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Supportive tools for moving well, aging with strength, and leaning into calm.
🪺 MAY NEWSLETTER – 
OF THE OAKS
with Michelle
“Flowers and fruit are only the beginning. In the seed lies the life and the future.”
— Marion Zimmer Bradley
 
🌷May Feels Alive!

Hi everyone,
The garden centres are full, the days are stretching longer, and suddenly everything seems to be waking up at once — including us. There’s a certain hopefulness to this season. More movement. More sunlight. More possibility.
This month, I keep thinking about growth — not the rushed kind, but the slow, patient kind. The kind that happens beneath the surface before anything blooms.
Gardening reminds me so much of yoga and healing. You prepare the soil, try things, learn as you go, and accept that not everything thrives in the same conditions. Some years are abundant. Some are lessons. Both matter.
And if you are starting a garden this year, just give it a go. 🌱
 
With care,
Michelle
Yoga Therapist + Movement Specialist
🌿 This Month’s Insights -
Growth in motion

Movement Insight – Glutes, Stability & Longevity
01
Health professionals agree that one of the most neglected areas in women’s training is the glutes — and they’re far more than aesthetic.
Strong glutes support:
  • balance and stability
  • walking mechanics
  • posture
  • pelvic floor support
  • injury prevention
Weak glutes can contribute to instability, tension, and compensation patterns throughout the body.
Movement is connected. Everything works together.
🌿 Pelvic Floor Reset + Gentle Glute Activation
Before strengthening the pelvic floor, it’s important to learn how to relax it first.
If the pelvic floor is constantly gripping or held tight, adding more contraction (like repeated Kegels) can sometimes increase tension rather than improve function.
Start here:
  • Take a slow inhale and imagine the pelvic floor gently softening or dropping
  • Relax the jaw, belly, and breath
  • Exhale without forcing contraction
Once relaxation feels easier, gentle glute activation can help support the entire system.
🍑 Simple Glute Activation Mini-Sequence
  1. Bridge Pose – 8–10 slow reps
  2. Standing Glute Squeeze – alternating sides
  3. Side Leg Lift – slow and controlled
    👉 Exercise example here:
    Side Leg Lift Exercise Example Video
  4. Mini Walk – allow the glutes to naturally engage
The goal isn’t intensity — it’s connection, awareness, and support.

Science Insight – The Nervous System Is Listening
02
🌿 A Small Shift in Language That Changes the Nervous System
If you apologize for existing a little too often… try this experiment for 24 hours:
Instead of saying “sorry,” try saying “thank you.”
Many daily apologies are actually small shame reflexes:
  • “Sorry I’m late”
  • “Sorry to bother you”
  • “Sorry my house is messy”
But constantly framing yourself as a problem teaches your nervous system to treat normal human moments like threats.
Try shifting to:
  • “Thank you for waiting”
  • “Thank you for your patience”
  • “Thank you for helping me think this through”
  • “Thank you for coming over — I’m so happy to see you”
This interrupts the shame cycle and helps your brain notice support, patience, and kindness instead of constantly scanning for failure.
 
Pause and ask:
Did I actually do something wrong… or am I just taking up a normal amount of space?
🌿 Negative Self Talk
Resist the urge to speak negatively about yourself. Your brain listens to everything you say, even the jokes and the moments you brush off as just venting. Negative self talk isn’t harmless, it trains your nervous system to anticipate loss, stress, and disappointment. Over time, your words become signals of threat or safety to your body, shaping how you feel, respond, and recover. Choose language that supports regulation, resilience, and self trust, because your nervous system is always listening.

Whole-Person Wellness – 
Garden Wisdom 🌱
03
🌿 Garden Tips for Life & Growth
  1. You don’t need a lot of money to create a beautiful garden
  2. Build your garden decor from meaningful or cherished used items
  3. Learn and accept what grows well for you
  4. Practice patience — things grow at their own pace
  5. Record your journey and your progress
  6. Appreciate wildlife and learn to coexist
  7. If you have lots of blooms… give them away 💐
Gardens teach resilience, flexibility, patience, and presence.
Sometimes healing does too.

🧘‍♀️ Mindful Moment – 
JOY IS BIG
~ Judith Hanson Lasater
Your joy is too small, caged by the jailor of your thoughts.
It lives in the land beyond Infinity and is big beyond measure.
It teaches each tree to dance her own private blissful dance with the wind.
It is what the moon sings every night, holding us as we sleep with her streaming light-song.
Joy lives in your own drunken electrons, billions of them, spinning and dancing without end in their own intimate Universe, longing for You.
Do not look for joy anywhere else.
It is living in you, and gives meaning to all Existence.
Turn your heart’s eyes inward right now, and let them gaze in awe at the immensity of your Joy.
Open to this and all creation will celebrate.
Open to this and all mysteries will be revealed.
Open to this and you will fear nothing.
Open to this and you will begin to live fully in the space between each breath, each heartbeat, each note.

🌷 May Momentum
Spring energy builds slowly — and beautifully.
Keep showing up for yourself:
  • move your body daily
  • walk outside often
  • stretch while gardening
  • drink more water
  • rest when needed
  • notice what’s blooming in your life
Momentum doesn’t require perfection.
Just continued care.

👕 COMING SOON – Of The Oaks Merchandise ✨
Something really exciting is in the works…
We’re currently creating a new line of Of The Oaks merchandise through a local apparel partnership — and there are going to be some very cool designs, colours, and options to choose from 🌿
Think:
yoga-inspired tees
soft, wearable styles
grounded, meaningful designs
pieces that feel like you
Whether you’re on the mat, out for a walk, gardening, or grabbing coffee, these will be made to move with you and represent this beautiful community.
✨ Stay tuned — details, previews, and ordering information coming soon! 💛

🌿 Community Event – Come Visit Me!
I’m excited to share that I’ll be part of the Blind River Healthy Aging Fair on June 18 from 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM ✨
If you’re curious about movement, yoga, nervous system wellness, healthy aging, or simply want to stop by and say hello — I’d love to see you there. There will be great community connections, information, and opportunities to learn more about supporting your health and well-being at every stage of life.
Be sure to come check it out… and come visit me too! 🌿
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🍋 Bonus Recipe – 
Homemade “Nature-Aide” Electrolyte Drink
 
As warmer weather approaches and we begin moving, sweating, gardening, hiking, and spending more time outdoors, hydration matters.
Many commercial sports drinks contain high levels of sugar, sodium, artificial colors, and minimal nutritional value — even though the original purpose was simply to replenish electrolytes lost through sweat.
Why not make your own naturally?
🌿 Homemade Electrolyte Drink
✔ Hydrates naturally
✔ No artificial colors or preservatives
✔ Coconut water replenishes potassium & magnesium
✔ Sea salt supports sodium replacement
✔ Lemon supports digestion
✔ You control the sweetness naturally with maple syrup
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups coconut water
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • Juice of 1 lemon, lime or both
  • 1–2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
Optional:
  • Fresh mint
  • Splash of orange juice
  • Ice
Instructions:
Whisk or shake together and serve cold. Make a double batch.
Why buy a chemical version of something you can make simply and naturally at home? 🌿
Closing Thought❤️ With Gratitude
Growth is rarely loud; it happens quietly through consistency, patience, movement, the way we speak to ourselves, and the care we give to what we’re growing — so may you trust your own pace this month.
With warmth and gratitude,
Michelle
Of The Oaks | Health Gains

✨ Let’s Talk
Curious if yoga therapy could help with your stiffness, pain, or movement challenges? I offer 1:1 sessions for people just like you.
Book a Free Consultation
Let’s explore what’s possible.

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🫶 Stay Connected
Whether you’re looking to:
  • return to regular yoga classes
  • deepen your movement practice
  • explore yoga therapy
  • organize a corporate wellness day
  • bring workplace movement sessions to your team
  • or simply reconnect with your well-being
…I’d love to work with you.
Movement, mindfulness, nervous system care, and community all matter — and there are many ways we can support that together.
Thank you for continuing to read, follow, and support this journey. 🌿
— Michelle | Of The Oaks & Health Gains
 
Michelle Deschenes
Yoga Therapist + Movement Specialist
Of The Oaks | Health Gains
www.oftheoaks.ca
📧 moftheoaks@gmail.com
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17 River Drive
Blind River, ON P0R1B0, Canada