Our team of passionate, dedicated staff are a huge part of what makes the Eden experience so special. To celebrate International Women’s Day, we wanted to take a moment to recognise and shine a light on some of the wonderful women who work at our retreat and who play an integral part in cultivating our joyous environment each and every day.
We reached out to Andrea, Brianna, Keri and Georgia to hear about how their life journey led them to Eden, their personal wellness rituals and their recommendations for fellow women to enhance their mental and physical wellbeing.
Andrea
About Andrea
I have been a part of the reservations team at Eden since 2005 and Manager since 2015 and have really enjoyed seeing Eden transform over the years. It is very satisfying to welcome guests who are in need of a quality time-out, nurturing them and seeing them leave with a renewed sense of well-being. I love working in a team and also interacting with our guests from the initial conversation or enquiry, throughout the booking process, and then finally meeting during their time here at Eden. My passion for health stems way back to when I was a child and my father instilled in me the importance of whole foods, fitness and the concept of “everything in moderation”.
How did you find your passion for your work?
Prior to Eden, I had a career in the hotel industry both here and in Japan and also completed an Associate Diploma in Natural Medicine, so Eden is the perfect fit for me! I can’t imagine working anywhere else as Eden is so much more than a job. It is a lifestyle and I am so appreciative of being able to work in such a beautiful, clean environment alongside such positive and like-minded people.
What are some aspects of wellbeing that are important to you and what rituals do you include in your daily life to help manage these?
For me, connecting with nature brings me back to the importance of ‘now’ and helps me to feel grounded, especially after a busy day. When I get home, I love to take my beautiful Rhodesian Ridgeback ‘Miela’ for a walk through the bushland beside our house and let go of the stresses from the day. Conversations with family and how their day went over dinner is also important to me.
What advice do you have for other women to help enhance their overall wellbeing, either mentally or physically?
I think stress is the pandemic of today and so to manage this effectively I believe it is important to identify what ‘makes your heart sing’ and incorporate whatever that is into your life as often as the need arises. This may be connecting with friends or family, being creative, exercising, getting outdoors and enjoying nature, cooking, gardening; whatever it is that feeds your soul. In Japan they call this ‘ikigai’: that which keeps you motivated to create a purposeful, fulfilling and rewarding life.
After countless conversations with guests, I often hear how work, family pressures, finances and so on can shift the focus away from their ‘ikigai’ or health, and so an experience like Eden provides that space for them to be able to put themselves first, realign again with the things that really matter, and create a healthier balance. As a grounding exercise, I recommend reading ‘Desiderata’ (we had a framed copy in the house growing up). It brings me comfort in knowing that ‘everything is unfolding as it should’ and it amazes me that the scroll was written centuries ago but its advice is still so relevant today as the world continues to evolve.
Brianna
About Bri
My name is Brianna, though many of the guests know me as Bri. I am known for my big smiles and sunny beams each day.
I have the “joy” to work as one of the guest coordinators, or otherwise titled “Joy Role”. This role brings an incredible warmth to the Eden program with a specific focus on guest service, bringing a dose of joy and support to enhance the experience of our guests. Our role ebbs and flows with us stepping in to support the adventure components, facilitating evening classes, sharing powerful conversations, guiding walks, understanding the needs, requests and goals for our guests, along with ensuring we reflect and embody our own Eden CARE philosophy.
My background and passion is nature, wellbeing, adventure leadership, coaching, team building and working with people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds.
You will find me on my time off refuelling by the ocean, some rock pools or in nature somewhere with a great book and epic picnic, either solo or with a bunch of wholesome friends. I’m an early riser, fuelled without coffee and absolutely love to nourish myself with good food, people and the environment around me.
How did you find your passion for your work?
I have had the immense joy of being able to work in so many different roles I genuinely enjoyed and so while working I have ultimately been growing, playing, learning and endlessly connecting to others and the natural world. 2020 and Covid taught me so much about work, passion, purpose: I began to see all those roles I loved impacted by the changes and so I too was challenged to adapt. I began to understand and feel that it wasn’t necessarily what I did but my attitude, my quality and the person I could be in that role. Serving at check out during the early Covid impact replaced my international work adventures, yet still brought a richness and quality of joy and passion that I feel has now changed my working mindset forever. Genuinely loving and holding passion for my work makes it something that enriches me rather than drains me.
Passion for me comes through a connection, a quality that is felt inside and reflected outside. It is further enhanced in understanding our strengths, values and skills that we can then bring to a platform of work, family or in our everyday lives.
Working at Eden is a true gift, bringing together my years of different roles embodied into one that I absolutely, wholeheartedly love.
What are some aspects of wellbeing that are important to you and what rituals do you include in your daily life to help manage these?
Wellbeing has so many incredible puzzle pieces, each aspect coming together to bring a whole. Wellbeing for me is not just the outside appearance but that inner quality and feeling that supports the outer to shine. It brings forth a vigour, a zest for life and a consistency that is sustainable.
Nature and connecting to others is a daily ritual for me. I love the medicine of a natural environment: the warmth of the sunshine, the crispness of fresh air after a storm, cloud pictures and the forever stunning details of the macro and micro all around. Moments in nature help me reconnect to myself and thus be able to apply greater presence, awareness and connection with others. Connection with others is my premium wellness fuel that supports my own flame and ability to wake up and shine each day.
As a daily ritual I consider: Have I connected to myself, another and nature in some way today?
What advice do you have for other women to help enhance their overall wellbeing, either mentally or physically?
I love to think of us as amazing intricate puzzle pieces in this big world: we each hold and bring a unique quality to the whole. Yet we as women can be so hard on ourselves for perfection. Its been ingrained to compare, judge and self-critique…exhausting and toxic to the self both physically and mentally.
I truly believe our best wellbeing starts first in feeling, seeing and valuing our own worth and from here having a solid foundation to invest in daily care physically, mentally and emotionally. To enhance wellbeing, find those things you love, that nourish you inside and out, and bring them into your ritual daily.
Keri
About Keri
I’m one of the guest coordinators (the ‘Joy’ role) and I’m out at Eden week on week off. My role is super diverse; we come in with each weekly cohort and take the journey with them. It’s partly a ‘big sister’ role, partly technical support, metaphorical map and torch/tissue holder with a dash of troubleshooting!
How did you find your passion for your work?
It seems bizarre now but I am one of those unicorns where my work found me very early on in life. I started studying Chinese Medicine at 19 (over 20 years ago now!) and have been working in private practices, spas and health retreats ever since.
I feel very privileged to have been able to follow my whims at such a young age.
What are some aspects of wellbeing that are important to you and what rituals do you include in your daily life to help manage these?
I think wellbeing has almost become another weighty thing on many women’s to-do lists that can feel like it’s a directive coming from outside of ourselves to perform (which it doesn’t have to be).
For me, it’s incredibly important to live in my body. This sounds like a ridiculous thing to say but it’s so easy to forget when you’re striving to leave yourself behind and then get one hell of a shock to discover that you’re utterly exhausted. We aren’t machines. Having come back from burnout I’ve received this message loud and clear!
Having routines and rituals that align with my values have helped along the way.
Simple things that are always the best place to start are:
- Time in nature every day
- Radical sleep routine
- Saltwater fixes most things, so baths or ocean swims
- Screen-free time
- Guided meditation
What advice do you have for other women to help enhance their overall wellbeing, either mentally or physically?
My advice for women always is firstly to value yourself and to know that what you value is worthy regardless of so much of what we have been brought up to believe.
Your body isn’t something to be fought with! Enjoy flavoursome foods and move your body in a way that feels good.
Prioritise sleep, I can’t emphasise this enough.
Cultivate healthy boundaries and a sense of play. You can’t be all things to all people – you’re not avocado!
We are so grateful to have such a compassionate team of women working with us and looking after our guests, from providing exquisite and nourishing meals to personally crafting each stay and uplifting every experience. To the women of Eden and beyond, happy International Women’s Day.
