My name is Sandra O’Grady and I am the owner and homeopath at Gentle Wellness Homeopathy and BIE. This is my 12th year as a professional homeopath, 15 if you include my supervision years. I’ve grown up in Ontario but was blessed to have also lived in western Canada for many years, as well as in Sweden. I have 3 “emerging adult” children, a supportive and funny husband, and a large extended family. As I have aged, family has become more important to me in general but also because being connected into a larger family community reminds me that love and grace must be a priority in my life and frankly, I am a better person and happier when love and grace lead my way.
The best source of rejuvenation that builds my health and creates inner balance is nature. I value exercising but really enjoy it if it can be coordinated with lakes, trails, trees and fresh air!
I have learned over the years how much traffic, construction, general busyness and speeding through life zap me of what makes me smile. Four years ago I made a bold move to sell my long-time home in Newmarket and move to a lake just outside of Kingston. 3 acres of land surrounded by tree’s, water, animals, and fresh air. My neighbours are a km away, the silence is beautiful, and the stars shine so bright. The community is supportive “we look after our own” and I am flourishing in it. It was a great decision that has given me the space to do some extensive healing and realign myself with who I am and what I want to become.
What’s my #1 take away from these past years in a pandemic? Vulnerability and honesty quickly and simply. Why give an optic of who you are when the real thing can encourage a hurting soul? So I decided in my short blog today to be far more vulnerable then I usually am in written form…
The past 10+ years has been hard to keep loving, to be genuinely positive, and to ‘measure’ my language and passion to the person in front of me so as to not wound people that are already living wounded.
You see, as with most people, I have journeyed through some muddy swamps. I have had to work through typical childhood dysfunction, spiritual rigidness, and autoimmune illness. After 20 years of marriage, I was divorced and the repercussions of others choices and behaviors can still effect my mind and reactions if I am not aware. I had to become fierce in my defense of my children and extended family. I needed to say hard things and be calm and mature in my response to everything that bowled me over on a constant basis. My children have had their own journey and have needed me to be a wise, stable and consistent adult through all their crisis, pain and chaos (common of this generation). One of my children has autism and for much of his life, there has been a lot of ‘heavy lifting’ required. Not surprising, being caring to myself and others has not always been easy or obvious. Being in work mode, crisis management mode, its all about my pain mode…now that is easy. In the details, I didn’t handle everything well, I am far from perfect, but in the net total, I became a better person, a healthier woman and mother, and I did well. I worked on myself constantly and daily chose to not stay angry, resentful, shamed, victimized or addictive.
After many years of struggle and wrestling I have learned that there is always
- another way to approach hard things,
- more work we can do on ourselves,
- time to pause before we speak,
- and it is always worth getting up in the morning and believing today will be worth the effort.
I seem to have an endless supply of hope and determination, and for that I am truly grateful.
This is just the tip of my iceberg, as it is with everyone. No one needs to know all our mud and baggage – but people do need to know we understand and empathize with them. That there IS hope, healing, and blessing for the future in their health, soul, heart and mind. There is an adventure ahead if we want it.
An author that I enjoy said this recently “after years of heartbreak and emotional trauma, I realized its not about just getting over hard circumstances but learning how to work through what I have walked through” (Lysa TerKeurst). That is my heart for Gentle Wellness and my client relationships. To help you work through what you have walked through. I am so thankful for the many people that have helped and are helping me to work it all through. In the clinic, that usually encompasses dealing with a wide variety of health and emotional issues, as well as some life coaching and boundary discussions with yourself and others. I am not a certified life coach, but homeopathy is as much about medicine as it is about lifestyle and experience. Seeing a homeopath encompasses your health – physical, emotional, and mental; it looks closely at the ‘now’ as well as the journey that got you there.
Personally, and professionally, I believe everyone needs a fresh start, a do-over, and a heaping amount of mercy. I know I did.
I believe in being painfully and humbly truthful to yourself and your inner circle.
I believe in being compassionate with where you are at in your life journey while being fiercely determined to keep moving forward.
I believe in being responsible for your health and that making changes in your life to facilitate better physical and mental health is the ultimate self-care action.
I believe that everyone has struggles, wounding’s, and loss; that every family has some form of dysfunction and pain, so judgement and assumption towards others make our world all that more unsafe and hostile to the hurting.
My faith in God makes my heart soft to those around me, but yet strong and unshakable in the things that matter.
I’m learning and growing along with my family and clients. I love a nutrient dense farm fresh home cooked meal almost as much as a good Christmas cookie, and sometimes a glass of wine is far more enjoyable than my lemon water or turmeric elixir. I love to laugh, garden, swim, read, socialize, and decorate. Mentoring young mom’s is where I will always prioritize my time. I read the same amount of historical fiction as I do medical articles and books. And I too invest in my homeopath, osteopath, chiropractor, coaches and other wellness professionals. And like yourself, I need to balance it all.
Lets work through what we walk through: together, naturally, gently and safely.
