that have shared in a class with me, or shared over a decade together! 2021 brings change, and I know we’re all equipped to handle it, cause you know, we’ve been practicing yoga! There will be no more wee...kly qt classes - but I hope to hold seasonal practices for the qt gang in the future. A small group of us gave one of those a whirl this morning, stepping through the door into 2021 together, and it was kinda magic Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all of the love and support and trust you’ve shared with me over the years xo Ps I’ll miss you, and you can find me Tuesday eves at Pink Studio guiding Deep Calm, if you miss me too.

Solstice week sunrise I love the belief of the deer mother - flying the sun into the sky - nestled in her antlers - bringing us more light (thanks to gathervictoria.com for sharing this) [image description: sunrise over a still lake, with a rocky icy shore]

New Year, new ways - an update on me and my yoga classes <3 https://mailchi.mp/e5c630e52c1b/yogaofferings

I’m enjoying the practice of bringing evergreen boughs into my home during these shorter, darker, colder days. Adorning them with vibrant summer flowers and winter fruits. Taking in their incredible smell, and their beautiful colour. Looking to these powerful beings who have the ability to survive even the harshest of winters, as a symbol of hope and regeneration. [image description: a cedar wreath decorated with orange slices, calendula flowers, tamarack cones, and a bear]

Wind released tamarack cones for my altar [image description: a handful of small cones gathered in a green bandana]

Often when the lakeside looks like this I think Alex Colville colour palette. Anyone else? [image description: blue grey lake and sky, with a group of ducks adrift]

Yes, thank you for sharing

Hello! Here are my yoga offerings for November. We're working on releasing tension while building our strength and resilience for the next little while. I hope you can join us. 2SLGBTQ+ - A slow sweet community class to call in our super-powers of calm, curiousity, care and to weather this storm together. (Most)Thursdays 7:30- 8:30p.m. Pay-what-you-can $5-20, please etransfer or paypal me before each class so I know who to expect. DM for link. Deep Calm - A gentle restorative practice to help you soften, release and to tuck you in for a good sleep. Tuesdays 8:30 - 9:30p.m. Register through https://www.thepinkstudio.ca/classes |

The bi-annual batch of sunshine-in-a-jar is ready Many are destined for my front-line worker friend’s hardworking hands, and also some tender baby butts. Thanks to the beautiful calendula and hypericum for sharing your magic with us

Support small business, and take care of yourself (or gift a loved one) by moving your body in joyful ways

Hi community <3 Do you know about this awesome auction? I'm participating and you are invited too! You can donate items to the auction and/or bid on items. There are SO many beautiful offerings, all in support of Black food sovereignty. Here's more info from the organizers: We are raising funds to support two Black women who were recently fired from their jobs at a food justice organization due to anti-Black racism. These women have been on the frontlines of community work and food justice for decades, ensuring that their communities and families have access to food security. We are calling on people to support these women and their families during this time by helping them secure agricultural land, equipment and tools to ensure they can provide for their communities. https://www.facebook.com/groups/964124390741803

What story does a name share? Birds, plants, decolonizing language - this is a fantastic talk! You can access the recording here. Thanks to Lins Eed for sharing

Illustration by lola blue

Hi 2SQTNB yoga friends - tonight, Thursday - there will be no class. Im taking the night to rest. I hope to see you next week, and Ill miss you! In the meantime theres a few short yoga and meditation practices with me here to give a whirl if youd like http://www.acornholistic.com/blog

Happy Autumnal Equinox from action-Jackson and myself If youre feeling like the days of spending time outside are numbered know that we are outside every day all year long and would love your company on one of our adventures And if you live far away, or cant get out on a given day, well happily send you virtual postcard pics like these to lift your spirits

Having a hard time getting up with the darker mornings, or feeling low cause of the state of the world? Heres a short practice that I do when I want to lift my spirits, mood, energy. Hope you like it! At the very least you can imagine transporting yourself to the beautiful Georgian Bay lakeside where I was lucky enough to film it <3 Also, my Garfield shirt is pretty cute. https://youtu.be/_YDKhehnrTg

Autumn Beauties Goldenrod aka Solidago - there are apparently thousands of varieties - I call this one seaside but its not necessarily true I currently have some infusing in apple cider vinegar and will use it in salad dressing this cold season as a little zing of energetic sunshine Cranberry - I see these growing in wet, mossy, swampy ground areas. Ive never been here late enough in the season to gather for eating (well I did once, and it was premature and not g...ood ). Oginiig*, Rose Hips - these lil sweeties come at the end of rose season and are rich in Vitamin C. There is such a variety in size and colour depending on the rose plant. Im waiting for them to become even more vibrant and full before gathering to use in tea for immune support this winter season Some guidelines Im following with my plant friends: Tending to the plants and land before considering taking from the plants and land. This summer for me that looked like removing a lot of garbage that had gathered on the land. Treading lightly. Visiting with them. Im in relationship with the plants, trees, water, creatures - and Im doing my best to have these relations be kind, loving, respectful. Listening. Gathering in moderation and with consideration to what is being offered. Researching my ancestral plants, getting to know them through stories, other names, and traditional uses. Primarily working with them in my garden. When possible I only gather plants I have supported to grow and/or whose land Ive tended to. *Learning their original names - thanks to Mary Siisip Geniusz for sharing some of the Anishinaabe names in her book. And thank you to all the plant tenders & lovers who have shared their wisdom with me Much more to say and think about, but Ill leave it at that for now. Thanks for visiting and reading!

Ive finally worked up the nerve to record some yoga videos for you, friends <3 (And kinda figured out the technology - tips are WELCOME!). Please be gentle with my early attempts to share with you what (some of) you have been asking for! This one is a short calming & grounding practice - the type I turn to when Im anxious, my mind is running, I cant connect to my body etc. Add in a global pandemic, with relentless anti-black and anti-indigenous violence and oppression, pl...us a new school season that has students, support staff & teachers, families scrambling to figure out how to come together safely. We need some calm and grounding, so we can start to liberate ourselves personally and collectively. Let me know what you think, and what other types of practices you would like - there are 2 more videos coming soon <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPzdI3pJVqo Oh, and join me tonight (or most Thursdays) for 2SQTNB pwyc yoga at 7:30p.m - DM for link. This class is free for BIPOC activists and organizers who could use some care - include "community care" in your DM for the link to get free access.

I've finally worked up the nerve to record some yoga videos for you, friends <3 (And kinda figured out the technology - tips are WELCOME!). Please be gentle with my early attempts to share with you what (some of) you have been asking for! This one is a short calming & grounding practice - the type I turn to when I'm anxious, my mind is running, I can't connect to my body etc. Add in a global pandemic, with relentless anti-black and anti-indigenous violence and oppression, pl...us a new school season that has students, support staff & teachers, families scrambling to figure out how to come together safely. We need some calm and grounding, so we can start to liberate ourselves personally and collectively. Let me know what you think, and what other types of practices you would like - there are 2 more videos coming soon <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPzdI3pJVqo Oh, and join me tonight (or most Thursdays) for 2SQTNB pwyc yoga at 7:30p.m - DM for link. This class is free for BIPOC activists and organizers who could use some care - include "community care" in your DM for the link to get free access.

Its not the goldenrod making you sneeze! Its not only a beauty but also nourishing to bees, butterflies and humans

If youre offering any classes (yoga or not) these are some things to think about, work towards, learn about to increase the safety of your space for more people https://yogainternational.com//creating-safer-yoga-spaces-

Old friends. [image description: waving windswept pines backed by dusky sky]

Who wore it better? Seriously, Ive been thinking about ways to offer more support to organizers & activists, those putting their bodies and spirits onto the streets, and working behind the scenes to dismantle white supremacy. Those exhausted and bearing the brunt of anti-black & anti-indigenous racism, transphobia, queerphobia, misogyny and all the other rotten branches of white supremacy. Most Thursday nights at 7:30pm I offer pwyc 2SQTNB gentle yoga virtually. Consider t...his an open invitation to come anytime for a free community care class. To join msg me community care and Ill send you the link for the upcoming class.

September Yoga Offerings for you babes. And yes, you're encouraged to share <3 Thanks for your support! https://mailchi.mp/8434785338e5/septemberyogaofferings

I could spend ALL day exploding the Omakakiibag aka Spotted Touch Me Not aka Jewelweed seed pods. Have you tried? Its a great practice of connection in these times of disconnect. Plus youre assisting this annual plant in the propagation of these lil sweethearts for next year. This plant is often found near Animikiibag aka Poison Ivy. Its a helpful antidote to allergic rashes (like the type some get from poison ivy), and I just learned also helpful as an anti-fungal for r...ingworm and athletes foot. Thanks to Mary Siisip Geniuszs book, Plants Have So Much To Give Us, All We Have To Do Is Ask, for sharing the Anishinaabe names (aka some of the original names for these plants on turtle island) as well as the way to prepare a tincture of it. Its the perfect time as the seeds are a poppin! I highly recommend Marys book It is a gift.

Hi Friends - Thursday night at 7p.m us QT's and NB's and 2S's will be back at it. Join us! (Violet will be there too, looking dapper) A slow sweet community class for us to call in our super-powers of calm, curiousity, and care - and to weather this storm together. Sliding Scale $5 - $20. Please etransfer or paypal me before each class so I know who to expect. No registration required, just click on the below zoom link each week that you would like to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83429197483

Need an hour of care? Join me tonight at 7 for 2SQTNB yoga (Dm for link) or Friday night at 8:30 for Deep Calm with @thepinkstudiotoronto Heres what Helen V has to say about it:

September Yoga Offerings for you babes. And yes, youre encouraged to share <3 Thanks for your support! https://mailchi.mp/8434785338e5/septemberyogaofferings

No neutral - white supremacy and yoga. Powerful talk https://youtu.be/VEJ_F8NCD2Q

I'm starting this course tomorrow - anyone want to join me? We can be study buddies <3 https://www.accessibleyogatraining.com/race-equity

Hi Friends - Thursday night at 7p.m us QTs and NBs and 2Ss will be back at it. Join us! (Violet will be there too, looking dapper) A slow sweet community class for us to call in our super-powers of calm, curiousity, and care - and to weather this storm together. Sliding Scale $5 - $20. Please etransfer or paypal me before each class so I know who to expect. No registration required, just click on the below zoom link each week that you would like to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83429197483

A great resource on pronouns - we can always learn more! <3 https://www.mypronouns.org/ My pronouns are she/her/hers - what about you?

Hi ya pals, I'll be on holidays for the next few weeks, but we'll be yogaing together again later in August. Here are the deets for upcoming classes <3 https://mailchi.mp/82addab626bb/julyyogaclasses-1595812

Im starting this course tomorrow - anyone want to join me? We can be study buddies <3 https://www.accessibleyogatraining.com/race-equity

Sound on for Sandhill Crane sunset soundscape [image description: yellow orange streaked sunset sky beyond pine, cedar and maple trees, colours reflected by the water]

Hi ya pals, Ill be on holidays for the next few weeks, but well be yogaing together again later in August. Here are the deets for upcoming classes <3 https://mailchi.mp/82addab626bb/julyyogaclasses-1595812

Before I teach I go for a walk with Violet, to get her coo-coos out, for direction around what to share in class, and to connect with nature. Tonight these beautiful cone flowers and their fuzzy bee friends took center stage on our stroll. We returned home and I decided to pull a flower card to welcome our wee community. Guess who had a message for us?... #echinacea #SoulflowerPlantSpiritOracleDeck [image description: flower with vibrant orange cone shaped disc in the center surrounded by dropping pink petals]

QT Yoga Time is now 7p.m - on Thursdays July 23 and 30th. Hope to see you then pals! New link is: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87847073136

Look at teasels pretty flowers! I didnt know they flowered at all, let alone a lavender headband I have a faint childhood memory of playing with them, delighting in their bristles. They came back into my awareness as plant friends shared that they are prone to increase in an area along with the arrival of tics. And can be used as one of the plants in the treatment of lyme. (Nature is magic ).... And then again when a dear one introduced me to their teen fave, Clan of the Cave Bear. Aylas brush of choice for her horse was teasel #TeaselTales [image description: a prickly light green plant head with a ring of tiny lavender flowers around the top and bottom]

10 second breather of stillness and flow. Water is my co-regulator, and oldest friend Join me tonight, qts, seeking stillness, flow and the feel of your water body. 7:30pm EST, pwyc, DM for link.

Check out the auction for the Black Woman Agricultural Freedom Fund. Items going up today (mine are below) and bidding open until the 21st at 2pm. https://m.facebook.com/groups/964124390741803?tsid=0.4597976320119638&source=result

Sound on for raindrop relief Image description: Orange Lillies in bloom supported by their vibrant green leaves while bathing in the rain.

https://mailchi.mp/813d9a9a8a10/julyyogaclasses

Cutest lil cooling spirit supports for a world that feels like its on fire

Binding and breathing in the time of Covid https://rainbowhealthcenter.com/binding-and-breath/

Its the little things that are allowing me to manage (survive) the big things

This beauty is known in English as a Blue Flag Iris. They are a wild iris indigenous to this part of Turtle Island and are used in present day and historical Indigenous medicine practices. As I continue to learn more about plants and their magic, I am also committed to learning about the lands they grow on, and their communities, and how to engage in more respectful relationships all around. Ive been thinking a lot about manners in terms of human interactions with nature.... As a kid my British granny drilled into me all things manners related to eating, how to be seen and not heard (wtf?), and how to be a proper girl/woman (wtf x 2!). But there was little familial teaching around how to have manners with the living world of nature. Now like all things old dogs, new tricks Im fumbling my way through it in my 40s. One part of this, as a settler, with a relationship with plant friends, is learning not to feel entitled to plants that are not from my lineage, nor on my traditional lands. Thank you to the IBPOC and settler plant people who have been sharing about respectful ways of interacting with the plants and their people and lands. To my fellow settlers who share a love of the Great Lakes - may you approach the people, land, creatures and plants of this region with respect, trust, and friendship as originally agreed upon. And take part in dismantling the systems and culture that have betrayed and broken this agreement (and so many others). A significant meeting between the English Crown and the indigenous nations of the western Great Lakes in Niagara in 1764 created what came to be called The Covenant Chain. The symbolism of the chain (with the three links of respect, trust and friendship) is that the Crown would hold one end and the indigenous people would hold the other end. The English Crown, represented by Sir William Johnson, presented a massive wampum belt, which symbolized and solidified the agreement and relationship. The Anishnabek became the keepers of the wampum belt, read and renewed each year on Manitoulin Island. Source: Shawanagafirstnation.ca

Support the Black Womens Freedom Fund if you can https://gf.me/u/x9ptt3

Tonight at 8pm - sounds super fun!!

Join me tomorrow night for a gentle grounding practice And its free! Sign up via The Pink Studio Toronto

Check this out <3

A few of my friends So grateful to this silver maple for holding my kid, my mom and I in their safe blanket around the home that we shared My dots planted these roses 3 years ago in our garden, and although she lives independently now I still wake up to their greeting and remember our happy trip to the plant store seeking new pals And to this pink peony who lived here before we did and continues to bloom and share their beauty, thank you.

Wanna join me for mellow yoga tonight? Deep Calm Yoga - A gentle yoga class exploring breath, movement-stillness, and meditation to help reduce mind-body stress, release postural tension/anxiety and improve your chances of sleeping better tonight. Well explore slow practices and find our own unique ways into more moments of calm. Tuesdays 8 - 9 pm on Zoom... register through https://www.thepinkstudio.ca/classes Hope to "see" you there pals

One of my all time best plant buddies - cant wait to learn more - thanks to the Birth Centre and Denise B. McLeod for organizing this series <3

One of my all time best plant buddies - can't wait to learn more - thanks to the Birth Centre and Denise B. McLeod for organizing this series <3