“Each moment is an opportunity to bring awareness of the body, mind and spirit to all areas of my life; an opportunity to serve with this energy that is me, and that which is so much more than me. ” ~Lacey Budge

Lacey lives a life of service, in the jungles of Costa Rica, as a birth and postpartum doula, plant based chef, holistic nutritionist, women’s retreat facilitator, yoga instructor, and creatrix of the Emergence Sisterhood. Through her website, Holistic Lacey, she offers a variety of online courses, retreats and cleanses inspiring Beings to live a happy holistic life in harmony with nature. She is a lover of dance, nature, travel and Truth.

HolisticLacey.com was created with the intention of sharing Lacey’s love for living life holistically!  She deeply understands the interconnectedness of body, mind and spirit in all aspects of life.

Lacey believes it is through inspiring and living by example, that we can make a difference. She lives a devotional life of service, and is dedicated to guiding individuals to live a natural and harmonious lifestyle, and to rediscovering that which is already within.

Through this website, you can learn about her offerings as a doula, the annual costa rica women’s retreats, and online offerings like The Beauty Way Cleanse & Emergence Sisterhood, and more! You can also read more about body, mind and spirit consultations and stay connected through social media.

On the blog, you will mostly find recipes and meal ideas!

 

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~Gandhi

At the age of 18, I read this quote and thought to myself: “how would my life, choices, the environment, my perspective, circle of friends, family and co-workers, etc. be affected if I lived my life inspired by this quote?” I wondered what kind of shift would occur if I decided to live from a place of love instead of fear.

From a young age, I was always interested in helping others and being of service in my community. Since my early 20’s, I have been on a spiritual path focusing on Self realisation (not that I knew it exactly in that way in the beginning). There was a deep yearning for clarity on my role in this life, the purpose of this existence and how the way I lived not only affected me, but the universe, and all Beings. I was committed to learning, discovery, and self growth and soaking up all I could in the world of holistic nutrition, yoga, spirituality, health and wellness.  I wanted to be able to fully show up for myself and others in my life. Years later, I started to recognize that this path is an inward spiral. It is about unlearning, de-conditioning what I thought I knew, questioning everything. The more I began to  truly understand through direct experience, I began to open more deeply to trust, surrender and connecting to the infinite heart-wisdom that lies within, within us all.

At 23, I quite my full time job as a French High School Teacher. I enrolled in a one month intensive yoga teacher training at the Sivananda Ashram in Quebec, completed my studies in holistic nutrition, travelled, volunteered and worked in various yoga communities around the world, enrolled in workshops, read books, and participated in many silent meditation retreats, including  5 day dark room retreat. All of these experiences of doing/learning/seeking taught me a very important lesson.

The focus of my life was shifting. There was less focus on doing, acquiring or seeking…I was opening to Being, getting still, surrendering and connecting with Source. This inner journey into stillness revealed the importance of accepting and healing my shadow aspects just as much as my light, and seeing it as two sides of the same coin. We cannot understand balance, without experiencing imbalance.

With the support of a daily practice of yoga, meditation, dance, prayer, breath work,  ritual, service rooted in Truth and living as the witness of this life, I  can feel an indescribable effect on the way I see the world and live my life in every moment. I truly believe that we have everything we need, within us.

 I had been studying yoga since 2006, but it has been since 2011, that my practice has moved beyond asanas (physical postures) and evolved into more of a holistic, heart-centered approach to yoga. I also have realized that yoga is not only the moments on my mat, but also off the mat, and how I choose to respond to each moment from a place of consciousness.I live yoga each each time I meet someone, complete a task, make a decision, drive the car, work in the garden, prepare a meal, etc. Everything is an offering.

While studying to become a Holistic Nutritionist in 2010, I began to experiment (a lot!) with vegetarian and vegan cuisine, raw foods, juicing, cleansing and detox, eating organic and locally, etc and fell in love it with it! Experimenting and creating in the kitchen is one of my passions (a long with traveling) and I absolutely love sharing and educating others about how to include more wholesome, natural, seasonal foods into their diet. I believe that there is no one diet for everyone, or that we must maintain the same diet  our entire life. As we grow and our needs evolve, so does the way we eat. Again, we just need to be still, and tune into our bodies. Our body is a very smart “machine” and knows exactly what it requires to maintain a state of balance.

My career started as a high school teacher, and it was a short one. I feel so blessed that I found the courage to listen, and be guided from within, by my intuition. I  chose to surrender, to let go and trust that the universe was going to guide me exactly where I needed to be….Shanti Retreat, Wolfe Island. I worked there as the Retreat Coordinator from 2012 – 2018, where I also had the opportunity to teach cooking classes, yoga, meditation and offer retreats and private consultations. The experience of living in community with kindred spirits was one of transformation and beyond any explanation.

I am so lucky that each day I get to be a student and a teacher! I moved to Costa Rica full time in 2018, and am currently living my jungle life with my husband and sharing my gifts as a doula, yoga instructor, workshop/retreat leader, plant based cook, hosting women’s circles, and continuing to offer consultations. Each day I live an inspired life and get to be educating about everything that excites me – birth, postpartum, rites of passages, holistic health, local food, yoga, nature, truth and Self discovery.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you imagined.” ~Henry David Thoreau

In Peace and Gratitude,

Lacey Budge