Sabrina visited us at our Escape Haven Bali Retreat, in 2018 and her time on her Bali retreat sparked an incredible transformation and took her on a journey from burnt-out Tv presenter, to starting her own healing business.
Sabrina was raised in a small town outside of Toronto, Ontario. In 2021 she graduated with a BAA in Illustration and for years worked a multitude of creative roles in advertising, tech, teaching, and writing.
At 25, Sabrina was offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to co-host of her own HGTV show.
“At the time, this was truly a dream, and I dove in headfirst. By 26, life was all work, and, on paper, I “had it all”: I owned my own home; I was HGTV’s newest Designer and host; I had commercial deals and sponsorships; and all the trappings of modern success for a woman my age. But despite all of this, I was unhappy, burnt out, and newly diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an auto-immune condition which impacts your throat, the centre of your voice.”
Sabrina realised she had been striving all her life for success and had never taken a pause to rest. She knew she needed to take time and space to deal with the feelings that were confronting her, as well as deal with the physical disease that she knew deep down was linked to her dis-ease with life.
At this stage, she pulled the plug on her life and signed up for a two-week wellness retreat at Escape Haven.
With an intimate group of 11 other women on retreat, Sabrina was exposed to fresh air, ocean water, ample sun, and was reunited with yoga which was something she had once loved that had been pushed aside with her busy lifestyle.
“We ate lots of fresh fruit and healthy meals and meditated each morning, followed by yoga or surfing. I also experienced something new I hadn’t before: along with embracing some Ayurvedic self-care practices, I also had my first encounter with energy healing and bodywork.”
Sabrina was fascinated by these healing modalities as they made her feel so radically different from the burnt-out woman that arrived in Bali just a week earlier.
Sabrina’s Escape Haven retreat was not only the catalyst for her own healing, but also for what eventually became her very own healing business.
Returning home, Sabrina continued on her yoga and meditation journey and became a certified Yoga, Pranayama, Meditation and Anatomy instructor. She also fell in love, quit her career in television and started teaching Yoga. She sold her home in Ontario, bought a cottage in the woods with her new partner and quit all her prescription medications.
“All the positive changes in my life only came as a result of looking after myself,and honouring my basic needs and wants. It sounds simple enough to do, but in today’s society, it’s not. We are raised to win, compete and achieve. And with social media and entertainment now, we are constantly distracted from our feelings and our connection to nature. It’s all too easy to seek validation from every other person whose life you see online, and fall off your personal happy path.”
After applying all that she had learned to restore her own health naturally, Sabrina now helps other people rediscover their own well-being with her business Heelr.
“I truly believe I needed all of these experiences to see for myself how one can transform their life when they commit to themselves.”
We were so inspired and moved by Sabrina’s story and the radical transformations that her life underwent after her stay with us on retreat. We know how powerful taking time out for yourself is and how it enables you the opportunity to pause and see what is and isn’t working in your life.
Read on to find out more about Sabrina’s stay in our recent interview with her below.
What inspired you to come on an Escape Haven Retreat?
I booked my stay at Escape Haven days after ending a 10-year relationship. I was 27 years old at the time, burnt out, and newly diagnosed with an autoimmune disease: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. Despite being an HGTV star, owning a home in the greater Toronto area, and having all the material things a lady could ask for, I wasn’t happy. I was exhausted from a lifetime of striving, accomplishing, creating, and performing for others without ever pausing to ask myself what I wanted. I was both lost and found arriving through the doors of Escape Haven.
What was the highlight of your retreat experience?
I didn’t anticipate the impact that Ayurvedic self-care practices can have on your life! At Escape Haven, I had access to unlimited therapies and so many different kinds! And I’ll admit, I didn’t take to them right away—in fact, I found most women didn’t!—not because they weren’t wonderful and healing, but because in our society, we are led to believe that pampering is something you come to deserve: That only after working hard and crashing can you admit to everyone around you (and to yourself) that you need some downtime. It’s quite shocking to me now that simply having the opportunity to dip my toes into daily self-care felt radical! Now, on the other side, I have tremendous respect for people who take the time to perform personal self-care practices.
What was the greatest challenge you faced on retreat and how did you overcome it?
My time on my Bali retreat shifted my perspective on a lot of things that I didn’t realize were making me sick. I came to understand that any dis-ease I experienced was a result of an accumulation of years of living in disharmony with myself. And that was (and is) something that is in my direct control! It’s kind of sobering to realize you are the only one responsible for your happiness. How you feel about your life, moment to moment generates the energy field around you that you live in. And at Escape Haven, I realized my prison was my choice, and that by choosing to make myself happy by simply honoring myself, I could be free.
What is one lesson you took home with you from your retreat?
I think it’s beautiful to spend time with yourself, as often as you can, to take care of your skin, your muscles, your hair, your body! That is true self-respect. In addition to the physical benefits you’ll be able to see and feel, there are so many mental benefits to nurturing your body.
How is your life different because of your time on your Escape Haven retreat?
Everything about my life is different since my time at Escape Haven: I became a certified Yoga Teacher and quit working in media/television, I fell in love and moved across the country, and I started my own wellness brand and business, Heelr which offers digital healing classes and courses and a line of 100% natural products for your hair, skin, body, and soul. You can find out more about my business at
Heelr.me/What are you most passionate about?
Plants, energy, Astronomy, Astrology, crystals/rocks/minerals and the human body!
What does a regular day look like for you?
I usually get up around 7am and spend a half hour milling about the main floor — cleaning and getting my house in order while coffee percolates. I work from home, so until my Blue Heeler is fed, and the home is in order, I can’t sit still. Depending on the season, I’l either start a fire inside or briefly sit in the sun on our back deck. Between 8 and 9am, I’ll have coffee and head upstairs to my desk to start work for the day. Depending on the day, I’ll either be writing content and filming videos and audio tracks, or fulfilling retail orders, perhaps doing a 1:1 healing session with a client, everyday is different work-wise! I break a few times in the day, first to eat around 11am. I tend to intermittent fast most days for 16 hours (between 8pm and 12pm the next day). After a big lunch of leftovers, or a falafel salad (a go-to of mine), I’ll walk Piper and take a trip to the post-office to ship out orders. In the early afternoon I work for another few hours, then break to prepare dinner. We usually eat around 7:30 then veg out with our pup while watching something on Netflix. I’ll do a little more work most nights, and without fail, come 8 pm I turn off all my devices and spend 30-60 minutes doing whichever self-care ritual I need. That’s either a hot shower or bath, depending on my mood, followed by Abhyanga and a face care sequence. I come out reborn and ready for snuggles and rest!
We’re so happy to hear so many inspiring stories from our guests each week.
If you prefer to watch, please check out this video from our guests about what they have to say about Escape Haven
here.
Feeling Inspired?! Ready to travel to transform?
